by Laura Freeman
Reporter
Hudson -- More than 60 years ago, men and women volunteered to fight in Europe and the Pacific during World War II. Three of those brave men shared their experiences Nov. 8 at the Hudson Library and Historical Society.
The library collects and preserves the accounts of local war veterans, according to Library Archivist Gwen Mayer. To date, the library has shared 180 of those histories with the Veterans History Project, a national effort to preserve the personal accounts of American war veterans.
The goal is to allow future generations to hear directly from veterans and better understand the realities of war, Mayer said.
"Veterans [included in the History Project] can be from anywhere from any engagement the U.S. has been in," Mayer said. "We wanted to highlight the contributions of the people in Hudson with this local program."
At the Nov. 8 program, Mayer introduced moderator Robert Keener, a University of Akron history professor, and the three veterans, all Hudson residents: former Hudson Mayor John Krum, who served in the U.S. Army; Glenn Marsh, a Seabee in the South Pacific; and Lewis Walker, a career naval officer.
Keener said studying war provides an understanding of why wars break out, how they end, the winners and losers, and the best way to contain wars.
"There is a moral purpose to educate others about the past sacrifice that secured the present peace and security," Keener said.
To learn more about the Veterans History Project of the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress, visit www.loc.gov/vets or contact Mayer at 330-653-6658 ext. 1017.
E-mail: lfreeman@recordpub.com
Phone: 330-688-0088 ext. 3150
John Krum was part of the 7th Army of the 70th Infantry Division known as the Trailblazers. His unit experienced 86 consecutive days of combat, liberated 58 towns and took 668 prisoners while penetrating the Siegfried Line near the Saar River and driving through Saarland, Germany. Krum enlisted as a private but rose to the rank of sergeant.
Krum was awarded two Bronze Stars during the war for his heroic service. He is credited with turning back an enemy attack with accurate mortar fire on Jan. 12, 1945, and with dragging and carrying four of his injured comrades to safety after a mortar attack near Forbach, France, on Feb. 27, 1945.
Krum said he was playing touch football in Massachusetts on Thanksgiving Day in 1944 waiting for deployment. He was loaded with 7,000 other soldiers on a ship, the USS West Point, to Marseille, France, and was in battle before the year's end.
By Christmas, his platoon had been transported by unheated box cars, which transported 40 men or eight horses, to Haguenau in northeast France. By Jan. 1, they were in fox holes in the middle of battle.
The Battle of the Bulge had started, and as a fresh troop, Krum was placed in a quiet area while the more experienced troops were moved to strengthen the southern flank of the "Bulge" battle line. Unfortunately, Krum and his fellow soldiers were stationed where the Germans decided to attack in Operation Northwind, utilizing the very experienced 6th SS Mountain Division from Finland.
Krum said "Charlie Company" never knew where the next company was or what was going on, but they finally took the French town of Wingen Sur Moder.
"There were a lot of injuries," Krum said. "You wanted a fox hole as deep as you can get."
When Victory in Europe day came May 8, 1945, Krum and his fellow soldiers became the occupying forces. Krum said he was one of the few Americans who could speak German.
"We were surrounded by civilians from all different countries who just wanted to go back home," Krum said.
Krum came home to Shaker Heights in January 1946 and married Marcey in 1948. He retired in 1986 after 39 years in sales administration and 15 years as a manufacturing agent. They have three children and seven grandchildren. He served as mayor of Hudson from December 1999 to May 30, 2003.
Glenn Marsh said he was in high school when he was sworn into the U.S. Navy in 1945.
"I was a farmboy, and they assigned me to the Seabees," he said.
Marsh traveled to California and then to Guam in the Pacific as a seaman in the Seabees, the construction battalion of the U.S. Navy. He rose to the rank of yeoman when he was discharged.
"I was fortunate I didn't see too many battles," Marsh said. "We built a lot of air fields and great walls around the islands so the ships could get in."
Marsh said one of the worst duties was cleaning out outhouses for the Japanese prisoners.
"You have to understand prison life," Marsh said. "They were grateful for everything we did for them."
Marsh said he learned about business by making ice cream and selling it to the natives and other troops.
"The experience itself was a great education," Marsh said. "I learned how to do business in the Navy."
Marsh turned his experiences in construction and business from the Seabees into an assortment of jobs through the years. He worked as photographer for the Record Courier, worked in classified advertising, plastering and selling heavy equipment, like tractors and loaders. He retired in 1989.
"Being a Seabee helped me do a lot of things," Marsh said. "It was a very good experience."
Marsh said he was sorry he never stayed in the service to retire from the Navy.
"When you're young, your mind is on something else," Marsh said.
Marsh said young people who go into the service now have more opportunities when they get out.
"Take every advantage of it that you can," Marsh said.
He and his wife, Martha, have two children and one grandchild.
Lewis Walker said he spent three years on a 340-foot destroyer -- the USS McCall (DD-400) -- built in 1939 with four guns and 16 torpedoes.
"There were no [war] injuries," Walker said. "One man broke his arm in a storm."
Between 250 and 280 men served on the destroyer. The engineers were called "bilge rats" and the men who manned the guns and swept the decks were called "deck apes."
"It was a close-knit community," Walker said.
Walker graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in June 1942 and joined the ship in August in Alaska. It traveled to Pearl Harbor and then to Guadalcanal, where the McCall escorted bigger ships and ferried supplies to the islands.
"One Sunday we were excused from duty," Walker said. "The Japanese blew the hell out of the place. If we had been there, it would have been a sad day for us."
Walker said there were many close calls with Japanese "zero" planes, identified with the red sun symbol, but they either flew off, were stopped by American fighter planes or crashed.
"I'm afraid of pain, but I don't know if I was ever afraid," Walker said.
Although the McCall was decommissioned in November 1945, Walker remained in the Navy for 30 years and rose to the rank of captain. He married Eleanor in 1989, and they were antique dealers for 10 years. He has three children from a previous marriage and three grandchildren.
"The thoughts of all of us is that we are grateful we survived and even more grateful for those who paid the supreme price," Walker said.