Bulge

One harsh winter long ago, as he led an encampment of soldiers near a European forest, it never occurred to Alfred H.M. Shehab, then a brash young Army lieutenant, that he and his 30-man unit were a part of military history. "A platoon leader is so busy thinking about what might happen and how to make things go right" that it's hard to grasp much of a broader perspective, says Shehab, a 91-year-old retired lieutenant colonel who lives near Fort Meade. As it was, the 3rd Platoon of B Troop in the 38th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron (Mechanized)

Orioles left fielder Nolan Reimold will be sidelined for at least two more games with a bulging disk in his back, but the club is hopeful that the diagnosis explains the health problems the 28-year-old has been experiencing this season. Including Tuesday night, Reimold has missed six of the club's past 12 games, including four consecutive April 21-25, because of severe neck spasms. Although he was dealing with lingering neck discomfort, Reimold had started the Orioles' past five games, but after getting to the team hotel after Monday's contest, Reimold experienced tingling in his hands and contacted head athletic trainer Richie Bancells . Reimold "had some tingling and numbness in his fingers, which is common with a bulging disk," manager Buck Showalter said.

BEND, Ore. -- Half an hour west of this mountain town in central Oregon, in an area covered by forest, is a growing bulge in the terrain that eager scientists say could be the beginnings of a volcano. The bulge covers 100 square miles and is rising at a rate of 1.4 inches a year. The shape resembles a dome, with the highest point about 3 miles west of the South Sister volcano in the Cascade Range. Geologists say the bulge represents a unique opportunity to study what could be a volcanic formation in its earliest stages, but officials in this town of 65,000 worry more about the potential hazards, such as lava and ash or flying rocks.

Orioles left fielder Nolan Reimold has a bulging disk in his back - which the team believes may have been what has caused the spasms in his neck and tingling and numbness in his fingers. Manager Buck Showalter said Reimold has been treated in Baltimore with a Medrol Dosepak that is designed to alleviate inflammation. If all works as hoped, Reimold could join the team for the series against the Boston Red Sox that begins Friday, Showalter said. “We're going to try a Medrol Dosepak to see if we can get the swelling to go down.

JERUSALEM - In almost any other city, it would be just a wall with a bulge. Almost anywhere else, the wall would be repaired without people taking notice. This wall, however, is part of Jerusalem's most disputed religious site, may be in danger of collapse and has sparked another argument between Palestinians and Israelis. A bulge 35 feet long has appeared in the southern retaining wall built 2,000 years ago during the reign of King Herod at the base of the Temple Mount, known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary.

John Joseph Curry Jr., a retired accountant and World War II veteran who fought at the Battle of the Bulge and later guarded high Nazi officials before the Nuremberg trials, died of heart failure Friday at Oak Crest Village. He was 84. Mr. Curry was born in Baltimore and raised on West Saratoga Street. He was a 1942 graduate of Mount St. Joseph High School in Irvington and attended the Maryland Institute College of Art before being drafted into the Army in 1943. The Army sent Mr. Curry to the University of Oregon in Eugene, where he studied basic engineering, before assigning him to the 11th Armored Division in Europe.

John Trovato is a familiar figure on the benches and in the bars and restaurants of Little Italy, where he likes to end his days with a dram of Grand Marnier and a cappuccino at Da Mimmo. He lives next door, just a half-block from the corner store on High Street where he was born 91 years ago yesterday. He's spent most of his life here in the 200 block of High St., where about 100 years ago, his father, Orazio, an immigrant from Sicily, started the store where Apicella's deli is now. Trovato has hardly ever left Little Italy, or even his block.

Norbert L. Grunwald, an Austrian-born U.S. Army veteran who was taken prisoner by the Nazis during the Battle of the Bulge and later worked in American intelligence and for a brokerage in Baltimore, died of complications of prostate cancer Friday at his Baltimore home. He was 83 years old. Mr. Grunwald was born in Vienna, Austria. When he was 13, Nazi forces took over his country, and he fled alone and on foot to Poland. On the first night of his journey he was picked up by the Nazis, said his wife, Louise.

