World War II veteran honored at Kirtland ceremony

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  • By Nucleus staff reports
KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. --  There was a time that Thomas Grasser, now 90, didn't think he'd see 21.

Grasser joined the Army on June 17, 1943, days after graduating high school in Wisconsin. He became an ambulance driver with the 593rd Motor Ambulance Company, attached to Gen. George Patton's 3rd Army.

"I got to the point where, I didn't want to die, but you get the feeling you're not going home," he said.

As an ambulance driver, he was constantly behind the front lines, living through some of the bloodiest fighting, including the Battle of the Bulge, in the European Theater of World War II.

To explain his state of mind at the time, Grasser said he was supposed to sleep in a "slit hole," a trench just wide enough to sleep in, but narrow enough that tank treads would pass over, hopefully without crushing the person sleeping there.

He and the other drivers eventually started sleeping in the comfortable cots inside their ambulances, he said. It was a more dangerous place to sleep, but he and the others decided, if it was their time to die, at least they'd have a good night's sleep.

"You get on a job long enough, you decide what you're going to do," he said.

His unit evacuated 25,000 patients between Omaha Beach and Aichach, Germany, and participated in the liberation of the concentration camps at Buchenwald and Dachau in Germany.

For his service to his country and to France, Grasser was awarded the Bronze Star and the French Legion of Honour during a ceremony May 20 at Kirtland.

Grasser received a standing ovation from the audience of roughly 70.

"I take this very humbly for all the men and women who serve their country," Grasser said. "I take this for all veterans who have passed on and could not be here."

Brig. Gen. Andrew E. Salas, the adjutant general of the New Mexico National Guard, pinned the Bronze Star on Grasser.

"This is Mr. Grasser's legacy, putting his life on the line to save his fellow warriors," he said. "You went and answered duty's call. I think you are a role model for all of us."

Grasser's daughter, Linda, and grandchildren Nathan Hall and Christina Hall Osburn attended the ceremony. Christina, who was Miss New Mexico in 2006, sang the national anthem at the start of the event.

She said her grandfather, who she adores, is among the most humble people she has ever met. "He still thinks he was just somebody that did what he needed to do," she said. "He's always been humble. I've never met anyone who was as accepting and understanding of everyone."

Even as she learned about World War II in high school, she said, she didn't know what her grandfather had done until he brought out a box of black and white photos.

"Concentration camps, men in uniforms, destroyed towns and buildings, they were just incredible things that I can't imagine," she said.

Grasser, a New Mexico resident since 1949, had been decorated during his World War II service. Recently, Linda Hall, tracked down his military records in Wisconsin and found that Grasser was eligible for an upgrade to the Bronze Star and qualified for French Legion of Honour.

The Bronze Star, the fourth highest federal military medal, is presented for combat heroism or meritorious service.

Grasser's military career did not end with his Army service during World War II. He served with the U.S. Navy Reserves from 1947 until 1955 and then joined the New Mexico National Guard and served until 1976, when he retired with the rank of sergeant first class.

These days, he volunteers at the visitors' information center in Albuquerque's Old Town.

"He did not put up his boots and say, 'I'm done,' " New Mexico National Guard Capt. Denise J. Vargas, master of ceremonies at Wednesday's ceremony, said of Grasser after his World War II service. "He served in the Navy Reserve and the New Mexico National Guard. He is focused on giving back to his community and his work ethic is tireless."

Jovial and in good spirits during much of the event, Grasser turned somber when speaking of the veterans he felt honored to represent.

"I was very surprised," he said of the medals. "I did not expect it. But when you take it in the context of all those who gave so much, it is very humbling."

Grasser said he is looking forward to being on the Honor Flight to visit the National World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C., on June 10-12. But before that, he said was looking forward to being at his post at the Old Town visitors information center, which he does every Thursday.