Augusta Chiwy and Renee LeMaire are buried near each other in the Bastogne cemetery Family Plots.

Renee Lemaire: grave location is across the main entrance of the 'Bastogne Barracks' (right), the first entrance of three of the cemetery, and then some 55 yards into the cemetery

CEMETERY ID 2702175
Cimetière de Bastogne,
l’ancien cimetière civil de Bastogne

LOCATION
Rue de La-Roche 43, 6600 Bastogne,
Arrondissement de Bastogne,
Luxembourg, Belgique
Coordonnées GPS : 50.0081 5.7167 —

Cimetière de Bastogne Persons of Recognition:

• Renée Bernadette Émilie LeMaire

• Augusta Marie Chiwy

In southern Belgium’s Wallonia region is the town Bastogne; near Bastogne in Luxembourg province of Belgium is the Cimetière de Bastogne (Route N834), past Chapelle Saint-Laurent on same side of road (Saint-Laurent Chapel; Chapelle classée située dans l’ancien cimetière civil de la ville), and is directly across the road from the main entrance of the 'Bastogne Barracks'; Mardasson Memorial the monument honoring the memory of American soldiers wounded or killed during World War II's Battle of the Bulge, and the War Museum near.

Contributor: Gwynne H Seward (49350923)

Wikipedia:

Augusta Chiwy

Augusta Chiwy (born 1921) was a retired Belgian nurse who served as a volunteer during the siege of Bastogne. She worked with US Army doctor John "Jack" Prior and fellow Belgian nurse Renee Lemaire, treating injured soldiers during the Battle of the Bulge.

Biography

Chiwy was the daughter of a Belgian veterinarian from Bastogne and his Congolese wife, and was born in the Belgian Congo. She returned to Belgium at the age of nine. In 1940, when she was 19, she went to Leuven to be trained as a nurse.

On 16 December 1944, the day the Germans launched their offensive, Chiwy returned to her family in Bastogne for Christmas. At that time the town seemed safely in American hands, but within days was surrounded by German troops advancing into Belgium during the Battle of the Bulge. Chiwy attended to civilian and military casualties with her uncle, a doctor, until 21 December, when she volunteered to serve as a nurse at the first-aid station of the 20th Armored Infantry Battalion, 10th Armored Division, commanded by Dr. John Prior. Chiwy worked at the aid station in the Rue Neufchateau, and even donned an Army uniform in order to go out into the field to collect the wounded while under fire.

On 24 December 1944, the first aid station was hit by a German bomb, killing over 30 wounded men and another volunteer nurse Renee Lemaire. Chiwy was with Prior in an adjoining building and was blown through a wall, but survived unhurt. She continued to assist the American forces until the siege was finally lifted two days later.

After the war Chiwy worked at a hospital treating spinal injuries, married a Belgian soldier and had two children.

She rarely spoke of her experiences after the war, and it was assumed in some historical accounts of the battle that she had died there. British historian Martin King, while researching his book Voices of the Bulge, finally tracked her down in a retirement home near Brussels, hearing her story, and bringing her to public attention.

Stephen Ambrose makes a passing reference to her in his book Band of Brothers, under the name "Anna", and she also briefly appears in the television series based on the book,portrayed by Rebecca Okot.

Awards

On 24 June 2011 Chiwy was made a Knight in the Order of the Crown. The medal was presented in the name of King Albert II of Belgium by Belgium's Minister of Defence Pieter De Crem.
On 12 December 2011 Chiwy was awarded the Civilian Award for Humanitarian Service by the United States Department of the Army. It was presented to her by the U.S. Ambassador to Belgium Howard Gutman.

