Need help tech sergeant Theodore Kumburis

Nick,

First, welcome to this discussion board.

Your quest for answers when it's too late to get them first hand is a common one. There are many people on this board on similar missions. Hang in there. Sometimes answers are slow to come, but suddenly appear.

If you look at the "research corner" on this board you will find that Carl has posted lots of tips for getting started tracking down records. Sometimes these searches yield results. Sometimes they dead-end at a fire. But dead ends are not the end, either.

Floyd, a member of the 106th who frequents this board, can probably tell you more on this one. But, I believe local courthouses kept records of returning soldiers. So, if you know the hometown (or county seat) where your great uncle returned to, you may be able to get some answers there.

If there's a place that has kept copies of local newspapers, they often also noted returning soldiers.

If there are any letters floating around from your great uncle, the return address would contain some clues.

A battalion or regiment number will open a lot of doors to information about his unit. A serial number would be a gift. (Anyone in the family have his dogtags...?)

Of course, posting here helps up the odds that someone may see the name and recognize it. It's a long shot but it does happen.

Do you know if your Great Uncle was taken captive by the Germans or remained free throughout the Bulge?


Connie

Also i was looking at his overseas caps he gave me and it has part of his serial number K-3589 and it looks like his unit is written on the inside but its very hard to make out what it looks lke is theres a number or letter i cant make out then a 7 it looks like a 0 or a 5 and then another 5 and it looks like a th so is there any 106th infantry divisions that start are like this 705 or 755 or that start with a 7 and end with a 5. - Nick K

Nick,

Your investigations have begun earlier in life than for most. Asking around the family is a good idea. Someone may remember something that will help in your search.

The patches you have may also hold a few clues. I'm guessing that they include the 106th Infantry Division's Golden Lion Patch... ?? Is there a Combat Infantry Patch among them?

The frostbite is helpful information. If he was in one of the units taken captive, it could be that his frostbite saved him that fate. Most of the men in two of the division's three infantry regiments were taken captive (422 and 423). The 424 Infantry regiment was able to avoid captivity. The 4 Field Artillery units (589-592) were lined up right behind the infantry units. Initially most from three of these units eluded captivity. Most from the 590th Field Artillery Battalion were captured. The Gregg award makes me think that your great uncle might have been trained for or actually doing some staff work. (This did not mean immunity from action. During the Battle of the Bulge even those most accustomed to typewriters got to see more than their share of action. )

The numbers you've been able to make out don't immediately ring a bell for me.

Carl may be able to help you more on the patches when he checks in.
Connie

Thanks for the information. Every little piece is valuable. I added your Great Uncle to the 106th Roster. See it at

www.indianamilitary.org/106ID/Rosters/RosterZOHO.htm

Keep me posted if you do discover any more about him.

Jim West,
webmaster

April 4th sadly Theodore Kumburis passed away and his story is now forever lost but at least he was able to share some of his story and live a happy and successful life. - Nick K

Thanks and I will never stop my search for more information about him. - Nick K

Nick:

Here's your Great Uncles obituary. I went on line and obtained it. The obituary was in the Indianapolis Star, a daily news paper in Indianapolis. This doesn't give you what you are looking for, yet it does give information that you may not have until now.

Floyd
424th Regiment

Kumburis, Theodore J.
April 6, 2011
*

www.gannettonline.com/external/scripts/momslikeme/?siteid=5588

Theodore J. Kumburis 87, of Indianapolis, passed away April 4, 2011. He was born February 10, 1924 in North Bergen, New Jersey to Nicholas and Elizabeth Kumburis. Ted served in the Army during WWII and fought in the Battle of the Bulge. He was a self-employed small business owner. His wife, Ruth Kumburis, preceded him in death. Survivors include his daughter, Debra (Gary) Barnard; grandchildren, Keith (Lori) Zapp and Amy Zapp; great grandson, Charles James Zapp; sister, Helen Ferrara; brother, Harry Kumburis; and several loving nieces and nephews. Friends may call from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday, April 7 at G. H. Herrmann Madison Avenue Funeral Home, 5141 Madison Avenue. Services will be held at 10 a.m. Friday, April 8 at the funeral home. He will be laid to rest St. Joseph Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made to the American Diabetes Association. Online condolences may be shared with the family at: www.ghherrmann.com

Nick,

If your great uncle or his parents were still in New Jersey at the time of his enlistment or discharge, it might that you are close to places that have records of enlistment or discharge. You might check the county courthouse closest to where he grew up... or newspaper archives from the hometown.

Connie

Also I used a black light in his overseas cap to reveal his unit number and what 106th infatry division unit ended in 35? - Nick K

Nick,

Here's a link to units attached to or in the 106th Infantry at some time during or after the Battle of the Bulge:
106thdivision.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=unit&action=display&thread=544

Maybe someone else can see something I'm not seeing. But I don't immediately see anything close to what you're deciphering in the hat... unless for some reason he was trying to disguise the unit number and wrote it backwards. Then if what you saw as a "3" could possibly be an 8, we could pull 589th, which is one of the organic Field Artillery Units within the 106th Infantry Division. It's a stretch, I know...

I did try googling the numbers you came up with on this last try with "WWII" before them. I came up with a field artillery unit from Louisiana that went overseas two years before the 106th and was engaged in action in Italy. This doesn't fit with anything you know about your uncle. It included a roster from 1943. I even looked through names, though I didn't expect to find your uncle there.

I think you have pretty strong family tradition pointing to the 106th Infantry. And the frostbite and Battle of the Bulge work with that one. It makes sense to try to connect the numbers in the hat with something there. (Or, it might be possible that he was with another unit in the states before his assignment to the 106th...)

This is an interesting puzzle.

Connie

I want to thank everyone for there tips and the last of his brothers (my grandpa) recently passed away he served in the marines during the korean war. - Nick K

Thanks I plan on joining the marines after college and he joined the marines about a month before it ended and was stationed as a fire fighter/crash crew in the 2nd marine division in San Juan, Puerto Rico. - Nick K

Thanks! His hometown was North Bergen, NJ and his daughter found some paper work so I might get that and when I talk to her whatever I find out I will share with everyone. - Nick K

I was talking to one of his sisters and she said it was for a medal he recieved, it says something about how his trench was full of water and snow and both his feet got frost bite so he was taken off the front line and then either a couple hours later or a day and his entire unit was whipped out. - Nick K