Reporting from Uden, in a cathedral on Hell's Highway

He also knows Dixie. Fortunately. . .

Some of us climbed to the top for a look out.

When the sextant at St. Peter's Cathedral in Uden asked if anyone would play the organ today, we were a bit surprised at what happened next.

Bubba McHan, -- (no kidding, that's what the name tag says), a good ol' boy from Alabama and a devout Baptist who enjoys tweaking Yankee travelmates with an occasional "The South SHALL Rise Again!" in a lazy drawl, -- stepped forward. Bubba calmly selected Pachelbel' s Canon in D and stunned his audience with a powerful rendition that filled the massive sacristy and left this Yankee open-mouthed.

A classically trained organist? Nope. He says he just copied his sister. He actually plays the guitar and a variety of other instruments, once for a Beatles Tribute band. He's got a family now and sells medical supplies. This trip to the choir loft was all part of our World War II study mission, understand. Easy Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment set up a defense in this area and used the bell tower to spot the enemy. We were on the way to the top to see where Lt. Dick Winters looked out to see the enemy and was sent skittering down when a sniper's bullet clanged the bell. Nothing ever written about Lt. Winters playing the organ. More on him later.