____________________________________________________________

The following is from the Facebook tribute page of Augusta Chiwy, created by one of Augusta's biggest fans, author,producer, Martin King:

In December, 1944 during the biggest land battle in US military history, black Belgian nurse Augusta Chiwy had a choice. To remain in the safety of her cellar or to risk everything by volunteering to work for the US Army who were under siege and in desperate need of trained medical personnel in a city completely surrounded by Nazi’s. She chose the most dangerous option, to tend wounded GI’s in the most deplorable conditions imaginable. They had no winter clothing, little food, and hardly any medical supplies. During this time she met and fell for a white American Medic who became her lifelong friend. For the duration she donned a cut down US Army uniform because her own clothes were so badly soiled.Hers is the last great unknown story of World War Two. It is unique in many aspects. We need reminding that there were other heroes with other motivations that have remained unsung. This is the other side of war, the war where duty was assumed and not appointed. Before World War Two began Augusta Chiwy had already had a hard life. She had been part of what the Belgian government recognized as the ‘problème des métis,’ “the mulatto problem", one of the darker consequences of Belgium's colonial past. One solution was to forcefully repatriate these children during the 20’s and 30’s. Augusta was brought to Belgium by her father. Her life had not been a bed of roses but then in May 1940 Germans invaded, World War Two happened and things took a drastic turn for the worse. The courage and selfless determination of Augusta Chiwy shows how one woman volunteered and saved the lives of many, many wounded GI’s. In both the book and the HBO series Band of Brothers, author Stephen Ambrose had referred to Augusta somewhat dismissively as ‘Anna’ the ‘Black nurse from the Congo’ despite the fact that she did far much more than her white colleague Renée Lemaire who was positively venerated by Ambrose. Her erstwhile boss Captain John ‘Jack’ Prior was one of the most highly decorated surgeons in the US army in World War Two. During the infamous Battle of the Bulge circumstances conspired to create this unlikely and dynamic partnership in Bastogne, as the conditions gradually deteriorated and extracted their toll in human life it became a real hell on earth.

This is about the triumph of the human spirit in the face of extreme adversity it’s about a black woman in a white man’s war. When author Martin King discovered this remarkable story, he began a fervent campaign to get this amazing woman the recognition she deserved. Recently she was honoured by King Albert II of Belgium when he bestowed her with the highest civilian award possible the ‘Order of the Knight of the Crown’ for her work during World War Two. This is the Belgian equivalent of a knighthood. She also received the ‘Civilian Award for Humanitarian Service’ from the United States Armed forces and was made an honorary member of the illustrious 101st Airborne Division. Martin and Michael were was invited to lecture at West Point Military Academy, Valley forge Military College, The Pentagon and a host of other locations in the US and Europe.
____________________________________________________________

Film The Forgotten Angel of Bastogne wins Emmy Documentary – Historical award

July 29, 2015 - The Bulletin website
Sarah Crew

“I mentioned Bastogne and she clammed up,” says historian Martin King as he describes the painstaking process of encouraging Augusta Chiwy to recall the traumatic events of December 1944. The Antwerp-based British author had tracked down Chiwy to a care home in Brussels after hearing about her wartime exploits while researching a book. She was suffering from selective mutism and had never spoken about the war, her children told King.

After risking her own life to treat injured soldiers during the Battle of the Bulge, Chiwy’s bravery went unrecognised and her trauma undiagnosed. But King’s persistence paid off, resulting in a book The Forgotten Nurse and Emmy-winning documentary The Forgotten Angel of Bastogne. Produced by King, the film was released in October 2014, ahead of the 70th anniversary of the Ardennes battle.

Although overlooked for more than 60 years, Chiwy made an unacknowledged appearance in the acclaimed TV WWII series Band of Brothers. ‘Angel of Bastogne’ nurse Renée Lemaire referred to her as Anna, “a black nurse from the Congo”. Chiwy, now 94, was born in the Belgian Congo and trained as a nurse in Leuven. She was visiting her father in Bastogne when the German army launched a surprise offensive that besieged the small town. It was to be the final campaign of the war and the second bloodiest in the history of the US army.

Through archive material, personal testimonies and original illustrations, the documentary provides a historic account of the battle and how 23-year-old Chiwy became caught up in unfolding horror. King’s quest to find the forgotten nurse is interspersed in the narration; a modern and parallel tale of triumph over adversity. After successive trips to various Brussels communes he finally discovered her in a Jette care home. “I was teaching at the time at Antwerp University, but I would visit her twice a week, turn on a hand held camera and ask ‘How are you today Augusta?’. It was about six months before I brought up the war.”

