Herbert Freedman

Korean War vet aided wounded soldiers on hospital trains.

By R. Kurt Osenlund, BucksLocalNews.com


Discussing his service as an Army medical assistant on a hospital train during the Korean War, Newtown resident Herbert Freedman says he had “a very cushy job,” which wasn’t harrowing, but “pleasant.” He knows a great many other veterans can’t say the same, and that many of them endured military experiences that altered their lives forever.

But Freedman also found ways for his service to alter his life, channeling the energy he devoted to his duties overseas into a fruitful, fulfilling career.

Freedman was born on June 18, 1928 to parents Abraham and Clara. Along with his younger sister, June, he grew up in Atlantic City – “a quiet little town, before the gambling and casinos.” He graduated from Atlantic City High School in 1946. He pursued higher education, first attending George Washington University in D.C., then transferring to Temple University, where he studied business administration and earned his diploma in Feb. 1951.

While at Temple, Freedman was selected for the draft; however, the Army allowed him an extension so he could complete his courses. In April, less than two months after graduation, he headed to Fort Dix for 14 weeks of basic training. Freedman remembers it being “pretty rough,” and that his first time firing a rifle “knocked [him] on [his] rear end.”

Following a very short break, Freedman boarded a boat to Germany, told by his superiors that he’d eventually wind up in Korea. Luckily, though, he didn’t, and instead he and many of his peers remained in Germany throughout their tours of duty. Freedman first landed in Bremerhaven in 1951, then moved on to Sonthoven and then to Degendorf.

He eventually ended up in Munich, which he’d call home for the next six months. It was there that Freedman got assigned to the hospital train, ferrying wounded and disabled soldiers to and from hospitals in Germany and beyond. Freedman and those like him were tasked to serve food, wash dishes and tend to the soldiers’ needs, all the while receiving medical training to prepare them for the worst.

In April of 1952, Freedman relocated to Kaiserslautern, where he continued to serve on the hospital trains, this time traveling with patients to and from a facility in Verdun, France.
Freedman stayed in Kaiserslautern until the end of his service, which wrapped up in January of 1953 (he received an early discharge, having served overseas for more than 21 months).

It took three weeks for Freedman to venture home across the English Channel. He finally set down at Camp Kilner in East Orange, N.J., and was formally discharged on Feb. 19, 1953 as a private first class. He dabbled in retail for a bit, taking part in his father’s shoe business and opening a store of his own in Baltimore. Also in Baltimore, he worked for the U.S. Postal Service and even taught Spanish to elementary school students.

But, ultimately, Freedman settled into a counseling career, parlaying his experiences of tending to strangers on trains into advising individuals as part of the Department of Social Services.
A talkative gentleman, Freedman says he enjoyed chatting with people about their concerns. He continued to do similar work with the Social Security Administration, which employed him until he retired in 1997.

Along the way, Freedman met his wife, Marcia, whom he married in August of 1955 and with whom he had two children, Michelle and Neal. Marcia passed away from complications with diabetes in 2001, and these days, Freedman finds comfort in his grandchildren, Margo and Alex, and a new companion, Patricia, whom he met on Match.com.

He enjoys traveling (he’s visited Argentina, Greece, Thailand and Beijing), theater (he sees shows through his synagogue, Shir Ami), serving as a secretary with his Jewish War Veterans chapter and movies.

And what does he think of his military service now?

“It was a good experience,” he says. “I learned a lot.”