08/07/2025
True Story: “The Lone Rifleman at Bastogne”
In December 1944, during the Battle of the Bulge, German forces launched a massive assault on the small Belgian town of Bastogne, surrounding it and cutting off Allied troops.
Most American soldiers were low on ammo, freezing, and outnumbered.
But PFC Martin T. Higgins, a lone rifleman from the 101st Airborne, refused to fall back.
Stationed in a shallow foxhole, he held his ground for nearly 20 hours, picking off enemy troops advancing on his sector. When his ammo ran low, he crawled from body to body, retrieving rounds from fallen comrades — and enemies.
By nightfall, he was still there. Cold, bloodied, exhausted — but alive.
His actions helped hold the perimeter long enough for General Patton’s tanks to break through and relieve the siege.
Higgins never bragged. When asked why he stayed, he simply said:
“Because the line was there. And someone had to.”