King’s elation at discovering Chiwy was initially offset by her inability to talk. “She was a deeply scarred woman and was very upset by the war. I was careful about what I asked her and finally she said, ‘ what do you want to know? The first word up to this point was ‘prior’. I didn’t get it, and then the penny dropped and she was using the French inflexion for Prior, Jack Prior, who was the US army surgeon running the 10th Armored Division’s aid station in Bastogne, says King.

“What this woman experienced in one month is horrendous, life at its nadir. She was in a hovel, caring for the wounded, treating haemorrhage, with no equipment and little medication,” he says. It was her skills, rather than Lemaire who shied away from blood and trauma, that helped save lives. She assisted in emergency amputations and on one occasion accompanied Prior to the battlefield to rescue injured soldiers. While dragging one soldier, shot in the leg, towards safety, she survived a hail of German bullets. When Prior told her it was her small size that helped evade the gunfire, she retorted, ‘Oh, so they’re not going to see a black face in white snow? They’re just bad shots,’ ” recounts King.

Lemaire, 30, was killed when the aid station took a direct hit during a German bombing raid. Chiwy, escaped by being in a next-door building, although the blast threw her through a wall, says King.

Prior defended Chiwy against the racism that was prevalent at the time. “It was written into regulations that black nurses could not treat white soldiers and he got around this by saying she was a volunteer. He told soldiers, ‘ You either let her treat you or you die’. Chiwy nevertheless suffered abuse. “She said to me that nursing was one of the only professions in the world where a black women could treat men with impunity.”

“From Prior’s diaries, I found out that they were deeply involved, which was risky, because of the army’s racial bar at the time.” After the Allies’ counter-offensive caused the German army to retreat, Prior left Bastogne with his division. Chiwy went on to marry a Belgian soldier and didn’t return to nursing until 1964.

“One detail not included in the film is that when they separated he gave her an address to write to but she got a letter from the war office saying that he had been killed in action. She was absolutely heartbroken. But then in the early 1950s she received a Christmas card and box of chocolates from him in the States,” says King.

They kept in touch for 60 years, continuing to send chocolates to each other at Christmas,” says King. The pair were reunited in Bastogne in 1994 for the 50th anniversary commemorations and spent some time together. Prior, who became a respected pathologist in the US after the war, died in 2007. “He chose pathology because he couldn’t bear to see people suffering and in pain,” explains King.

King’s admiration for the nursing profession runs deep. “My mother, wife, sister, and daughter are nurses,” he say. “That’s why the overriding theme of the documentary is about caring, it transcends every other consideration, religion race and age.”

He is delighted to win an award: “I’ve never won anything before and if I never win anything again this little trophy is the validation that I wanted. I will treasure it for the rest of my days. Thank you ‘The Emmy Awards’ for being so gracious and thanks to my wife Freya and all those wonderful expats who have supported and encouraged me throughout”.

King’s campaign to gain Chiwy long-overdue recognition resulted in King Albert II making her a Belgian knight of the realm and the US army giving her a civilian award for humanitarian service. She has also been made a citizen of Bastogne. Chiwy is loving the attention and receives between 60 and a 100 letters a week, says King.

“She refers to herself as La Reine de la Magnolia, in reference to the care home. She has an edge on her this lass. I love her to bits and she’s a great friend of the family. Now when I visit, she’s waiting for me and shouts out so loud you can hear her from one end of the corridor to the other.”

King’s commitment to Chiwy includes the Augusta Chiwy Foundation which encourages racial harmony through education with an emphasis on the shared history between the US and Europe. The foundation consists of a voluntary programme that organises lectures and screenings of the film and King spearheads the foundations work in Belgium. He is currently looking for help in to promote the cause which focuses on two histories, the Congo and World War Two. “We need volunteers to get the film and book into schools, colleges and universities in Belgium and abroad. This is a great cause to get behind.”

The Forgotten Angel of Bastogne by Michael Edwards (US/Bel 2014, 94 mins. English and French versions).

