Whereas the battle in the European theater of operations during World War II known as the Battle of the Bulge was fought from December 16, 1944, to January 25, 1945; Whereas the Battle of the Bulge was a major German offensive in the Ardennes forest region of Belgium and Luxembourg which took Allied Forces by surprise and was intended to split the Allied Forces in Europe by breaking through the Allied lines, crippling the Allied fuel supply lines, and exacerbating tensions within the alliance; Whereas 600,000 American troops, joined by 55,000 British, Belgian, Canadian, and other Allied Forces defeated Germany in the Battle of the Bulge, overcoming numerous disadvantages in the early days of the battle that included fewer numbers, treacherous terrain, and bitter weather conditions; Whereas the Battle of the Bulge resulted in over 89,000 United States casualties, including 19,000 soldiers killed, 47,500 wounded, and more than 23,000 captured or missing-in-action; Whereas the worst atrocity involving Americans in the European theater during World War II, known as the Malmedy Massacre, occurred on December 17, 1944, when 86 unarmed American prisoners of war were gunned down by elements of the German 1st SS Panzer Division; Whereas American, British, Belgian, Canadian, and other forces overcame great odds throughout the battle, including most famously the action of the 101st Airborne Division in holding back German forces at the key Belgian crossroads town of Bastogne, thereby preventing German forces from achieving their main objective of reaching Antwerp as well as the Meuse River line; Whereas the success of American, British, Belgian, Canadian, and other forces in defeating the German attack made possible the defeat of Nazi Germany in May 1945; Whereas thousands of United States veterans of the Battle of the Bulge have traveled to Belgium and Luxembourg in the years since the battle to honor their fallen comrades who died during the battle