Over this past weekend (October 17, 2020), my brother was watching Captain America with my five-year old nephew, Jack. Apparently, Jack became curious about World War II and eventually our grandfather, Edgar R. Krueger, who served in World War II in North Africa and Italy. So my brother made a logical move. Who better to contact than the keeper of family photos and histories?
I knew I had a number of Grandpa Krueger’s photos already stored away. Then my mom brought over a whole additional box of Grandpa Krueger’s artifacts, letters and journals from World War II. Holy historical treasure! I couldn’t NOT write this post.
This post is a place to put information related to my grandfather’s time during World War II. It is not a static page, and I will be adding to it from time to time. Hopefully, with all the resources available on the internet, combined with Grandpa’s letters and journals, I can build a fulsome picture of his World War II service.
Background
Edgar Krueger was born on December 1, 1917, in Port Washington, Wisconsin to German immigrant Friedrich “Fred” Krueger and Lydia Emilie Maria (geb.) Capelle, who, while not an immigrant herself, was from a German family. Edgar’s family included three older brothers, William, Rudolph, and Delbert. The family moved to Sheboygan when Edgar was very young, and it is where Edgar spent the rest of his life. He grew up in a working class neighborhood in a relatively comfortable house located at 2133 S. 16th St. in Sheboygan, which still stands today.
The photos above show Fred Krueger, Lydia Krueger, Edgar as a boy on the street, Edgar and his older brother Rudolph, Edgar’s childhood home as pictured in 2017 (image secured from google maps), and Edgar’s childhood home from his own photos (year unknown).
Edgar did not volunteer to fight, but he did enter the draft, as required by law. His draft number came up in 1942.
| 1942 | Event | Location |
| May 25 | Induction Into the Army #36242216 | Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA |
| May 26 | Fort Sheridan, Illinois, USA | |
| June 03 | Medic training | Camp Grant, Illinois, USA |
| August 06 | (August 09) First meeting with Chaplain Cameron Mosser | Fort Moultrie, South Carolina, USA |
| September 16 | Camp Pickett, Virginia, USA | |
| October 14 | Camp Kilmer, New Jersey, USA | |
| November 1 | Left for Operation Torch – Invasion of North Africa Crossed on American troopship — USS Monticello (AP-61) | New York, New York, USA |
| November 19 | Landing at Casablanca, docked and disembarked | Casablanca, Moracco |
ON THE MARKS 