2024 Hometown Heroes
Magazine

The reluctant Hero
Chuck Fricke shares the stories his dad never told him
By Charles and Penny Fricke
 

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[June 26, 2024]   Armin Ernst Fricke was the eldest son of John Henry Fricke, an immigrant from Osnebrocht Germany. John Henry, age 17, fled Germany in 1904 landing at Ellis Island, New York, with his two brothers William 15, and Henry age 14. It was at this time that Kaiser Wilhelm II, the last German Emperor and King of Prussia was raising an army for Germany prior to WW I. In 1917 John Henry was drafted into the U.S. Army, but WW I came to an end before he left the farm in Meredosia, Illinois. How ironic!

Armin graduated mortuary school in the fall of 1941 and enlisted in the army, as did millions on December 8, 1941. With his medical and mortuary knowledge, speaking and writing knowledge of the German language he was immediately a candidate for becoming an Army medic. His two younger brothers also joined the military in WW II and his fourth brother served in Korea in 1952. A true Band of Brothers! Armin became a member of the 232 Medical Battalion, 125th Regiment, and the 34th (Red Bull) Division. He was sent to Africa, on June 1943 upon the USS Chateau Thierry arriving in Oran French Algeria Africa. It was at this same time that Generals Omar Bradley and George Patton were chasing General and Field Marshall Erwin Rommel (Desert Fox) across Northern Africa thru Tunisia. The Red Bull Division was the first division deployed to Europe and became the most decorated and longest serving division on front line duty serving 517 straight combat days.

During his deployment , my father started a journal with three to four sentences per day as well as taking pictures with his Brownie camera. That diary contains an infantryman’s account and experiences through some of the worst days of a 26-year-old farm boy’s life. He took pictures of the losses at the Lion Mt. cemetery south of Oran in Tunisia Africa after Hill 609.


Sergent Fricke center with General Clark

Later Armin’s deployment took him in landing crafts into Sicily through Palermo and Messina, under General George Patton and then the landing into Italy itself under General Clark.

After the surrender of Italy and the beginning retreat of the German Army under the command of Field Marshall Albert Kesselring, which was later convicted of War crimes, the German army stripped the countryside of food and housing to the Italian population. My father along with his band of brothers and the rations they were allotted helped save many men, women and children by sharing what rations they were allocated. One such individual child named Pamela, a recent orphan when her parents were recently killed in a bombing raid was befriended immediately. Upon returning to the stateside he named his first daughter after her.

Because the German army couldn’t afford to take prisoners in their retreat they started shooting prisoners. My father, along with other medics, were issued hand weapons from captured officers. He returned home with a German Lugar and an Italian Beretta side arm. It was during this retreated that the high command of General Eisenhower and Prime Minister Winston Churchill secretly deployed a type of mustard gas on the ship the “John Harvey” anchored at the port of Bari, on the Eastern side of Italy with the anticipation of the Germans gassing the Allies in their retreat. Falsely feeling the skies were secure from any German bombing, the John Harvey was hit and exploded with the gas defusing throughout the near countryside. Armin being in that vicinity attempted to give aid to the injured, but not knowing the exact cause of their ailments could only guess on their treatments.

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Armin Fricke receives his first Purple Heart pinned by Col. Maxwell at camp base Corsica after being blinded trying to assist fellow soldiers who had been gassed.

Rubbing his eyes continuously with his sleeves he also succumbed to a temporary blindness which hospitalized him for 30 days. Many others had permanent damage. Armin’s pictures show many men in a pond bathing themselves to lessen the gas. Not until 1967, through the Freedom of Information Act, did the government acknowledge the incident. A series of books by author Rick Atkinson, “AN ARMY AT DAWN” and “THE DAY OF BATTLE” did we, as a family, realize the true cause of our fathers injuries. This was 30 years after his death.

Upon returning to active duty the 34th Division was sent to the Abbey at Monte Cassino in January 1944. For three months it became the bloodiest battle in Italy with over 50,000 Allied deaths, and 20,000 Germans. It was here that Armin received his second Purple Heart. Because of his injury Armin was with his unit when it was deployed to Normandy.

After “THE ABBEY”, Armin’s services took him through Naples, Foggia -Arno, and the liberation of Rome.

Armin received the American Theater Ribbon, European-Africa- Middle Eastern Ribbon with W/2 Bronze battle stars.

Upon his return to the states Armin married Vivian Wise of Jacksonville and became a funeral director and ambulance driver for 30 years. He never once volunteered to tell his military history to me, his son. When asked he would merely say he put bandages on wounded soldiers. If he told my other brother or sisters anything different I am not aware of it.

Armin died in 1986. Vivian died in 2008. It is at that time our family found his history, story, and military German Lugar and Italian 380 Barrett pistol.

During his time as a funeral director Armin made many funeral arrangements for Veterans. Nathan Fricke, Armin’s grandson, years later was making funeral arrangements for a veteran with his three daughters. He asked if they wanted a military service. They answered with a “No” as dad never mentioned his time in the service so he must not feel extremely proud of his time in the service. Upon reading that veterans DD 214, Honorable Discharge, he was at Normandy, The Battle of The Bulge, and three other major battles.

I’m embarrassed to say I should have prodded or asked more questions of my father and other veterans Their stories are worth the effort!

My father is no more a hero to the world than a million other veterans, but he does stand out amongst our family. Being asked to share his diary and pictures is enough reward to us after 80 years.

 

Read all the articles in our new
2024 Hometown Heroes Magazine

Title
CLICK ON TITLES TO GO TO PAGES
Page
Barry & Julie King 6
Vince Long 12
Moms Who Care 16
Armin E. Fricke 22
Jerry Neisler 26
Kim Peterson Quinn 34
Dave Duval 38
Reader Submissions 40

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