Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans

COMBAT STORIES FROM World War II

Herman Krum | 1st Airborne Task Force - Army

5:57   |   There was no obvious front line, says Herman Krum. In the push up through Southern France, he never knew what was really going on. The transportation was ad hoc and one ride he took with a madman from the Bronx was memorable. They kept moving north and at one point, he was told to take a message to the General and he asked, "Where is he?" "I don't know," came the reply. "Go find him."

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Videos ( 8 )
WWII
  • Herman Krum  |  WWII  |  1st Airborne Task Force  |  4:10

    Called up in 1943, Herman Krum went to Camp Crowder in Missouri for basic training and radio school. While there, he learned that not everyone in the service was noble. There was also a fatal accident involving politicians and company officials flying in a glider demonstration. He didn't know it at the time, but he was going to get real familiar with gliders.

  • Herman Krum  |  WWII  |  1st Airborne Task Force  |  3:43

    There was no choice when you went to the induction center, says Herman Krum. If they had an order for ten cooks, the next ten men that walked through the door were going to be cooks. During radio school, he volunteered for a shift as an auxiliary MP. It was uneventful until he returned to the police station where several GI's had been brought in for intoxication.

  • Herman Krum  |  WWII  |  1st Airborne Task Force  |  5:22

    The troop ship landed in Oran, where you did not want to mess with the local women, as Herman Krum learned from the old hands. Soon he was sent to Italy on a slow, miserable convoy, though the cabin was nice. In Naples, his name was called and he set out with others to a seaside town where the men were told they were now in a glider unit. Some of them turned around and ran back to the trucks.

  • Herman Krum  |  WWII  |  1st Airborne Task Force  |  6:41

    The men in the new 1st Airborne Task Force ranged from experienced paratroopers to misfit replacements. Hank Krum was neither, and he took to the glider training with interest. A Japanese-American Nisei unit was part of the outfit and he enjoyed it when they were in charge of the cooking. The task force was created for the invasion of Southern France.

  • Herman Krum  |  WWII  |  1st Airborne Task Force  |  4:50

    The glider pilots had new instructions regarding the tow rope in light of some problems during the Normandy invasion. The 1st Airborne Task Force was preparing for the invasion of Southern France and Herman Krum was part of it. As he was approaching the landing zone, he saw many gliders coming from all directions, which was a little alarming. They had a rough landing, but the unit was intact and ready to fight.

  • Herman Krum  |  WWII  |  1st Allied Airborne Army  |  5:03

    After a pleasant stop in Nice where he got to know an atypical French girl, Herman Krum's unit headed North to Soissons. Then the glider unit was sent to England where the 1st Allied Airborne Army was being formed, with British and French troops joining the Americans. Krum got to see Berlin by the time the war was over.

  • Herman Krum  |  WWII  |  1st Allied Airborne Army  |  3:48

    While Herman Krum was stationed near London, he had two memorable encounters with British civilians. One was a young boy who was awestruck by a simple piece of fruit. The other was a wealthy gentleman with several estates who wanted to meet a typical GI.

  • Herman Krum  |  WWII  |  1st Allied Airborne Army  |  6:05

    While serving occupation duty in Berlin, Herman Krum almost got to meet General Eisenhower and Mickey Rooney. He showed some mercy to German workers who were unloading sugar and he learned a song that was a lament directed to Harry Truman.

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