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Death of a School Teacher
Jerome Neumann was a School Teacher in New York
City before the start of WWII. He became
Corporal Jerome P. Neumann Army Serial Number
12057953 assistant Squad Leader in the 507th
Parachute Infantry Company H 3rd Platoon
2nd Squad.
Sergeant George M. Forte was Corporal Neumann's
Squad Leader and they
Jumped from Plane #42-32806. They were
dropped far west of Drop Zone T,
landed near Lastelle, France, east of La Hays du
Puits.
I spoke with Mortar Sergeant Robert
L. Bearden who was in Sergeant Forte's 3rd Platoon.
Both Sergeant Bearden and Sergeant Forte were in the
same Barracks in Stalag 3C as POWs. While in Stalag
3C Sergeant Bearden stated that one night Sergeant
Forte revealed what had happened to Corporal
Neumann.
Sergeant Forte told of what had
occurred after the Jump. Forte broke his leg and
used his rifle as a splint and found only Corporal
Neumann. As the sun was starting to rise they knew
that the Germans were everywhere. Corporal Neumann
asked Sergeant Forte shouldn't they hide in a
hedgerow. Forte said, no hiding is not what
Paratroopers do. Forte and Neumann were captured a
short while later by
6th German Fallschmiger 1st Battalion,
Commanded by
Hauptmann Emil Preikschat.
The Germans checked the Dog Tags for
both men and they saw that it said H for Hebrew.
They took Corporal Neumann a short distance away and
put him on his knees and
shot him in the back of the head. The Germans
left him by the side of the road. This happened
just outside of the
town of Lastelle, France. That night the town's
people took Jerome P. Neumann body and buried him in
the
Lastelle, France Cemetery with no name so the
German's would not locate his body.
A large number of the
6th German Fallschmiger 1st Battalion
Company 1-4 died over the next few days fighting the
101st Airborne Division. In February
1945 the Graves Registration located and removed
Corporal Neumann to the Marigny #1 Cemetery.
Jerome Neumann's
father Meyer wrote letters to the Government
after his death. They are included in the IDPF from
the Army. In the IDPF it matches up with what
Sergeant Forte had told Sergeant Bearden in the POW
camp.
Reaching out to the family member of Jerome Neumann
is the ultimate goal but so far no luck.
Documentation for this article comes from the 507th
Yearbook, the Individual Deceased Personnel File,
NARA, Google Maps, the Army Signal Corps, The Lions
of Carentan Book with the photo of Emil Preikschat
and from the unpublished book Rations Strength of 7
Armee by Richrad Anderson.
Brian Siddall
Researcher
September 16, 2020
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