German soldiers were not the only ones who got lost that day. Medic Ralph Spina and Pvt. Ed “Babe” Heffron went back into Bastogne to scrounge up some medical supplies. At the aid station Spina got some of what he needed (the 101st was already running low on medical supplies, a major problem). The two E Company men grabbed a hot meal, and although they hated to leave the stove, with darkness coming on, they set out for the line.
Heffron suggested a shortcut across a wooded area. Spina agreed. Heffron led the way. Suddenly he fell into a hole. There was a shout of surprise. Then a voice called out from under Heffron, “Hinkle, Hinkle, ist das du?”
Heffron came barreling out of the foxhole and took off in the opposite direction, yelling, “Hinkle Your Ass, Kraut!” He and Spina got reoriented and finally found the E Company CP.
(Spina, who recalled the incident, concluded: “To this day every time I see Babe, I ask him how Hinkle is feeling or if he has seen Hinkle lately.”)
Source: Band of Brothers by Stephen Ambrose