Luc Rensonnet: Liberation Festival is important

Belgian veteran's son talks about his dad who joined the US army Luc Rensonnet from Belgium

is one of the faces of the Liberation Festival Pilsen. As the son of Georges Rensonnet, he represents Belgian veterans. He says that he first came to Pilsen with his dad in 2006 and was immediately impressed by the welcome they received from both city officials and residents: "The moment we checked into the Continental Hotel, the people of Pilsen were already impatiently waiting for us. I didn't expect to experience such enthusiasm and such appreciation from veterans who didn't consider themselves heroes. When I returned to Belgium, I told my friends that they wouldn't see this anywhere else." We bring you an interview from the April issue of Radniční listy.

How many times have you been to the Liberation Festival with your father, Georges Rensonnet?

I have been to Pilsen three times with my father. However, he participated in the Liberation Festival from 1990 to 2010. In the first two years, he was accompanied by his comrade-in-arms, Georges Honin. My father died in 2011, two weeks before the Liberation Festival. Since then, I have been coming to Pilsen regularly without him.

How did your father feel in Pilsen?

He did not want to miss the festival for anything in the world. Based on his personal experience, he initiated the participation of other veterans. For the 1995 celebrations, he rented an entire bus. 14 Belgian veterans arrived from Liège, accompanied by their family members. He met several mayors, and in 1990 he met President Václav Havel and the American Ambassador Shirley Temple Black. He often told me that Pilsen was his second hometown. He found many friends here. Over the past twenty years, I have managed to collect a number of photographs that capture my father in Pilsen.

Did he ever tell you about his experiences during the war and the liberation of Europe?

In general, veterans did not talk much about their war experiences. One day, one of my nephews asked him: “Grandpa, did you kill Germans?” He replied: “When you find yourself face to face with someone who is armed, you have no time to think. Either he or you shoot, but sometimes you have time to negotiate with the enemy and then you can calmly leave.” He said that he was often cold and hungry. For several years after the war, he suffered from frostbite on his feet. When the war ended, he immediately sent a letter from Pilsen to his family announcing this good news. I still have the envelope dated May 10, 1945, with the US ARMY POSTAL SERVICE stamp. There was great enthusiasm after the liberation, but he still had to remain vigilant, some enemies were still hiding. He was deeply moved by the flowers people threw at the jeeps and tanks, their smiles and hugs. He did not want to be considered a hero, but an ordinary soldier. He was reunited with his family only on March 28, 1946. Everyone was happy.

Your father was not actually a soldier. He was a young man who joined the American soldiers as a volunteer. He left Belgium, which had already been liberated, to fight for the freedom of others. Did he explain to you why he did it?

Not far from the house where my father lived during the war, there is a train station and the Meuse River. The bridges and railway lines were destroyed, which meant that the Germans could not advance any further. The surrounding area suffered considerable damage and casualties. 1,689 bombs were also dropped on Liège between September 1944 and the end of January 1945. Shortly after the liberation of Liège in September 1944, the Americans asked for reinforcements to finally defeat Germany. At that time, the Germans were five times more numerous. Volunteers who were between 20 and 26 years old signed up. Many minors who falsified their dates of birth also enlisted to defend not only their homeland. My father, who was too thin, was rejected the first time. But he soon showed up for a medical examination with lead in his pockets and in the hem of his trousers. The young volunteers wanted to contribute to ending the war, so they enlisted with the Americans. They remembered four years of German occupation, destroyed houses and, above all, the dead and wounded.

Georges Rensonnet was a member of the 17th Belgian Rifle Battalion…

A total of 57 rifle battalions were formed in Belgium at that time. The battalion consisted of a headquarters, a command company and five rifle companies. There were a total of 801 men, including 28 officers, 104 non-commissioned officers and 669 corporals and soldiers. There were no Belgian uniforms. The volunteers wore the uniforms and helmets of dead or wounded English soldiers. They were often stained with blood or with bullet holes. Several battalions remained in Belgium, three more fought in Holland, two took part in the Battle of the Bulge and others fought in Germany. Only five or six of them crossed the Rhine at Remagen. The military training of the 17th battalion took place in the town of Peruwelz and lasted only seven weeks. It consisted of training in the handling of weapons and grenades. This battalion was composed of volunteers from the province of Liège and reached Czechoslovakia, where it liberated the city of Pilsen. From March 4, 1945, it was placed at the disposal of the 1st US Army, commanded by General Hodges, and on April 28, 1945, it was attached to the 3rd US Army of General Patton. The battalion lost about thirty men. It captured more than 11,000 prisoners and seized 34 enemy aircraft and other important war material. The battalion returned to Belgium on July 13, 1945, the day when the Supreme Commander of the American armies, Dwight Eisenhower, addressed his most sincere thanks to it and declared that not only the battalion itself, but also the entire Belgian army, could be proud of its great deeds. The battalion was disbanded on March 28, 1946. It did not participate in any further battles. In 1946, the Brotherhood of the 17th Belgian Rifle Regiment was formed. There were several annual meetings and a quarterly magazine was published. It was called Viviane with a V for Victoria. A total of 271 issues were published, the first in February 1948 and the last in 2012. I own the entire collection of it.

Did your father ever tell you how the American soldiers treated them – the young Belgian volunteers?