Paul J. Wiedorfer, who was Maryland's last surviving World War II recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor, died Wednesday of heart failure at Loch Raven Community Living and Rehabilitation Center. The former Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. director of safety and training, who lived in Parkville, was 90. Wiedorfer, who was decorated with the nation's highest military honor for bravery, had dashed some 150 yards across a field and singlehandedly knocked out two German machine gun nests during the Battle of the Bulge.

Fifty years ago tomorrow, Americans were suffering through what was surely the worst American Christmas Eve ever. After six months of military victories in Europe, following the successful invasion on D-Day the previous sixth of June, the momentum and the narrative had changed. The Germans had launched a counter-offensive in the Ardennes forest region of Belgium and Luxembourg on Dec. 16. Greatly out-numbered American soldiers were pushed back. A westward "bulge" in the north-south line of Allied advancement eastward was created that would reach over 50 miles.

I find it very hard to believe the hatred of Sgt. Robert Bales in William Smith's recent letter ("Don't pity Sgt. Bales," March 29). Yes, the killing of innocent men, women and children was wrong, and my prayers go out to them. But what about the thousands of innocents who were killed on9/11? What about the thousands of our military service members who have been killed or injured fighting those who would kill us without thinking twice? It takes great strength and conviction to don a uniform in order to protect this country.

Edwin F. "Eddie" Hauser, a decorated World War II veteran who landed at Normandy on D-Day, died Sept. 24 of kidney failure at his Ellicott City home. He was 94. Mr. Hauser was born and raised in Baltimore. His mother was a baker, and his father died when he was 3. After graduating from Polytechnic Institute, he worked at Bethlehem Steel Corp. at Sparrows Point. Mr. Hauser enlisted in the Army in 1941 and served in Europe with the fabled 29th Division. A technical sergeant assigned to an artillery unit, he landed at Omaha Beach on the morning of June 6, 1944, with the 29th Division.

As teachers at the Renaissance Institute, retirees Sidney Leibovitz and Gregory Halpin fascinate their adult students with history courses ranging from the Chinese Revolution to French Connections. Their own histories are fascinating, too. Leibovitz's love of history dates to his service in the Army's 99th Infantry Division, where he fought in the Battle of the Bulge. Halpin is also a former longtime director of what is now the Maryland Port Administration - and he's was a radio newscaster in the late 1940s, when television was in its infancy.

Alger Zapf Jr., former president of the George H. Wahmann Manufacturing Co., died July 22 from complications of Alzheimer's disease at his home in Sarasota, Fla. The former North Baltimore resident was 86. Mr. Zapf was born and raised in Royal Oak, Mich., and graduated in 1942 from Dondero High School. He enlisted in the Army after high school, and part of his military training was at Western Maryland College, now McDaniel College, where he met his future wife, Frances Virginia Wahmann.

On Christmas Day during the Battle of the Bulge, Paul J. Wiedorfer charged 150 yards across a snow- and ice-covered field under intense enemy fire, single-handedly knocked out two German machine gun nests and took 24 prisoners. His spectacular feat earned him the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest military honor. "Suddenly something popped into my mind. Something had to be done, and someone had to do it. And I just did it. I can't tell you why," Mr. Wiedorfer recalled in a 2008 interview with The Baltimore Sun. Mr. Wiedorfer died Wednesday of heart failure at Loch Raven Community Living and Rehabilitation Center.

I find it very hard to believe the hatred of Sgt. Robert Bales in William Smith's recent letter ("Don't pity Sgt. Bales," March 29). Yes, the killing of innocent men, women and children was wrong, and my prayers go out to them. But what about the thousands of innocents who were killed on9/11? What about the thousands of our military service members who have been killed or injured fighting those who would kill us without thinking twice? It takes great strength and conviction to don a uniform in order to protect this country.

William King Pound, a decorated World War II tank commander who fought at the Battle of the Bulge and later established an advertising agency, died of primary lateral sclerosis May 8 at his Catonsville home. He was 82. Born in Baltimore and raised in the Ten Hills neighborhood, Mr. Pound was a 1942 graduate of Mount St. Joseph High School. After briefly attending Loyola College, he enlisted in the Army in 1943. He was a gunner on an M5 light tank assigned to the 4th Armored Division of Gen. George S. Patton Jr.'s 3rd Army when he landed on Utah Beach in June 1944, two weeks after the D-Day Normandy invasion.