Truman Frederick Krueckeberg was born on October 22, 1919 and raised by his parents, Gustva and Selma (Bieeke), in Union Township. Truman was the oldest of his seven siblings. His siblings were Moris Krueckeberg (who was in the U.S. Navy at the time), Gertrude Krueckeburg, Irene Krueckeberg, Herman Krueckeberg, and two others (names not found in research). He attended the local church's grade school, Immanuel Lutheran Church; he then went to Monmouth High School and attended all four years of high school. In 1937, Truman won the regional spelling bee while at Monmouth High School. After graduation he worked at the Central Sugar Company in Decatur and the Fort Wayne Pump Company. He also on the side, since he was raised on a farm, helped take care of mules, and did field work. On January 19, 1942 at just twenty-three years old Truman enlisted in the Army at Fort Benjamin Harrison just Northeast of Indianapolis. He enlisted because the government was requesting men to enlist weeks after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. He was then sent to Fort Bragg in North Carolina to do basic training, and then specialized training at Fort Sill in Oklahoma; Camp Carson and Camp Hale in Colorado and Fort Bliss in Texas. He was then sent overseas on July 1943 and was put under command of General Douglas MacArthur. During his three years in the war he was part of the 1st Calvary Division, 271st Field Artillery, and achieved the rank of Technician 5. He was involved in four campaigns including: Australia, New Guinea, Admiralty Islands, and retaking the Philippines. While he was on his Philippine campaign, he was in the middle of the Invasion of Luzon, near Manila, he was killed, and then brought back to the United States. He is now laying peacefully in the Immanuel Lutheran Church cemetery. For his service, Technician 5 Krueckeberg earned the WWI Victory Medal, American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, and the Purple Heart. Information collected and researched by Hannah Kunkel, 2014.
Roots web ancestry. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Sept. 2014. http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~inadams/Scrapbooks/1936%20Scrapbook/1936SB124.pdf
Employees of the Decatur Daily Democrat, comp. Veterans of the Bi-State Area. Marceline: D-Books Publishing Inc., 2010. Print.
Indana Historical Bureau, comp. Gold Star Honor Roll: Adams County. Bloomington: Indiana War History Commission, 1949. Print. Vol. 1 of Indiana in World War II.