The E-Sylum:  Volume 5, Number 46, November 17, 2002, Article 18

JULES REIVER'S WARTIME EXPERIENCES

  Monday was Veteran's Day, and I thought of my friend
  Julius "Jules" Reiver of Wilmington, DE.   I visited with
  Jules and his wife Iona on many an evening several years
  ago while traveling in Wilmington on business.   Jules is
  one of the finest numismatists in the country, and those
  evenings are among my most pleasurable hobby memories.

  So I gave him a call and spoke to both Jules and Iona
  for a while.  Those who don't know Jules well may not
  be aware of his WW II experiences.   As the commander
  of an anti-aircraft unit he trained British troops on
  the use of new American weapons, led his men onto
  Omaha Beach on D-Day, and his unit played a key role
  in turning the tide against the Germans in the Battle of the
  Bulge.  He was interviewed by war correspondent Ernie
  Pyle and after the war, the role of "Lieutenant Colonel
  Daniel Kiley", which was modeled after Reiver, was
  played by Henry Fonda in the 1965 film, "Battle of the
  Bulge."   The Hollywood version bore only a slight
  resemblance to reality, but 'That's Entertainment".

  According to Jules, real life being the mess it is, what really
  happened that day was a series of errors that would
  have turned the war movie into a comedy.  First, understand
  that when aimed horizontally, anti-aircraft guns make dandy
  anti-tank guns.  Dispatched to guard a key fuel depot,
  Reiver's unit came within yards of an advancing German
  tank unit.  One of his units' guns had become mired in the
  mud and they were using vehicles to pull it out.

  The roar of the enginess as they strained to pull the stuck
  vehicle apparently fooled the Germans (who weren't yet
  within sight)  into thinking there was a larger unit of
  Allied tanks awaiting  them.  So they turned away.  Had
  they advanced, Reiver's hamstrung unit could not have
  stopped them.  As it turned out, that one wrong turn was
  a key turning point in the battle, and thus a key turning
  point in the war for Europe.

  Wayne Homren, Editor

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