Warbird Information Exchange

Lt. Gen. Harry W.O. Kinnard II, who died Jan. 5 at his home in Arlington County, was a West Point graduate whose decades-long military career stretched from World War II to Vietnam, but he was most often associated with one word that became instant legend.

The word was "nuts," the reply to a German surrender ultimatum during the crucial Battle of the Bulge.

Gen. Kinnard, 93, died of complications of Parkinson's disease.

In 1944, then-Col. Kinnard was a 29-year-old assistant chief of staff to Gen. Anthony C. McAuliffe, commander of the 101st Airborne "Screaming Eagle" Division. When the German army launched a last-ditch attack in the Ardennes Forest on Dec. 16, the 101st was rushed into the Belgian town of Bastogne to defend the intersection of five strategic roads. Two days later, the division, outnumbered by more than 4 to 1, found itself surrounded by German tanks and infantry. The Americans were unprepared for fighting in the bitter cold and were pounded relentlessly by artillery. Their situation seemed hopeless.

On Dec. 22, the Germans sent two officers and two noncommissioned officers into Bastogne with a white flag and Lt. Gen. Heinrich von Luttwitz's typewritten demand that U.S. forces surrender, the "one possibility" of saving American troops from "total annihilation."

McAuliffe's instinctive response was to laugh and exclaim, "Us surrender? Aw, nuts!" He told his staff that he wasn't sure how to respond officially and asked for suggestions.

"That first remark of yours would be hard to beat," Col. Kinnard told him, and other staff members enthusiastically agreed. McAuliffe then called in a typist and dictated: "To the German Commander: Nuts!" and signed it, "The American Commander."

The American soldiers who escorted the German emissaries back to their lines had to explain that "Nuts!" was the equivalent of "Go to hell."

In the early morning of Christmas Day, the 101st Division repulsed a German assault. The siege of Bastogne ended when U.S. forces attacking from the south joined the 101st.

Harry William Osborn Kinnard II was born in Dallas and was raised in an Army family. He graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1939 and was a member of the Hawaiian Division when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. As a platoon leader in the 27th Infantry "Wolfhound" Regiment, he commanded a machine gun nest on Waikiki Beach in anticipation of a Japanese land assault.

He parachuted into Normandy overnight on June 5-6, 1944, and took command of the 1st Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment. He was battalion commander during the airborne invasion of Holland later in the year.

After the war, he headed the Airborne Test Section at Fort Bragg, N.C. While at Fort Bragg, he was technical adviser on the war movie "Battleground" (1949), the Oscar-winning account of the 101st at Bastogne directed by William Wellman.

Gen. Kinnard was assigned to the Pentagon in 1958 and served at the National War College and as executive to the secretary of the Army.

In 1963, he took command of the 11th Air Assault Division (Test) at Fort Benning, Ga., and was credited with developing a quicker way of getting troops into combat.

As commander of the First Cavalry Division (Airmobile) in November 1965, he led the troops in the Army's first major engagement of the Vietnam War, the Battle of the Ia Drang Valley. He later served in Vietnam as commander of 1st Field Force and as assistant deputy chief of staff for force development.

He retired from the Army in 1969. His awards include the Purple Heart, the Bronze Star Medal and the Silver Star.

After his retirement, he was a consultant on Army aviation and served as president of the Army Aviation Association. In 1974, he was one of the first seven inductees into the Army Aviation Hall of Fame.

He was a champion tennis player as a young man. He played golf into his 80s and shot his age at 82, 85 and 86.

Gen. Kinnard's son Bruce Kinnard died in 2007.

His marriage to Eppe Ann Kinnard ended in divorce.

Survivors include his wife of 25 years, Elizabeth "Libby" Kinnard of Arlington; five children from his first marriage, Susan C. Payson and Robert H. Kinnard, both of Prescott, Ariz., Kathleen L. Coursey of Stockton, Calif., Cynthia L. Harman of Lexington, S.C., and Harry W. O. Kinnard III of Gainesville, Fla.; three stepchildren from his second marriage, Libby Nicholson of San Clemente, Calif., Janmarie N. Hall of Hamilton, Va., and Tom Nicholson of Augusta, Ga.; 16 grandchildren; and 15 great-grandchildren.

Gen. Anthony C. McAuliffe, left, and then-Col. Harry W.O. Kinnard II at Bastogne, where a German surrender demand got a memorable response. (Family Photo - Family Photo)