Lucien Orban

Lucien Orban

Lucien Orban was 7 years old when war struck Marcouray in December 1944. As a child of the village, he saw with his own eyes the encirclement of Task Force Hogan, the snow, the American soldiers in the houses, and the sky crossed by parachutes during the airdrop of 23 December 1944.

Among his strongest memories, Lucien recalls the parachutes in the winter sky, the snow covering the village, but also the American soldiers who, during Christmas Eve, prayed together while waiting in the heart of the encirclement.

He also remembers a scene of great brutality. When the Germans entered the village, the family dog, a German shepherd, growled at an officer to protect the house. In front of his father, the officer dragged the animal outside and coldly shot it through the mouth.

Lucien Orban's testimony is now a rare and precious memory. Through a child's eyes, it reminds us what Belgian civilians trapped in the fighting endured: fear, violence, winter and survival.