The American soldiers were professional soldiers, while the 17th Battalion was made up of volunteers. That’s why they didn’t take the Belgians very seriously at first. But gradually they came to appreciate and value their help. You should know that the Belgians had very limited military education and their training was de facto done in combat. They were often deployed as scouts, clearing areas of mines so that the American troops could advance. What did your father do after the war? How did your family live? After the war, it was necessary to rebuild the country’s economy. We started from scratch. My father worked with his father as an independent insurance broker. Unfortunately, my grandfather died shortly after the war. The income was not great. Thanks to my father’s hard work, the family managed, I think we lived and still live wisely and honestly.

When did you become interested in the legacy of Belgian veterans?

My father was a member of the committee of the Brotherhood of the 17th Belgian Rifle Regiment, serving as secretary, then vice-chairman and president. I have always been interested in the activities of the battalion. When I first attended the Pilsen celebrations, I felt that I had to get involved in some way. One of the Belgian ambassadors in Prague asked me if it would be possible to revive the activities of the brotherhood, since veterans were becoming increasingly rare. In 2011, two weeks after my father’s death, I came to the Freedom Festival alone. I experienced something that deeply affected me. Several Pilsen residents came to express their condolences and their admiration for my father. One of them took out his wallet and showed me a photo of my father. He always carried it with him.

How important do you think the Liberation Festival is, even from a European perspective?

It is important to remember the past also in view of what is happening in other countries, such as Ukraine, Israel and Palestine or the Democratic Republic of Congo. That is why these celebrations must continue, especially the Pilsen ones, because they are the most important in Europe. I met people from different countries who participated in the celebrations, for example, from Sweden, Holland, Great Britain, and they said that Pilsen should be applauded for organizing them and that they felt good in your city.

Who will come to Pilsen from Belgium this May?

The Belgian delegation should consist of about three dozen people. Ten veterans will be represented by their loved ones, so Louis Gihoul, Paul Jacobs, José Schindfessel, Michel Gillain, Raymond Smeets, Valère Gustin, Raymond Philippart de Foy, Huber Rauw, Charles Dehousse and Georges Rensonnet will be present in Pilsen. We expect to participate in commemorative events, meetings with city representatives, a mass, the National Memory Run, visit Holýšov and be sure to attend the commemorative event Thank you, America! And in Belgium, we will also commemorate the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. In Liège, celebrations are planned in the city center at the resistance monument on May 8. We will also commemorate the 60th anniversary of the signing of partnership relations between Pilsen and Liège.

What are you most looking forward to in Pilsen?

Every year I look forward to meeting my Czech and American friends. The city makes a huge effort and I thank it for not forgetting the soldiers who faced the horrors of war and risked their young lives. Like my father, I am very attached to Pilsen. The celebrations are very emotional for me and every year I cry. Meeting my friends is the greatest joy for me. Anyway, I have one wish, and that is to see the 17th Rifle Battalion in connection with the Americans more often in articles in the press or on social networks. I know that compared to the United States, we are a small country. Fortunately, some Pilsen residents do not forget us. And it is not just about the number of my Czech friends.

So, thanks to the Liberation Festival, new relationships are being created?

Almost every year, Americans and Belgians met in Pilsen. They were happy to see each other again. But meetings and friendships with the residents of liberated Pilsen also increased. In 1990, the Jan Palach Award was established, a competition for students from Pilsen. The winner was invited to Belgium for about twenty days, where he lived with veterans. All expenses were paid by the Brotherhood of the Battalion. Among the winners is Klára Tvrdá, who married Paul Gillain, the son of a veteran. There were other unions between Belgians and Czechs. Other Pilsen residents were welcomed either by my father or by my wife and I. Above all, I would like to mention Pavla Kocourková. Pavla has been taking excellent care of the Belgian delegation for 20 years and has ensured our safety and stay. I would also like to mention several other people from the city hall who are close to us, as well as several mayors. Thanks to the initiative of veterans, the partnership between the cities of Liège and Pilsen, the Rotary clubs of both cities, as well as the Cathedral of St. Bartholomew and the collegiate church of the same name in Liège was confirmed. This demonstrates the friendship between the two countries and the two cities.

Georges Rensonnet

Born on May 17, 1924 in Liège, Belgium. He worked as an insurance agent from the age of 18, and after the war he founded the insurance agency Georges Rensonnet & Sons When he first volunteered for the US Army in September 1944, he was 1.83 meters tall and weighed 62 kilograms. He was rejected because of his low weight. He returned the same day, “fixed things up a bit”, and was 1.76 meters tall and weighed 66 kilograms. He was accepted. He crossed the Rhine with the US Army on March 27, 1945. He was appointed corporal in August 1945, demobilized on December 31, 1945, and was appointed sergeant in the reserve on January 1, 1946. He returned to his profession immediately after his demobilization. He was engaged and longed for a family. He was still working in the insurance office he founded at the age of 85. The Brotherhood of the 17th Belgian Rifle Regiment was founded in 1946, Georges Rensonnet became the Brotherhood's secretary ten years later, its vice-chairman in 1979, and its president in 2009. He participated in the Freedom Festival since 1991, and in the same year he received the Seal of the City of Pilsen. He died in April 2011.