George J. Kruse

The Life of George Jochim Kruse, Jr.

Written and submitted 17 Feb 2006 by John Rodenmayer, His Nephew

    George Jochim KRUSE, Jr. was born on 30 Sep 1924 in Marengo, Iowa County, Iowa. He was the third child and second son born to the marriage of George Jochim KRUSE and Martha Jane THOMAS. His father was farming land and vineyards inherited from his father, Peter Kruse. The family moved to Fairfield, Jefferson County, Iowa about 1928 and George J. KRUSE, Jr.'s father undertook a career as a carpenter.

    George, Jr. attended public schools in Fairfield, graduating from Fairfield High School on 29 May 1942. During high school, George, Jr. was a skilled trumpeter in the high school band. As a hobby, he loved to build and fly model airplanes. Following graduation from high school, George J. KRUSE, Jr. was employed as a draftsman with Louden Machine Plant in Fairfield. At the Recruiting Station in Des Moines, Iowa, on 26 Feb 1943, he entered the Army Air Corps. He was sent to Jefferson Barracks in St. Louis, Missouri for basic training and then to Michigan State University for pre-flight training.

    On 17 Feb 1944, George J. KRUSE, Jr. and Ila May SMITHSON, high school sweethearts, were united in marriage, with the ceremony held in his parents home at 407 South "B" Street, Fairfield, Iowa. With Ila May accompanying him, George was assigned to Gardner Army Airfield at Hondo, Texas. On 21 Aug 1944, He received his Silver Wings as a Navigator and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the United States Army Air Corps. From Hondo, Texas, George was sent to Lincoln, Nebraska and Cuba for special B-29 Crew Training.

    The crew he trained with was assigned to the 330th Bomber Group, based on the island of Guam in the Pacific Ocean. When the crew arrived on Guam in early 1945, due to manpower shortages on crews throughout the 330th Bomber Group, their crew was disbanded and individuals were assigned to crews throughout. George joined Crew # 804 within the 458th Bomber Squadron, 330th Bomber Group. On their second mission over Tokyo, Japan, their aircraft was hit by anti-aircraft flack fire, disabling the aircraft, and the crew had to bail out. 2nd Lt George J. Kruse, Jr. was separated from the rest of the crew. He was dead when he landed in a wheat field near Urabe, Eiji Mura, Honshu, Japan. Today, Urabe, Eiji Mura has been renamed Inzai-Shi (Inzai City in English). The U. S. Military listed him as Missing In Action.

    On 19 Jun 1945, in Burlington, Des Moines County, Iowa, Christina Marie KRUSE, a daughter, was born to the marriage of Ila May and George J. KRUSE, Jr.

    Research by American and Japanese officials since the end of World War II has found the Japanese normally tortured, beat and mutilated American aircraft crew members who parachuted and landed in places in Japan. It has also been learned that Japanese fighter planes, when the pilots saw parachutes from downed aircraft, would attack the parachutes.

    A fine gentleman, assisting Americans searching for B-29 crew members lost during World War II, has researched and informed us of what happened to Uncle George. He found Report No. 1835, prepared by the GHQ/SCAP Investigation Division, in the Japan National Diet Library. The following explains what he found in that Report. This gentleman was a Prisoner of War in the Tokyo Kempei Tai when eleven surviving crew members from the fateful aircraft were captured and first taken to that prison. The fine gentleman’s name is omitted to respect his request for privacy. We are eternally grateful for his help and thank him from the bottom of our hearts. Our prayers are with him.

    2nd Lt George J. Kruse, Jr. was one of twelve crew members aboard B-29 Aircraft Number 44-69799 on 13 Apr 1945. It was among a fleet of American B-29 Bombers from the 330th Bomber Group based on the island of Guam on a mission to bomb the Tokyo area. Apparently, the fleet of B-29’s was flying from the southwest to the northeast. Aircraft Number 44-69799 was hit by anti-aircraft flack or by a Japanese fighter plane, disabling it. The entire crew had to bail out. Eleven of the twelve crew members were captured by the Japanese. They were taken to Tokyo Kempei Tai and later transferred to the Tokyo Army Prison in the Shibuya area in western Tokyo. All eleven of them perished in a fire at the prison resulting from an air raid by the 330th Bomber Group on 25-26 May 1945. Aircraft Number 44-69799 crashed at Sanuma, Omiya Village in the Ibaragi Prefecture. The area is named Ryugasaki-Shi, or Ryugasaki City, today and is located about 40 miles northeast of Tokyo.

    The morning of 14 April 1945, the deceased body of 2nd Lt George J. Kruse, Jr. was found by Hiroshi Matsunaga, an eleven year old Japanese boy, in a wheat field in Urabe, Eiji Mura (currently Inzai City in the Chiba Prefecture). Hiroshi Matsunaga is deceased and Urabe is about seven miles from the aircraft crash site. When George’s body was found it was discovered that he had a wound in his right thigh and another in his neck. Both wounds were from a large caliber bullet and it was evident he had died from the wounds. George was wearing ankle high boots, a khaki shirt and short pants. There was no parachute, except for the remnants of a safety belt. From this information, it appears George was the victim of a Japanese fighter plane attacking him, and shooting him and cutting his parachute off with the propeller or wing.

    Personal effects found with George J. Kruse, Jr.’s body consisted of a revolver, a locket on a chain, a watch, and a knife. All of his personal effects were taken by the Japanese policemen. The next day, the Japanese villagers reverently and respectfully buried George’s body at Kamitachino in Urabe in Eiji-Mura. Shortly after the surrender of Japan and the end of World War II, the Japanese villagers disinterred George’s body and cremated it. That occurred on 28 Aug 1945. They placed his ashes in a small box, neatly wrapped it in fine linen, and enshrined him in the Kankiin Buddhist Temple in Eiji-Mura.

    In August 1947, his ashes were found in the Kankiin Buddhist Temple in Eiji Mura. He was identified by his dog tags, still with his ashes. The Graves Registration team recovered George’s ashes at that time. U. S. Army Quartermaster Corps officials placed his ashes in an urn, and returned it to his family in Fairfield, Iowa the Fall of 1949. On 17 Nov 1949, 2nd Lt. George J. KRUSE, Jr. (deceased) was interred in the Evergreen Cemetery (Section 3RD, Lot 069) next to the graves of Ila May's parents, in Fairfield, Iowa. He lived 20 years, 6 months, and 14 days.

    God often helps things happen at very special times in our lives. This was the case with our learning the real fate of Uncle George. This date would have been the 62nd Wedding Anniversary for Uncle George and Aunt Ila. And, it was on this date that God helped for us to receive the report from Japan. For that we are, indeed, thankful. To now know the Japanese people from the village treated Uncle George with reverence and respect is eternally gratifying.