World War II-era jeeps and trucks rumbled through this town Saturday in ceremonies marking the 60th anniversary of the deadliest battle in American history, the Battle of the Bulge.

Veterans from across the United States returned to find Bastogne covered in snow, just as it was that bitter cold December of 1944. The town of 14,000 took the brunt of the six-week battle that raged across the Ardennes hills of southern Belgium and Luxembourg.

"The American veterans who have returned 60 years later to the battle site represent those who gave their lives on our soil, so that today we can live free," Bastogne Mayor Philippe Collard said in French at a memorial honoring U.S. General George S. Patton.

Then he added in English, "We will never forget. You are home here."

Posted by: Jonathan Singer / 10:05 AM | Basie! Home