Gerard “Ben” Tardiff was just 21 when he met Josette Painblanc, who he believes died when Germans besieged her hometown of Bastogne, Belgium.

Although more than 60 years now separates him from Painblanc and his experiences in World War II, Tardiff has never forgotten them.

Now at 87, Memorial Day is a time to reflect on his experiences in World War II, rekindling a mix of bitter and fond memories.

Tardiff grew up in Westbrook and enlisted in the Army in early 1943. By June of 1944, he was at the white Cliffs of Dover waiting to cross the English Channel with troops bound for Normandy. He landed at Omaha Beach on the second day of the invasion.

Tardiff would eventually serve for two years in the European Theater, including at the Battle of the Bulge in 1944 in Belgium. A member of the 3062 quartermaster bakery, he baked bread for men on the frontlines.

Even as a baker, he knew he’d be lucky if he made it home. There were many times when he thought he might not make it.

Serving in Bastogne, Belgium, Tardiff met and went out with Painblanc. They each spoke French.

Tardiff recalled her age as 21. He said her name, translated from French, meant white bread, an odd coincidence, he thought, for a baker.

“I liked her a lot,” said Tardiff, as mention of her name triggered a smile, but he stopped short of saying he had fallen in love.

The Battle of the Bulge halted any opportunity for their friendship to blossom into love. He said she wanted to get married and live in the United States. “I might die tomorrow, who knows,” he recalled telling her.

He said Germany was “after” Bastogne, and he said its forces wrecked the town. Tardiff believes his friend, Josette, and her father were likely killed in the battle. “The Germans fired on all of us. All the houses were down,” he said about her village.

“I remember when we had to get out or get killed,” he said about his outfit.

After his unit evacuated, he said the 101st Airborne Division parachuted in. “They killed Germans like flies,” he said.

In the raging Battle of the Bulge, Tardiff slept and worked, baking bread under a tent near the front lines. Delivering thousands of loaves of bread to the soldiers on the frontlines, he lost two buddies on the Belgium battlefield, who were killed when German artillery fire wiped out their truck.

Armed with a rifle, Tardiff also stood guard duty at checkpoints and searched trucks and cars as they passed through.

He recalled the harsh winter weather. “You couldn’t be warm enough. A lot of guys lost their feet,” he said.

Despite the weather and the war, he made it home, returning to the states in early 1946. He married Marie Antoinette Cote, who died 13 years ago. They had no children.

He retired in 1984 from the S.D. Warren paper company in Westbrook where he worked in the outdoor crew. Today, Tardiff stays active fishing and hunting.

Old memories stirred as Tardiff recently browsed through his album with photos, letters and postcards from France, Austria and Germany among the memorabilia. He unfolded and read a letter written in French to his mother mailed home from a woman in Belgium.

The album contains a photo of him and other American soldiers in 1945 visiting the Eagle’s Nest, which had been the mountain top retreat in the Alps of the defeated German dictator Adolf Hitler.

Tucked in the middle of all the memories of war is a photo of the girl he met in Bastogne 65 years ago. Under the photo is simply written “Josette.”

“I’ve thought of her a lot,” Tardiff said.

Cutline (Ben Tardif 1)