Loren Pete Gerber – Our Patriot

Washington is an ordinary little town with ordinary little neighborhoods. Just a few doors down from my house lived my best friend Kent Gerber.  And in Kent’s ordinary little house lived an extraordinary man, his father –  Pete Gerber. Unintentionally,  Pete and his wife Marjorie Ficht celebrated each year a double anniversary: June 6 – D Day and their wedding.

Mrs. Gerber must have fretted so.  Out of her ten children, four young sons decided to serve their country at the same time in perilous 1942.  Raymond, Jody and Pete joined the US Army, and Jake shipped out with the Navy.  

Loren Mack Gerber (affectionately know as Pete) was raised by parents Edna and Andrew Gerber in Eureka. Pete had nine siblings – five brothers and four sisters.   After high school, Pete went to work for Caterpillar Tractor Company in East Peoria.  On October 7, 1942, at age 23,  he enlisted and went to Scott Field, then for basic training at Ft. Knox, Kentucky.  He and Marjorie were engaged so they decided to marry in Springfield before Pete went to war.  He graduated from the Armored Force School, headed off to Camp Cooke in California for training and then desert maneuvers in the Mojave for five months.  Finally, his convoy left the port in New York sailing across the Atlantic.  His was the largest convoy to cross. Escorted by destroyers, they sailed North by way of Greenland to avoid U Boat attacks.  Pete was in the 231st Field Artillery Division which was attached to Patton’s 3rd Army.  Pete’s ship landed in Southampton about half mile from port.  Time was of the essence so wading through waist high water to get on land was normal.  Pete was in England from October until the following June when he shipped to Normandy.  His words:

“I was in the maintenance division and took care of malfunctions of machinery and armaments.  My company had a big wrecker that came along with us.  I was kept busy day after day retrieving what I could and destroying those machines that couldn’t come with us. We moved through hedgerows, creeks, valleys and big hollows.  I slept in the cold in a foxhole or under something.  Lots of times, we couldn’t set up tents. Many times, we slept under trucks or jeeps. For my protection, I carried a carbine and used it several times to protect myself. Most times we didn’t get three meals a day.  In one French village that had just been cleared, we slaughtered a hog. We cut up what we wanted for immediate use and salted the rest to use for about the next three weeks.  We confiscated a couple of German trucks, unloaded their provisions and ate some of their food.” Such was what Pete was experiencing; while at home, we played our kid games and had no idea.

His division fought in five major battles in Europe:  France, Luxembourg, Belgium, Germany which included the Battle of the Bulge. Pete saw Patton from a distance.  He was a respected officer and didn’t send troops into places where there was immediate danger.  Patton planned assaults.  Pete relates:  “I ducked as much as I fought at the Bulge. During that Battle, conditions were so horrendous for our troops.  Tank turrets froze and had to be chipped free of ice.  Machine guns refused to function until bolts were beaten back and forth.  Tank escape hatches and doors were opened with blow torches.  The foxholes provided no protection and extremities froze.  After the Bulge, we came within 11 miles of the Russian border, but had to move back.” The snow and sub freezing temperatures provided the setting for one of the most severe campaigns ever fought by American troops.

Pete was also involved in the liberation of the German concentration camp – Buchenwald – a death camp.  The camp was something Pete would never forget, and he didn’t talk about it for years.  A letter home published on July 12, 1945 relates:

“Buchenwald – a short way from Wiemar – the most horrible sight I have ever seen throughout the war.  Some prisoners guided us and told of the 50,000 prisoners who entered, only 20,000 remain viable. The people were like caged animals. They went days without food. The cremation building was the worst.  The weak and sick were beaten, thrown in a pit or dragged into the basement and hung on a wall (20 at a time) until they died.  Then they were taken upstairs on an elevator – imagine the convenience – to the ovens.  A guide told me that to the best of his knowledge, no American soldiers were cremated but killed by other means besides starvation.  Sleeping quarters were one story; big wide bunks that accommodated 15 men per bunk, and they were packed like sardines.  Sanitation was at its lowest with 3000 using the same toilet facilities and wash rooms.  Bath tubs were circular and ten bathed at once with no soap...just a powder that burned the skin like gasoline.  Quite a few prisoners were left just accumulating the strength to be carried home.  Smell was unbearable and seemed to hang in the air like a smoke pall...death everywhere.  How could anyone believe it never happened?!!”

Letters home were censored and took many weeks to arrive. He coded his letters with the first letter of the sentences so Marjorie knew where he was.   Since Marge and Pete’s anniversary date was June 6, he took special care in writing a love letter to her.  When it arrived, oddly Marjorie found all references to June 6 blanked out…..The government was taking no chances on the secret of D-Day being discovered!

Ray, a young 20, was in the China Burma India Theater and saw the worst conditions. Jody, just 25 served at Guadalcanal. And Jake, age 18 at enlistment, was stationed in Bermuda where wounded personnel were received.  Pete’s dad wrote to each of his sons weekly. Pete’s daughter, Gail, states:  “It must have made him feel as close as possible if only in a letter.” Pete kept a pocket diary relating the weather, location and troop movement, daily rations, work assignments, from whom and to whom he wrote.  Gail continues:  “Not a day went by that he didn’t refer in some way to those days in and out of trenches that solidified in him his appreciation and love for family, friends, faith and freedom.  He remained close friends with one war buddy, meeting for dinner and remembering.  Theirs was an unbreakable bond forged on the battlefield.”

Sgt. Gerber was awarded five battle stars to his E.T.O ribbon and presented a unit citation as he left the service after 39 months with 18 months served overseas.  He and Marjorie were married 65 years and divided their time between Washington and Florida.  His son Kent and wife Gloria have three children.  Gail and husband Kelvin have one daughter.  A close and loving family so proud of their patriarch.

A big thank you to Gail for her assistance. Marge provided material when I wrote an article for Washington Historical Society a few years back. A portion came from Pete’s remembrances that were published in the Tazewell County Veterans of World War II Remembrances, Tazewell County Geneology and Historical Society.