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About Keizertimes. (Salem, Or.) 1979-current | View Entire Issue (June 8, 2018)
JUNE 8, 2018, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE A7 VET, continued from Page A1 tractors, farm equipment and an old Chevy, it didn’t take long for his superiors to note his aptitude for mechanical troubleshooting. “They sent me to the wheeled vehicle school where they asked dumb little ques- tions I thought everyone should know,” Thompson said. He breezed through the coursework. But, when he re- ported to the 16th Division, Thompson discovered they didn’t need another vehicle mechanic, they needed soldiers who could fi x a busted tank. He went back to Fort Knox to become certifi ed in tank maintenance and repairs. Tak- ing classes was fi ne with him because it meant he was get- ting shipped overseas. After completing his second round of classes, Thompson was sta- tioned in Fort Smith, Arkansas, for about a year before receiv- ing orders to deploy to the European Front in February 1945. Thompson landed in France and stayed there until late April when orders came down from Patton to begin moving north through Ger- many toward Czechoslovakia (in the area which is now the modern Czechia). “In Germany, we went through towns that were like driving through a rock quarry. We had to bulldoze the path to get through the town. There George Thompson in his Emerald Pointe resi- dence with a gift from the mayor of Nýrany. KEIZERTIMES/ Eric A. Howald was tremendous devastation,” Thompson said. The Division traveled through Nuremberg making sure the last of the Nazi forces had been cleared out and then made a last push into Czechoslovakia. About 60 miles into the Czech territory, Thompson was part of a unit tasked with going street-to-street in Nýra- ny looking for occupation forces. “I was walking along a stone wall and someone fi red on me from somewhere. I got some rock chips in my face, that’s was how close it was,” Thompson said. A short fi re- The best gifts for fi ght ensued, but Allied forces won the day. After resisting German troops, along with others who surrendered, were rounded up, Thompson was one of several soldiers charged with usher- ing the captives toward the infantry troops following the armored division. Along the way, Thompson ended up hav- ing to protect the captives from the Czech citizens. “They went at those sol- diers with sticks, rakes, hoes, whatever they had. They were everywhere, and I did what I could, but our medics patched up more Germans than they did our troops that day.” From Nýrany, the division continued east to Pilsen. “Pilsen loyalists were call- ing for help to repel the Ger- mans. Patton gave our division the word to charge in and take care of the city,” Thompson said. Thompson said there were about 6,000 German troops in Pilsen and the Allies sent in ap- proximately 400. “We took them pretty much by surprise. We located the commanding general and told him we had him surrounded, which he wasn’t,” Thompson said. The general signed sur- render paperwork and then shot himself on the spot. While the 16th Division didn’t loiter in Pilsen long, Thompson made the most of the time. He and a friend he had known since the day he enlisted, Vernon Lewellen, were dispatched to the Pilsen Airport with orders to jerry rig the German vehicles left to rot. “There were airplanes, trucks, wagons, jeeps, tanks, and more. If they weren’t al- ready ruined, they tried to destroy what was left. They’d reach under the dash yank all the wires out. My job was put- ting a big battery in the back of a German jeep and then go down the line to see if I could start them,” Thompson said. He hotwired as many as he could and the Allies turned over the vehicles to the Pilsen citizens to help with rebuilding efforts. He and Lewellen were at the airport together on May 8 when they learned Allies had accepted the unconditional surrender of the German Na- zis. DADS & GRADS The 16th Division kept moving north to a “cow-town with no bar,” but were recalled to Germany not long after VE Day. In Germany, Thomp- son was promoted to motor sergeant and oversaw a crew of captive German soldiers who did all the dirty work. He remained there for about six months before returning home. Back in the U.S., Thomp- son married his wife, Ruth and had four kids, two girls and two boys. The couple retired to Prescott, Ariz., before Ruth’s health problems led them to Keizer around 2008. After falling out of touch with Lewellen after the war, the two reconnected years later and it was Lewellen who called him in 1990 with a proposi- tion to return to Czechia to be honored as part of the coun- try’s liberating forces. At the time, Thompson didn’t even have a passport and nixed the idea, but Lewellen called again after he returned from the fi rst Liberation Day ceremony in 1990. “He came back and said ‘you can’t imagine what they did for us.’ They had parades and mon- uments. I went in 1991 and it was everything Vernon said and more,” Thompson said. He’s gone back 14 times since his original trip and re- cently returned from his most recent outing. In 1995, on the 50th an- niversary of Czechia’s libera- tion, Thompson delivered his speech on a stage next to the Cathedral of St. Bartholomew. He’s taken part in parades, spo- ken to students at local schools and developed an affi nity for beer spas. “In every village around there. There are plaques and monuments and signs. They will never forget,” Thompson said. Some of the friendships he’s developed with Czech natives over the years now span three decades, and honors of differ- ent types keep pouring in. Two of the more recent ones have come from the modern day mayor of Nýrany. The fi rst was a one-of-a-kind wood carving featuring an American soldier, the insignia of the 16th Divi- sion and the seal of town of Nýrany. Another one will have to wait a while, but Thomp- son has a sneak preview hang- ing outside his residence at Emerald Pointe in Keizer. It’s a Czech street sign bearing Thompson’s name. “This year, I went over and the mayor said he had a spe- cial gift, but he couldn’t give it to me. He said he was nam- ing a street after me, but they can’t do it before I’m dead,” Thompson said. Every year, Thompson is absolutely certain that the Lib- eration Day can’t get any bet- ter. Every year, at least for him, it does. “The biggest change is there are fewer vets now than there were. In the fi rst year I went, there were 20 or 30 of us. This year, there was only three,” Thompson said. The hardest thing to adjust to aside from the red carpet treatment was getting used to being called a hero. “That made me uneasy be- cause it was the guys who nev- er made it home that were he- roes. I only got used to it after I realized they were calling the American Army heroes. I can live with that,” Thompson said. That is a fi ne hair to split but, after spending a little time with Thompson, it becomes clear that the Czech citizens mean precisely what they say. KFD gets gifts from Czechia George Thompson brought back gifts for the Keizer Fire District from his most recent trip to Czechia. ARE ONLY AT B OUCHER J EWELERS 503-393-0701 • 4965 R IVER R OAD N • M ONDAY -F RIDAY 9-6 • S ATURDAY 9-5 Father’s Day is Sunday, June 17 KEIZERTIMES/ Eric A. Howald Keizer resident George Thompson will be delivering a gift box of patches and pins from fi re departments in the Czechia along with a statue of St. Florian, the patron saint of fi refi ghters in the Czechia, to the Keizer Fire District Friday, June 8. Thompson struck up a friendship with one of his hosts who also volunteered for his local fi re department years ago. Thompson took a set of KFD patches to the department a year ago. Last month, the chief of several Czech fi re depart- ments presented Thompson with the patches, pins, and stat- ue to give to Keizer Fire. puzzle answers SENSATIONAL ® Carpet by Dreamweaver $ 2 9 * / sq yd All the softness you love, now in your carpet. *Installation included with 8 lb. cushion. Carpet Cleaning Any Size 1-Story Home Any Size 2-Story Home $ $ 1 49 ** 2 49 ** **Some restrictions may apply. • 4930 River Rd N, Keizer 503-371-8188 ValleyFlooringCenter.com CCB #162221 •
