Delbert William Klump
Delbert William Klump
Delbert W. Klump was born June 23, 1920 at home in Newport, Kentucky. He was 2nd of three children born to Edward Joseph Klump and Cassilda Christine "Sis" Saner Klump. Del was baptized on July 1, 1920 at St Stephen Catholic Church in Newport, which was a block or so from his childhood home. He was raised in a multi-generation home in Newport. He was confirmed at St Stephen’s on May 27, 1934. He graduated from Newport Catholic High School. He was a carpenter during the days that they did all the work building homes.
Uncle Del was patriotic and a rugged individualist. He enlisted in the Army Air Force in Feb. 1942. He was inducted at Fort Thomas. He left for service at Union Terminal in Cincinnati, Ohio. He had many stories about the days he flew missions as a turret gunner on a bomber. He was based in England during World War II and flew many bombing missions over Germany.
One story was that nobody liked the commanding officer. They would play pranks on him. One chore done after each mission was to empty the "head". One day the C.O. angered the whole crew. So they did a fly-by of the control tower he was in. During this fly-by, the "head" was emptied. A direct "hit". Most of the crew got demoted one rank due to this, according to Uncle Del.
His plane was shot down one summer day in 1943 by the Germans over France. He and two other crew members were the only survivors. They hid in a barn for about a month. A plan was concocted to pass themselves off as Frenchmen and take the train to Switzerland, which was neutral. There were a couple problems with this. Not one spoke French. Typically French men were not too tall. Uncle Del, being about 5’3" tall, had no problem with this. But one guy was over 6’ tall. Making them stand out. On Sept. 3, 1943, they were captured on the train by the Germans. They were then on a "death march" to Austria. If anyone fell, they would be shot. Uncle Del saw one friend fall and carried him for some miles, earning his gratitude.
Uncle Del spent about 20 months in Stalag 17B near Vienna, Austria. He did not speak much about that time. Other than to say that they learned to eat bugs and tree bark to survive. He also mentioned the fear when they were forced to shower. They never knew if it would be a real shower or the lethal gas.
There was a group of Russian prisoners in the next building. The guards would allow a dog to terrorize them. One day, the Russians lured the dog to them and killed it. And had a feast. The guards retaliated by having all the Russians in that building killed.
Uncle Del was released in May 1945 after the European part of WWII ended. During most of the time that he was a POW, his family back in Newport did not know if he was alive or not. Just that he was a missing in action.
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Kentucky Post, Monday, 4 October 1943, page 1
Tech. Sergt. Delbert W Klump, son of Mrs. Edward J Klump, 230 E Eighth street, Newport, is missing in action in the European area, the War Department announced Monday.
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Kentucky Post, Saturday, 29 January 1944, page 3
Mrs. Edward J Klump, 230 E Eighth street, Newport, will be presented the Air Medal and two Oak Leaf Clusters Sunday for her son, Tech. Sergt. Delbert W Klump, who has been reported missing in action following air raids over Europe. The presentation will be made during ceremonies on Xavier University parade ground, Cincinnati, by Capt. Joseph M Thompson, commanding officer of the 13th College Training Detachment, air crew, at Xavier University.
The citation, accompanying the award of the Air Medal July 6 and the Oak Leaf Clusters July 24 and Sep 3 states:
"For exceptionally meritorious achievement while participating in five separate bomber missions over enemy-occupied Continental Europe."
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Kentucky Post, Thursday, 25 January 1945, page 1
T Sgt. Delbert Klump, 25, son of Mr. and Mrs. Edward Klump, of 230 E Eighth street, Newport, recently wrote to his parents from a German prison camp in Vienna, Austria, saying that he was well and everything was all right. He with a group of Kentuckians, who have included in their postwar plans the formation of an organization to be known as "The Legion of the Broken Wing."
A prisoner of the Germans since last February, Sgt. Klump was taken prisoner when his plane was shot down over Paris.
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Kentucky Post, Monday, 28 May 1945, page 1
T. Sgt. Delbert W Klump, 23, has written his mother, Mrs. Edward J Klump of 230 E Eighth street, Newport, that he was liberated from a German prison. A member of the Air Forces, he was captured Sept 2, 1943.
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Uncle Del came back to Newport. He resumed his career as a carpenter until the late 1960s. He, his brother and parents moved to Ft Thomas, Ky in 1957. His health suffered from the time being a POW. He had to retire early due to a bad heart. He was very good to my brothers and me. He would take the oldest 4 of us for the day one Saturday a month.
Uncle Del was a caring man. He helped care for his parents during their later years. As well as his older brother, Art.
Uncle Del died Aug. 1, 1982 of cancer at the VA Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio. He was a resident in Cold Spring at the time. He is interred in St Stephen Cemetery, Ft Thomas.