Town Hall Newsletter: Veteran Joseph Thurmond: I’ve wanted to return to the Czech Republic for a long time

Town Hall Newsletter: Veteran Joseph Thurmond: I’ve wanted to return to the Czech Republic for a long time

The guest of honor at the Freedom Festival will be a man who traveled across Europe during World War II, from Normandy to western Bohemia

The Libration Festival marking the end of World War II and the city’s liberation by Allied forces—the Freedom Festival—are set to host Joseph Thurmond, a direct participant in World War II battles, this year. He is scheduled to arrive in Pilsen just a few days after celebrating his 100th birthday in April. He was a member of the 94th Infantry Division. He entered the war in February 1945. He saw action in the Rhineland (Düsseldorf, etc.) and Central Europe. His 94th Infantry Division reached Czechoslovakia, specifically western and southwestern Bohemia, in June 1945. He performed guard duty, for example in Klatovy and Střelské Hoštice.

1/ What was the reason you decided to travel back in 2026 to the Czech Republic?

I wanted to see all the places I served during the war from France, Germany to Czech Republic and how it has changed. I have some good memories of being at the time in Czechoslovakia. I met kind families in different towns that fed me and tried to teach me their languge when I had free time. I desired to come and see the wonderful growth and changes your countrymen have made after the destruction of war. I want to travel there before I lose my years and am not able to enjoy the rest of my life. I do this while I can still find answers to my questions of which towns and buildings I visited, too. Sometimes because of language barriers I did not know exactly where the army had shipped me.

2/ Have you been to Europe since the end of WWII? If so, could you share, please some of your experiences?

I have been to Europe since the end of World War II. Two years ago, my son and I went to the 80th anniversary of D-Day at Normandy. American Airlines took care of the expenses of the trip. We traveled and got to see several of the towns and even some of the places where we disembarked, as we came over from Liverpool, England in 1945. We enjoyed the trip and it helped shake some of my memories of being in Europe. Being almost 100 years old, it just helped me to remember where I was and who I was with.

3/ Can you mention where you lived before entering active service, whether you were studying / working? Where was the training of 94th Infantry Division taking place?

Before entering active service I was raised in Western Kentucky and worked ever since I quit in 6th grade to support the family by cutting trees supports and shims for the coal mines of Western Kentucky. I worked with brothers and relatives. When I was 16, I started working in Indiana for International Steel and lived with my half brother. I was working through the Union there, and recently, here in Indianapolis, Indiana, I was awarded a plaque for 84 years of Union Sheet Metal Work as a tradesman. They even gave me credit for the years that I was in the army during World War II.

4/ You were taking part in 2 campaigns - in the Rhineland and Central Europe. What did you experience in those last weeks of the war in Europe?

I was taking part in two campaigns in the Rhineland and the Central Europe and during those weeks we rode, it seems like thousands of miles in the back of the trucks and train cars getting to the battles and coming in as reinforcements to several of the major battles, getting there just in time to be shipped to the next hotspot of the war.  It was a time when every bone in my body was shaken by the time we got to the different places.

5/ You came to Czechoslovakia as a soldier right after the war ended. What were your duties in our country and how do you remember your stay?

After the war has ended we were clearing the hideouts, destroying the weapons, collecting non detonated casings, filling up holes from the explosions and making sure the prisoners were held and filtered into the major prison holding centers. We were spending our time in the towns and cities of western Czechoslovakia such as Klatovy or Střelské Hoštice. By the end of 1945 I was transferred to the 51st Signal Corps outside of Munich. Guarding, transporting and working the German prisoners as they cleaned up areas that had been turned to rubble.

6/ Did you make friends in the army during the war? Did you stay in touch with any of your military time friends after you came back to US?

I had some friends when I was in the army, but I was relocated out of the barracks near Le Havre, France and so I was separated from my initial battalion that I went in with and that's when I was transferred to the Third army to the 94th Infantry Division and separated from men with whom I had enlisted and trained.

7/ What was your occupation after returning from the war to the US? Tell us about your family.

When discharged, I went back to Evansville, Indiana to work. On May 20, 1947 I married the pastors daughter of my childhood. I married her the same day she graduated from high school. We have 4 children and were happily married 17 day short of 78 years together before she passed away.