Augusta Chiwy and Renee LeMaire are buried near each other in the Bastogne cemetery Family Plots.

Renee Lemaire: grave location is across the main entrance of the 'Bastogne Barracks' (right), the first entrance of three of the cemetery, and then some 55 yards into the cemetery

CEMETERY ID 2702175
Cimetière de Bastogne,
l’ancien cimetière civil de Bastogne

LOCATION
Rue de La-Roche 43, 6600 Bastogne,
Arrondissement de Bastogne,
Luxembourg, Belgique
Coordonnées GPS : 50.0081 5.7167 —

Cimetière de Bastogne Persons of Recognition:

• Renée Bernadette Émilie LeMaire

• Augusta Marie Chiwy

In southern Belgium’s Wallonia region is the town Bastogne; near Bastogne in Luxembourg province of Belgium is the Cimetière de Bastogne (Route N834), past Chapelle Saint-Laurent on same side of road (Saint-Laurent Chapel; Chapelle classée située dans l’ancien cimetière civil de la ville), and is directly across the road from the main entrance of the 'Bastogne Barracks'; Mardasson Memorial the monument honoring the memory of American soldiers wounded or killed during World War II's Battle of the Bulge, and the War Museum near.

Contributor: Gwynne H Seward (49350923)

Wikipedia:

Augusta Chiwy

Augusta Chiwy (born 1921) was a retired Belgian nurse who served as a volunteer during the siege of Bastogne. She worked with US Army doctor John "Jack" Prior and fellow Belgian nurse Renee Lemaire, treating injured soldiers during the Battle of the Bulge.

Biography

Chiwy was the daughter of a Belgian veterinarian from Bastogne and his Congolese wife, and was born in the Belgian Congo. She returned to Belgium at the age of nine. In 1940, when she was 19, she went to Leuven to be trained as a nurse.

On 16 December 1944, the day the Germans launched their offensive, Chiwy returned to her family in Bastogne for Christmas. At that time the town seemed safely in American hands, but within days was surrounded by German troops advancing into Belgium during the Battle of the Bulge. Chiwy attended to civilian and military casualties with her uncle, a doctor, until 21 December, when she volunteered to serve as a nurse at the first-aid station of the 20th Armored Infantry Battalion, 10th Armored Division, commanded by Dr. John Prior. Chiwy worked at the aid station in the Rue Neufchateau, and even donned an Army uniform in order to go out into the field to collect the wounded while under fire.

On 24 December 1944, the first aid station was hit by a German bomb, killing over 30 wounded men and another volunteer nurse Renee Lemaire. Chiwy was with Prior in an adjoining building and was blown through a wall, but survived unhurt. She continued to assist the American forces until the siege was finally lifted two days later.

After the war Chiwy worked at a hospital treating spinal injuries, married a Belgian soldier and had two children.

She rarely spoke of her experiences after the war, and it was assumed in some historical accounts of the battle that she had died there. British historian Martin King, while researching his book Voices of the Bulge, finally tracked her down in a retirement home near Brussels, hearing her story, and bringing her to public attention.

Stephen Ambrose makes a passing reference to her in his book Band of Brothers, under the name "Anna", and she also briefly appears in the television series based on the book,portrayed by Rebecca Okot.

Awards

On 24 June 2011 Chiwy was made a Knight in the Order of the Crown. The medal was presented in the name of King Albert II of Belgium by Belgium's Minister of Defence Pieter De Crem.
On 12 December 2011 Chiwy was awarded the Civilian Award for Humanitarian Service by the United States Department of the Army. It was presented to her by the U.S. Ambassador to Belgium Howard Gutman.

