On December 6, 1944, Colonel Leander L. Doan sat down somewhere in Germany and wrote a letter home.
It appeared ordinary enough. Four pages of handwritten correspondence to family. Christmas wishes. News from the front. A request for crackers, cookies, shrimp, and lobster if anyone happened to find some.
Yet history gives that letter a significance that neither Doan nor his family could have fully appreciated at the time.
Ten days later, on December 16, 1944, Adolf Hitler would launch what became known as the Battle of the Bulge, the largest and bloodiest battle fought by the United States Army during World War II. Hundreds of thousands of men would collide in the forests and villages of the Ardennes. Thousands would die. Entire units would be overrun, surrounded, and forced into desperate fights for survival.
When Colonel Doan penned his letter, none of that had happened yet.
The war was already behind him.
The war was still ahead of him.
And that is what makes the letter extraordinary.
The contents are authentic—and the details align remarkably well with documented operations of Task Force Doan, the 32nd Armored Regiment, and the 3rd Armored Division—the letter offers a rare snapshot of a combat commander standing between two historic campaigns.
By December 1944, Doan had already earned a reputation as one of the Army’s most aggressive armored leaders. His Distinguished Service Cross was awarded for personally leading an assault under intense enemy fire in Normandy. Historical records show him spearheading attacks across France and later commanding increasingly larger formations as the war progressed. He would eventually retire as a Major General, but in December 1944 he was still simply doing what he had done throughout the war: leading from the front.
The letter describes the Normandy breakout.
“We led out on the breakthrough,” he wrote.
That sentence understates one of the defining moments of the European campaign. Doan recalled two days of continuous fighting to break through German defenses. He noted that newspapers made it appear easy, a rapid advance across France. The reality was far different. Every mile was contested.
He wrote of fighting the Panzer Lehr Division and the 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler, among the most capable armored formations Germany possessed. He described being surrounded for thirty-six hours and requiring blood plasma to be delivered by aircraft. He mentioned suffering a bullet wound through one arm and a shell fragment wound in the other.
Then comes the sentence that stops the reader cold.
“How I came through unscathed I’ll never know. I quit counting after the 9th or 10th time the people next to me were killed and I walked off.”
There is no drama attached to the statement.
No explanation.
No complaint.
Only fact.
That may tell us more about the generation that fought World War II than any history book ever written.
These men endured experiences that would define entire lifetimes and often discussed them with less emotion than modern people reserve for a delayed airline flight.
Doan also wrote about German 88-millimeter guns, weapons feared by every Allied tanker in Europe.
“There’s no getting around those 88s,” he admitted. “They go through anything and their gunners are deadly accurate.”
Even in victory, there was respect for the enemy.
Yet perhaps the most important thing about the letter is not what it says.
It is what it does not say.
Nowhere does Doan mention the massive German offensive that was about to erupt. Nowhere does he predict the Battle of the Bulge. Nowhere does he suggest that some of the hardest fighting of the war remained ahead.
He could not know.
No one could.
Ten days later, everything would change.
Historical records show that Task Force Doan and elements of the 3rd Armored Division would be heavily engaged during the Ardennes campaign. We do not know what Colonel Doan was thinking as he folded the letter and sent it home. We do not know whether he sensed another battle was coming. We do not know what experiences awaited him in the weeks ahead.
What we do know is that the calm reflected in those pages would be short-lived.
The letter survives because someone preserved it. Today, eighty-two years later, it remains more than a family keepsake. It is a time capsule from a pivotal moment in history. A decorated combat commander, already wounded and battle-tested, sat down to write home just days before one of the greatest battles in American military history erupted around him.
History remembers the Battle of the Bulge.
This letter reminds us of the man who walked into it.
And perhaps the most remarkable thing of all is that after surviving Normandy, fighting elite German panzer divisions, being wounded, surrounded, and watching friends die beside him, Colonel Leander L. Doan ended his letter not with talk of glory or victory, but with Christmas wishes and a request for cookies.
That simple humanity may be the most enduring legacy of all.
Here is a transcript of the letter, since cursive handwriting is now an ancient language to current generations.
Page 1
Colonel L. L. Doan, O-16839
HQ, 33d Armored Regiment
A.P.O. 253 c/o Postmaster, New York CityDec 6th, 1944
Somewhere in GermanyDear Frank & Jan:
By now you probably have a copy of the clippings I sent Mother, & she has no doubt kept you informed. I’m still in one piece.
Have had quite some experiences. We led out on the breakthrough. Only it took us two days of continuous fighting to finish breaking through. We left 44 Jerry tanks on our path from just west of St. Lo to Coutances.
From there on we made two to thirty miles a day. The papers made it look like a walk away. But still there were from one to half a dozen thirty minute fights every day on the road.
You can tell your friends your
Page 2
brother personally, with his task force, has fought it out twice with the Panzer Lehr Div. & one real battle with the Adolf Hitler 1st SS Panzer Div. That was the [Ranes? Mortain?] battle which closed the Falaise Gap.
It was really grim. I drew the main route right thru their best organized defenses. Their mission was to stop us or die in place. They did the latter. That’s the place they had me surrounded 36 hours & had to fly in blood plasma — a bomber dropped it to us. Other outfits have copied service.
How I came thru unscathed I’ll never know. I quit counting after the 9th or 10th time the people next to me were killed & I walked off.
So far I’ve gotten off with one bullet thru my arm & one shell fragment in
Page 3
my arm — now removed and OK.
We were the first thru both sets of dragon’s teeth. That was some show too — remind me to tell you about it when I get home.
My tank was one of the ones to survive the breakthrough but it wasn’t because they didn’t shoot at me. I was lucky — they missed.
On equipment. Ours is tops. You must balance weight against maneuverability. There’s no getting around those 88s though. They go thru anything & their gunners are deadly accurate.
It was in the paper yesterday about the 2d Armored pitched battle with Jerry tanks. The enemy lost 110 — & we won the battle. There’s your
Page 4
answer.
Bill Redmond did take the wrong turn in our first action before St. Lo. He was badly shot up & has only just gotten back to limited duty as an MP in Paris.
Enough about this mess. It’s one helluva rough job & we’ll all be glad to get it over. Hope getting to the Rhine will convince them but I doubt it.
My very best to Jan and the two young ones. Surely am looking forward to seeing them, & you all again.
Merry Xmas & Happy New Year.
Love to all,
Clang
(signature appears to be “Clang” or similar nickname)P.S. Request:
If you see any crackers, cookies, or small cans of shrimp or lobster I’d enjoy them very much.
Thanks.
L.L.D.
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