textgrundherman1937.html

North High School Wall of Honor
Herman Grund
Class of January, 1937

Research done by Claradell Shedd, Class of 1953.

Herman Grund

Herman was a member of North High's class of January, 1937. His next of kin was listed as Mr. Wolf Grund, 1236 12th Street, Des Moines, IA. Herman's service number was 37110147.

Herman Grund

Year		Rank		Status

January, 1937				Graduated from North High, Des Moines, IA. While attending North, lived at 1236 12th.
1937-1941	x	Employment	x	In partnership with brother in large grocery store in Des Moines, IA.
October 24, 1941		Enlisted; US Army/PVT		Fort Des Moines, IA; 27th Infantry Division
date	x	Training	x	*Camp Wolters, TX
date	x	Training	x	Fort Ord, CA.
March 10, 1942- March 15, 1942	x	US Army	x	From San Francisco, CA. Troop ship, converted SS Lurline, from San Francisco, CA. to Hawaii (Oahu, and Hawaii).
date	x	US Army	x	Training at Schofield Barracks, HI.
February 17-23, 1944	x	US Army	x	Troop ship to Marshall Islands; **Eniwetok Atoll. Combat.
June 15-July 9, 1944	x	US Army	x	Troop ship to Saipan in the Marina Islands. Combat for Saipan from June 15-July 9, 1944.
April 1-June 21, 1945	x	US Army	x	Combat in Okinawa. Wounded 04/19/45. Purple Heart. Company I, 3d Battalion, 106th Infantry, 27th Infantry Division
June 15, 1945	x	US Army	x	Awarded Purple Heart for combat injury.
September 24, 1945	x	Enroute	x	Troop ship to Seattle, WA. Fort Lewis, WA for processing out.
date	x	Enroute	x	Train from Fort Lewis, WA to military installation near St. Louis, MO (Jefferson Barracks, MO) for discharge.
October 5, 1945	x	US Army/Tec5	x	Discharged at Jefferson Barracks, MO; Home to Des Moines, IA.
1945	x	Employment	x	Midwest Bag Company, Des Moines, IA
Civilian	x	Retirement	x	Owned and operated ABC Television Sales and Service in Polk County. Last location was in Urbandale, IA.
November 9, 2009	x		x	Hy-Vee Honor Flight to Washington, D.C. utube: Hy-Vee: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8JpiqYbhN4 utube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JhzCV4oe30 (footage by grandson of Dean Carrico from Osceola, IA)
November 5, 2011	x	Deceased	x	Johnston, IA.Interred at Glendale Cemetery-Beth El Jacob Synagogue Section.

*Camp Wolters, TX
Fort Wolters was a United States military installation four miles northeast of Mineral Wells, Texas. Originally named Camp Wolters, it was an Army camp from 1925 to 1946. During World War II, it was for a time the largest infantry replacement training center in the United States. After the war, the camp was deactivated for a several years. It became an Air Force base in 1951 with the misson of training Air Force engineers

**Eniwetok Atoll
Naval bombardment of Eniwetok began on 17 February, and the 22nd Marine Regiment, commanded by Colonel John T. Walker, landed on Engebi Island, on the north side of the atoll, on 18 February at 08:44. Resistance was light, and the island was secure within six hours. Captured documents suggested that the defences on Eniwetok Island would be light, and accordingly there was only a short bombardment on 19 February before the 106th Infantry Regiment went ashore. However, the Japanese soldiers had strong positions, and the Americans were stopped by heavy automatic fire. The island was not secured until 21 February. 37 Americans were killed; more than 800 Japanese defenders died.



03/10/42: SS Lurline from San Francisco, CA to Oahu, HI; Camp Wolters, TX Ford Ord, CA Jefferson Barracks, MO
Below: 07/31/44: V-Mail letter written to sister, Mrs. Meyer Levey Picture taken December 7, 1941

07/31/44: V-Mail Letter to Sister (Mrs. Meyer Levey) reads:
Dear Sis:
Your kid brother came through the battle of Saipan, Marianas Islands without a scratch! So, tell Mom and Pa that I am OK and not to worry about me! I had quite a few close shaves, the bullets and shells were flying fast and furious around me at times! The Japs were plenty tough but were finally defeated after the fiercest fighting I have ever seen! I can't begin to list some of the gruesome sights that I have seen. Most of the stories will have to wait until I get home to tell you! Yesterday I had my first shave since the battle began so you can imagine how I looked! Fought the whole battle with no change of clothing so you can imagine how they looked too!
Received a letter from you and one from Sutz (another sister) while on the front lines, and it really cheered me up! Glad to hear that everyone is OK and that Phyllis and Florence are practically recovered from their illness! Hope Mom has a good time in Detroit!
I'll write as often as time permits, and you do the same! All my love to all the Family and a hug and kiss for the Kids! I am OK, so don't worry about me! I am still on Saipan!
Your Kid Brother
Herman


Eniwetok Atoll; 02/44	Saipan; 07/08/44


Philippines	Okinawa Deployment



Honor Flight to Washington, D.C.; November 9, 2009

	Herman Grund Tec5 Company I, 3d Battalion, 106th Infantry 27th Infantry Division US Army
Purple Heart; Good Conduct; American Defense; Asiatic-Pacific with three battle stars; Victory Medal

References

(1) The World War II Army Enlistment Records contain information on more than nine million indivdual enlistments. These records can be found online at http://www.archives.gov/.

(2) The comprehensive list of names from North High's 1893-2018 graduation classes are from Claradell Shedd's North Des Moines High School website. The names of North High School graduates can be found online at http://www.ndmhs.com/. Herman Grund's 1937 class page is: http://www.ndmhs.com/pages/yearclass1937(1997.60).html.

07/28/10. Living in Johnston, IA. Married to Betty Carr Grund (deceased). Herman died 11/05/11.
Obituary: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/desmoinesregister/obituary.aspx?n=herman-grund&pid=154513818

Music: "Wind Beneath My Wings"