In 1944 , Smilow enlisted in the army and after basic training was shipped to Europe , seeing action as an infantryman in the waning days of the war . Arriving in the French port of Le Havre , he travelled by train for two days in a box car until arriving in the Belgian town of Malmedy , where he witnessed the aftermath of the infamous Malmedy massacre and the carnage of the Battle of the Bulge , in the mountainous Ardennes region . Fighting in General Patton 's Third Army during the grueling winter of 1944 – 1945 , he was later awarded several medals including the Purple Heart for valor
Malmedy massacre
Malmedy massacre
Mel Smilow