____________________________________________________________

The following is from the Facebook tribute page of Augusta Chiwy, created by one of Augusta's biggest fans, author,producer, Martin King:

In December, 1944 during the biggest land battle in US military history, black Belgian nurse Augusta Chiwy had a choice. To remain in the safety of her cellar or to risk everything by volunteering to work for the US Army who were under siege and in desperate need of trained medical personnel in a city completely surrounded by Nazi’s. She chose the most dangerous option, to tend wounded GI’s in the most deplorable conditions imaginable. They had no winter clothing, little food, and hardly any medical supplies. During this time she met and fell for a white American Medic who became her lifelong friend. For the duration she donned a cut down US Army uniform because her own clothes were so badly soiled.Hers is the last great unknown story of World War Two. It is unique in many aspects. We need reminding that there were other heroes with other motivations that have remained unsung. This is the other side of war, the war where duty was assumed and not appointed. Before World War Two began Augusta Chiwy had already had a hard life. She had been part of what the Belgian government recognized as the ‘problème des métis,’ “the mulatto problem", one of the darker consequences of Belgium's colonial past. One solution was to forcefully repatriate these children during the 20’s and 30’s. Augusta was brought to Belgium by her father. Her life had not been a bed of roses but then in May 1940 Germans invaded, World War Two happened and things took a drastic turn for the worse. The courage and selfless determination of Augusta Chiwy shows how one woman volunteered and saved the lives of many, many wounded GI’s. In both the book and the HBO series Band of Brothers, author Stephen Ambrose had referred to Augusta somewhat dismissively as ‘Anna’ the ‘Black nurse from the Congo’ despite the fact that she did far much more than her white colleague Renée Lemaire who was positively venerated by Ambrose. Her erstwhile boss Captain John ‘Jack’ Prior was one of the most highly decorated surgeons in the US army in World War Two. During the infamous Battle of the Bulge circumstances conspired to create this unlikely and dynamic partnership in Bastogne, as the conditions gradually deteriorated and extracted their toll in human life it became a real hell on earth.

This is about the triumph of the human spirit in the face of extreme adversity it’s about a black woman in a white man’s war. When author Martin King discovered this remarkable story, he began a fervent campaign to get this amazing woman the recognition she deserved. Recently she was honoured by King Albert II of Belgium when he bestowed her with the highest civilian award possible the ‘Order of the Knight of the Crown’ for her work during World War Two. This is the Belgian equivalent of a knighthood. She also received the ‘Civilian Award for Humanitarian Service’ from the United States Armed forces and was made an honorary member of the illustrious 101st Airborne Division. Martin and Michael were was invited to lecture at West Point Military Academy, Valley forge Military College, The Pentagon and a host of other locations in the US and Europe.
____________________________________________________________

Film The Forgotten Angel of Bastogne wins Emmy Documentary – Historical award

July 29, 2015 - The Bulletin website
Sarah Crew

“I mentioned Bastogne and she clammed up,” says historian Martin King as he describes the painstaking process of encouraging Augusta Chiwy to recall the traumatic events of December 1944. The Antwerp-based British author had tracked down Chiwy to a care home in Brussels after hearing about her wartime exploits while researching a book. She was suffering from selective mutism and had never spoken about the war, her children told King.

After risking her own life to treat injured soldiers during the Battle of the Bulge, Chiwy’s bravery went unrecognised and her trauma undiagnosed. But King’s persistence paid off, resulting in a book The Forgotten Nurse and Emmy-winning documentary The Forgotten Angel of Bastogne. Produced by King, the film was released in October 2014, ahead of the 70th anniversary of the Ardennes battle.

Although overlooked for more than 60 years, Chiwy made an unacknowledged appearance in the acclaimed TV WWII series Band of Brothers. ‘Angel of Bastogne’ nurse Renée Lemaire referred to her as Anna, “a black nurse from the Congo”. Chiwy, now 94, was born in the Belgian Congo and trained as a nurse in Leuven. She was visiting her father in Bastogne when the German army launched a surprise offensive that besieged the small town. It was to be the final campaign of the war and the second bloodiest in the history of the US army.

Through archive material, personal testimonies and original illustrations, the documentary provides a historic account of the battle and how 23-year-old Chiwy became caught up in unfolding horror. King’s quest to find the forgotten nurse is interspersed in the narration; a modern and parallel tale of triumph over adversity. After successive trips to various Brussels communes he finally discovered her in a Jette care home. “I was teaching at the time at Antwerp University, but I would visit her twice a week, turn on a hand held camera and ask ‘How are you today Augusta?’. It was about six months before I brought up the war.”

