CALLAO - Fred Schrader’s wife and his family had a little surprise for him at a Veteran’s Day program at the Callao Christian Church recently.

Schrader a World War II Army veteran was unaware that his daughter and son-in-law, Julia and Richard Castle of Callao had secretly purchased awards and medals he should have received for his service in the military, that he never had received after the war.

“Julia, bought a WWII green dress jacket from an estate on E-Bay,” Richard Castle said. “She watched an auction very close until she won the bid.”

With Fred’s wife, Carmela’s, help the group found the paperwork that was needed which told what medals and awards Fred should have received.

“When Fred got his honorable discharge all he had on his mind was getting home to his wife and his son in St. Louis,” Richard said. “Many military papers were destroyed in a fire in St. Louis.”

During a special veteran’s ceremony before regular church services at the Callao Christian Church Fred was presented with his gift of the jacket complete with awards. Tears of gratitude and surprise were shed.

“I had know idea that Iwould ever receive such a gift,” Fred said. “I was complaining to my wife about my picture not being shown during the program. Did I feel bad after the special surprise for me.”

His family started in the summer gathering the medals what ended up taking Fred three years to accumulate.

When Fred married, Carmela, on Sept. 20, 1941, he had know idea how their lives would change. He was drafted by the Army and left Union Station in St. Louis two days after their first wedding anniversary. He pulled from away from the train station leaving a young wife and baby behind.

Fred was a paratrooper with the 176th Military Police Company. He also served with the 845th Engineer Battalion.

“While working with the military police I was picked to walk Post 1 at the guard house, “I was walking my post and a Sergeant came to me and said, “‘Come inside, you’ve got something.’”

 “When I got into the room there were three officers at their desks. They told me that I had just received three stripes,” he recalled. “I became a Tech “Buck” Sgt.” 

“The officers asked me how I would like being an officer,” he said. “All I could say was “what?”
They gave Fred some questions. He passed and was selected.
When he was leaving Jefferson Barracks he thought he was going to be an officer. He later found out that he  was too late and had been appointed to paratroopers school.
He remembered being in a plane with a group of soldiers and wasn’t sure what they were going to do. They yelled for us to stand when the light over the open door turned green. Then he said they were ordered to walk forward.

“When I got in front of the door I felt a foot on my butt and I was kicked out of the plane,” he said. “I knew what    we were there for when I got that shove out the door.”

Fred was injured twice during his military career. Once he received shrapnel above his knee. Another incident was when shrapnel went through his chin and knocked his bottom teeth out. “I have some teeth laying in France somewhere,” he said grinning.
Fred was among the thousands of soldiers that invaded the German-occupied France during the code name of Omaha Beach on June 6, 1944.

“The Germans were nestled into pill boxes in a cliff along the beach,” Richard said.
“We had just liberated Italy and we headed to France. While on ship the men knew there destination,” Fred said. “When we arrived, the beach was black with battle ships. Our ships.”
 

Fred was among the soldiers who liberated two Nazi concentration camps. One was Dachau, he doesn’t recall the name of the second camp.
The 92-year-old veteran recalls entering the camp.

“No body can ever imagine,” he said. “There were bodies laying on layered bedding. Stacked on one another. They were alive. The people were walking skeletons with skin. They ran up to us and we were afraid to touch them.We were afraid they would break. There were pits that the people had been shot and thrown in. They were so happy to see us.”
“One man approached me and asked, “Where have you been?” I told him, “We had a few obstacles to