POWs from U.S. 82nd Airborne awaiting transport to POW camp, Holland, September 1944

82nd POWs, Holland 1944

During a brief lull in the action at the Falaise Gap, Doc Bulger began nosing through some of the German wreckage. A dead Kraut driver sat in the front seat of a disabled, nondescript two-door sedan. But in the backseat, Doc discovered several briefcases.  Curious, he opened one to find it packed full of baby-blue bills—1,000 Franc, French notes. Had he stumbled onto a German Division’s payroll?

A life of luxury, early retirement, a debt-free, Stateside medical practice—the possibilities seemed endless. But just then, an uninvited visitor from above peered over Doc’s shoulder.  A man of the cloth, Chaplain Joseph Esser, abruptly interrupted Bulger’s wistful glimpse into a privileged future. “You have to turn that in to Regiment!” Esser counseled. So much for Doc’s big dreams! He’d have to work for a living after all.



"Doc" Bulger, 3rd Batt. Surgeon, 90th Inf. Div.

Soldiers of the U.S. 2nd Infantry Division clear a street of German defenders in Brest, France, August 1944.