King’s elation at discovering Chiwy was initially offset by her inability to talk. “She was a deeply scarred woman and was very upset by the war. I was careful about what I asked her and finally she said, ‘ what do you want to know? The first word up to this point was ‘prior’. I didn’t get it, and then the penny dropped and she was using the French inflexion for Prior, Jack Prior, who was the US army surgeon running the 10th Armored Division’s aid station in Bastogne, says King.

“What this woman experienced in one month is horrendous, life at its nadir. She was in a hovel, caring for the wounded, treating haemorrhage, with no equipment and little medication,” he says. It was her skills, rather than Lemaire who shied away from blood and trauma, that helped save lives. She assisted in emergency amputations and on one occasion accompanied Prior to the battlefield to rescue injured soldiers. While dragging one soldier, shot in the leg, towards safety, she survived a hail of German bullets. When Prior told her it was her small size that helped evade the gunfire, she retorted, ‘Oh, so they’re not going to see a black face in white snow? They’re just bad shots,’ ” recounts King.

Lemaire, 30, was killed when the aid station took a direct hit during a German bombing raid. Chiwy, escaped by being in a next-door building, although the blast threw her through a wall, says King.

Prior defended Chiwy against the racism that was prevalent at the time. “It was written into regulations that black nurses could not treat white soldiers and he got around this by saying she was a volunteer. He told soldiers, ‘ You either let her treat you or you die’. Chiwy nevertheless suffered abuse. “She said to me that nursing was one of the only professions in the world where a black women could treat men with impunity.”

“From Prior’s diaries, I found out that they were deeply involved, which was risky, because of the army’s racial bar at the time.” After the Allies’ counter-offensive caused the German army to retreat, Prior left Bastogne with his division. Chiwy went on to marry a Belgian soldier and didn’t return to nursing until 1964.

“One detail not included in the film is that when they separated he gave her an address to write to but she got a letter from the war office saying that he had been killed in action. She was absolutely heartbroken. But then in the early 1950s she received a Christmas card and box of chocolates from him in the States,” says King.

They kept in touch for 60 years, continuing to send chocolates to each other at Christmas,” says King. The pair were reunited in Bastogne in 1994 for the 50th anniversary commemorations and spent some time together. Prior, who became a respected pathologist in the US after the war, died in 2007. “He chose pathology because he couldn’t bear to see people suffering and in pain,” explains King.

King’s admiration for the nursing profession runs deep. “My mother, wife, sister, and daughter are nurses,” he say. “That’s why the overriding theme of the documentary is about caring, it transcends every other consideration, religion race and age.”

He is delighted to win an award: “I’ve never won anything before and if I never win anything again this little trophy is the validation that I wanted. I will treasure it for the rest of my days. Thank you ‘The Emmy Awards’ for being so gracious and thanks to my wife Freya and all those wonderful expats who have supported and encouraged me throughout”.

King’s campaign to gain Chiwy long-overdue recognition resulted in King Albert II making her a Belgian knight of the realm and the US army giving her a civilian award for humanitarian service. She has also been made a citizen of Bastogne. Chiwy is loving the attention and receives between 60 and a 100 letters a week, says King.

“She refers to herself as La Reine de la Magnolia, in reference to the care home. She has an edge on her this lass. I love her to bits and she’s a great friend of the family. Now when I visit, she’s waiting for me and shouts out so loud you can hear her from one end of the corridor to the other.”

King’s commitment to Chiwy includes the Augusta Chiwy Foundation which encourages racial harmony through education with an emphasis on the shared history between the US and Europe. The foundation consists of a voluntary programme that organises lectures and screenings of the film and King spearheads the foundations work in Belgium. He is currently looking for help in to promote the cause which focuses on two histories, the Congo and World War Two. “We need volunteers to get the film and book into schools, colleges and universities in Belgium and abroad. This is a great cause to get behind.”

The Forgotten Angel of Bastogne by Michael Edwards (US/Bel 2014, 94 mins. English and French versions).