The State Bar Association of North Dakota Spring 2015 Gavel Magazine | Page 11

He was towed in a glider and landed behind
enemy lines near Wesel, Germany. Because
of the combat wounds he received on March
25 he did not return to his unit. Instead he
recovered at several hospitals in the United
States before his discharge on November
1 at Hot Springs, Arkansas. Aas received
the Purple Heart for combat wounds and
the Bronze Star for heroic and meritorious
action.

Lynn Aas stands
at the United
States Military
Cemetery in
Luxembourg on
March 27, by the
crosses marking
the graves of
fallen comrades
from the 17th
Airborne
Division of the
U.S. Army.

Prior to departing for Belgium, Aas was
invited by Senator John Hoeven to be
his guest and be recognized at President
Obama’s State of the Union Address in
Washington on January 20.
In Belgium, Aas and his family were part
of an official group of some 70 Americans
attending the Battle of the Bulge anniversary
commemoration events. Four of them,
including Aas, were 17th Airborne Division
veterans.

Medal. At both cemeteries, Aas left flowers
at the graves of platoon members, including
two friends he saw fall in battle.

During their 10-day trip they attended
events and ceremonies at seven nearby
towns, in addition to visiting U.S. military
cemeteries in Margraten, the Netherlands,
and in Luxembourg, where Aas was
presented with the Luxembourg Military

At all the anniversary events, the four
veterans were honored and presented with
gifts. The people of Bastogne unveiled a tree
bearing Aas’s name in a nearby Woods of
Peace they have developed. Also in Bastogne,
they visited a school that has adopted the

17th Airborne Division and incorporated
the soldiers’ World War II actions into
its curriculum. There, Aas presented the
students with a “LUVND” North Dakota
license plate.
Aas’s platoon in the Battle of the Bulge
fought near Dead Man’s Ridge, a 13-mile
defense area near the Belgium town of
Flamierge. “The name of the ridge speaks

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