Day 1 of Bud‘s return to his battlefields:

Our first stop was the beautiful and mighty Marienberg Fortress in Würzburg, Germany.

During the first week of April 1945, Bud and his comrades in the Anti Tank Company, 222 Infantry Regiment, 42nd ‘Rainbow’ Division were in positions just under the turrets. Their 57 mm guns fired out over the city from high up on the fortress walls. A few of the men would be awarded Bronze Stars for Valor because of their courageous contributions during the battle.

Day 2 of Bud’s return to his battlefields:

We visited Dachau concentration camp where Bud had patrolled the surrounding woods on April 29 1945, the day of the camp’s liberation.

His memories of encountering newly freed prisoners that day are still vivid, and he shared them with us and the incredible staff of Dachau - who greeted us with the warmest welcome.

We are very excited to share that it seems the time has finally come to accompany Bud back to his battlefields. After a few attempts and last minute cancellations due to pandemic surges, our fingers are crossed. We have a jam-packed itinerary planned, spanning three countries and seven and a half decades of memories. Since our last update, we have continued our work. When the archives began re-opening earlier this year, we spent many days flipping through thousands upon thousands of pages of documents - approximately 30,000 to be exact!

My work in 2020-2022 with the non-profit organization Purple Hearts Reunited as a genealogist, military researcher, and director of operations has helped facilitate the return of 429 items of valor to 100 families. There were a few stories that became personal research projects. When I began to work their cases, my indomitable passion to find answers for families took over and uncovered the details that seemed unfindable.

It’s hard to believe it’s been a year since we were forced to postpone our trip to Europe with Bud. We are crossing our fingers that things change and we can jump on the first airplanes over to France when things are safe again.In the meantime, I wanted to share where we are with our project - because we certainly have not stopped working. We have now contacted over 100 families of the Veterans of Bud’s company. This has been a massive undertaking, and we have enjoyed every moment spent in conversation with the sons, daughters, and grandchildren of the AntiTank Company of the 222 Infantry Regiment. 

The combination of history, travel, and creativity are my holy trinity of wow - and arriving at Camp Gruber in Oklahoma after a long drive north from Houston hit all my sweet spots. Gruber is where the Anti Tank Company, 222nd Infantry Regiment of the 42nd ‘Rainbow’ Division trained before they sailed off to face the Germans in Europe in 1944.

A few weeks ago I visited with the family of PFC Wayne Cruse, who was killed by a German sniper in France in 1945.

I wanted to learn more about the man behind the sacrifice, and share with his family a collection of photos and documents that we have found in our research.  

We also spoke with Rainbow Veteran Lockered 'Bud' Gahs, who was with PFC Cruse at the time of his death. 

The men served in the Anti-Tank Company, 222nd Infantry Regiment, 42nd Division.

It’s time to write an update on our project. COVID-19 has caused us all to pause and reset, and our film with Bud has been no exception. As you may have guessed, due to travel restrictions and general concern for safety, we are not able to bring Bud to Europe at this time. We are crossing fingers that we will resume our original plan in the Spring.

Below is a summary of what we have been doing behind the scenes these last months. It’s a bit lengthy, because we have been busy!

Erin Faith Allen is creating a documentary about Lockered 'Bud' Gahs and his journey back to his combat positions along the front line in Europe.

We need your support - please visit https://www.gofundme.com/f/send-bud-back-to-his-battlefields to contribute to Bud's return to his battlefields.