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MWSA Review
DeGroote: The Incredible Life of a Downed US Airman Who Joined the French Underground During WWII was written by Conrad John Kersch prior to his death in 2000. His youngest son Kris Kersch then supplemented the autobiographical part of the book with more details about his father’s life before and after World War II as well as a section about his three sons.
Conrad John Kersch reveals bits of his earlier life through the text in flashbacks as various events and scenes during the war make him think of his time growing up in Chicago, spending a few years with his grandmother in Romania after his parents died, and his 50 missions in the Pacific prior to being shot down in France on what was supposed to be an easy mission with no flak expected. He filled in on missions with various crews as a flight engineer and a bombardier. He was always willing to risk his life in combat.
After being the only member of the crew to escape capture by the Germans, Kersch found refuge with various French families associated with the French Underground group that worked for Charles DeGaulle. He was eventually accepted in this underground group. He spoke no French but was fluent in German, being raised by German parents. When he was active in Belgium, he was able to communicate with the Belgians who spoke Flemish, which has many words similar to German words. The title of the book refers to the name Kersch was given when he was accepted in the underground: Albert DeGroote.
While underground members often had to wait for orders, living in areas occupied by Germans was very stressful. Days were excessively boring, and Kersch was willing to do any work to keep busy, including cutting grass to feed the farm’s goats. He was also very aware that many of the young German soldiers were simply fighting for their country and were not Nazis. In one case he befriended two young German soldiers who were hiding from strafing by Allied planes.
Kersch joined the Army Air Forces in 1935 and flew his first mission as a bombardier on March 22, 1944. It’s unclear how long he was in France, but he was out of the service and working for a grain company in Texas in December 1944. One of the reasons he left the service was because they would not let him return to combat or even to Germany to utilize his ability to speak German. However, he did reenlist in 1948 to help pay for medical bills associated with the birth of his youngest son Kris. Since he spoke six languages, he was assigned to the OSS, the precursor of the CIA, and was sent to Germany. He retired as a master sergeant in 1959. This 378-page text tells Kersch’s story, shedding light on how difficult it was to live under German occupation.
Review by Nancy Kauffman (March 2021)
Author's Synopsis
The true story of Albert DeGroote who is an orphan, immigrant, airmen, a soldier in the French Underground, and his real name is SSG Conrad John Kersch. As a bombardier aboard B-17G Tennessee Hillbilly for the 303rd Bomber Group on mission 128 March 26, 1944 was to drop payload and get back to base safely. On this particular mission the payload was dropped but the journey home took a drastic turn. This is the story of SSG Kersch bailing out, evading capture, living with the French, and ending up fighting in the French Underground {FFI}, reprieved from a firing squad. His journey from childhood to joining the Army in 1935 is nothing but ordinary.
ISBN/ASIN: 978-1-943267-77-4, 978-1-943267-76-7, 978-1-943267-78-1
Book Format(s): Hard cover, Soft cover, Kindle
Review Genre: Nonfiction—Memoir/Biography
Number of Pages: 416