Korean War veterans leading different lives reunite

  • Published
  • By Orville F. Desjarlais Jr.
  • Air Force News Agency
PANMUNJEOM, South Korea (AFPN) --  The two veterans have led very different lives since their last meeting 55 years ago.

Donald Krueger, an enlisted munitions specialist during the Korean War, was visiting South Korea for the first time since serving in the war. Retired Lt. Col. Harold Fischer was one of eight fighter pilots touring South Korea as part of an event tied to the Air Force's 60th anniversary.

On this particular day, three bus loads of Korean War veterans, including Mr. Krueger, and the eight fighter pilots converged for a tour of the demilitarized zone.  After visiting the building that straddled the border between North and South Korea and observing through the windows the North Korean guards scowling at the group, everyone left the building. The fighter pilots paused, however, to take a group picture.

Wondering why this particular group was receiving all the attention, Mr. Krueger asked who the men were.  When he heard Colonel Fischer's name, he yelled, "I was armament for that guy!" 

He then rushed down to meet the colonel.

"I was armament and we crewed, too, so you could shoot those bastards," Mr. Krueger told the colonel, holding his hand.

"I liked that," Colonel Fischer replied.

"My main airplane was 735. I remember that because it was (Lt. Col. Francis) Gabreski's plane," Mr. Krueger said.

"We're lucky to be alive," Colonel Fischer said.

""You darn right we are. I remember you when you were a kid," Mr. Krueger said as he laughed. "Is that something, or what?"

Then Colonel Fischer asked for a hug. First they hugged each other on the right, then on the left, like the French.

"Boy this is an honor," Mr. Krueger said on the verge of tears. "It's a small world, heh?"

"Yes it is," Colonel Fischer answered.

Colonel Fischer is a double ace who shot down 10 enemy fighters during his tour in the Korean War. He's been in Life magazine and the New York Times magazine, and has written three books about his exploits.

Colonel Fischer began his career as a Navy cadet in 1944, but was released from training at the end of World War II.  In 1949, after two years at Iowa State University, he joined the Army as an officer, but then somehow managed to get the Army's permission to transfer his commission to the Air Force.

He earned his wings in 1950, well in time for him to use his pilot skills in the Korean War. In the 80th Fighter-Bomber Squadron at Itazuke Air Base, Japan, he flew 105 missions in an F-80 Shooting Star.

As a lieutenant, he shot down his first enemy fighter on Nov. 26, 1952. He became a fighter ace on Jan. 24, 1953. He did that in only 47 missions.  After becoming an ace in only 47 missions, he became a double ace on his 70th mission. 

In April 1953, he scared up three MiGs. He was able to down one, hit another but then was shot down by the third. He became a prisoner of war in China.

When the Korean War ended, the Chinese changed his status from POW to political prisoner. He didn't get released until 1955, two years after the end of the war.

After the Chinese released Lieutenant Fischer, he again pursued his educational career and earned his master's degree, his first of three degrees, from Iowa State. He stayed at the university teaching in the Reserve Officer Training Program, and then served as an intelligence officer, first at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb., then at Ramstein AB, Germany.

In 1971, in his third war, he went to Vietnam as an Air Force advisor, mainly to fly a helicopter. He left Vietnam in 1972 as a lieutenant colonel. In 1973, he took command of the Air Force Human Resources Lab at Brooks Air Force Base in San Antonio. His final assignment was at the Department of State in the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency. He retired as a lieutenant colonel in May 1978.

When Operation Desert Storm kicked off in 1991, he offered his services to the Air Force, but they declined.  After all, he was 66 years old and had already endured three wars.

In April 1994, the retired lieutenant colonel traveled to Kiev, Ukraine, and met former Soviet pilots who flew in Korea. There, he met the adversary who claimed to have shot him down during that fateful dogfight.

In 1997, a general from China invited him back to discuss issues at a Chinese American Foundation meeting in June 1998. The general had official credit for shooting him down April 7, 1953.

In essence, pilots in two countries have claimed to have shot Colonel Fischer down. 

Like most enlisted maintainers, Mr. Krueger remained in the shadows during the Korean War as an armament specialist. He loaded munitions on aircraft and without him, aces couldn't have become aces.

"There was a mess of us who worked on aircraft," Mr. Krueger said. "When an engine blew up, we'd all get together to fix it."

During the war, Mr. Krueger said he did what needed to get done, from loading aircraft with ammunition to switching out engines. He and his crew used to maintain seven aircraft at a time, one of which was flown by Lt. Col. Francis Gabreski, who scored 28 kills during World War II and downed 6.5 MiGs over Korea.

"My main airplane was 735," he said. "I remember that because it was (Colonel) Gabreski's plane."

When the war ended in 1953, Mr. Krueger returned to his hometown of Racine, Wis., a town on the edge of Lake Michigan, a little south of Milwaukee.

When Mr. Krueger returned home, he found it difficult to find a job. A recession had hit the United States and he had to walk the streets to find a job. He was finally able to land a job driving a truck. He eventually worked his way up to be a terminal manager. But he wanted something better. After all, he wanted to get married. Then he found a good job with a muffler manufacturer.

"That was the only job I had to beg for because I only had a high school education," he said. It must have worked because he landed the job in 1957 and married on June 29 that same year.

Later, Mr. Krueger found his calling in marketing engine parts, which kept him on the road at least five days a week. In 1974, he and his wife, Joyce, opened an automobile store, complete with a full-fledged machine shop, a service bay and $100,000 worth of auto parts.

Mr. Krueger retired from his marketing job in 1995.  He and his wife closed their business in 2002.

The meeting between the two veterans was one in a million, or maybe more, Mrs. Krueger said. It meant a lot to Mr. Krueger because he has always dreamed of returning to South Korea. Throughout their marriage, he always talked of returning, but she always fancied it a pipe dream.

"We met a couple who knew of a company that arranges trips to South Korea," she said. "So we thought we'd do this for our 50th anniversary, rather than having a party, which I'm so glad that we did. He's really enjoyed this trip and he's getting very emotional about it."

"I remembered his name ... Fischer," Mr. Krueger said. "He was quite active in our group. We serviced his plane and he remembers those things, and he was very honored to see me, which surprised me," he said close to tears.

"I have to close the book," Mr. Krueger said of his visit to South Korea. "I've been back, I've seen it and now I can close the book."

"It was the most wonderful feeling because he never dreamed that anybody he knew would be here," Mrs. Krueger said.

Although Mr. Krueger may have closed his book on South Korea, who knows what will happen with a rekindled friendship started once again with Colonel Fischer.

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