When I was young, my dad, Dugan Swindle, named his dog "Gouvy." I asked him why that name. He told me that it was the name of a town in Belgium he was in during World War II.

My dad had been in the 89th Quartermaster Railhead Company. I presumed railhead meant close to the front line - issuing rations, ammo and so on.

When I was older, he said they were surrounded in this town. He wouldn't say anything more. He passed away at age 62.

Later, I Googled "89th Quartermaster." Now I know what happened there but not what my dad went through personally. And I will never know.

According to the Army Quartermaster Museum, the company acted as infantry and with fellow soldiers to defend Gouvy from Dec. 18 to Dec. 22, 1944. More than 20 Germans were captured and about 70 were killed, according to the museum's website. For more about this skirmish and the 89th, check out their website: http://www.qmmuseum.lee.army.mil/WWII/gouvy.htm