Profiles of American Service: Vincent and Richard Krepps

Written by Carly Swaim, History Associates

Born in Lynwood, Pennsylvania, twin brothers Vincent and Richard Krepps joined the Army together in 1949. Both served in the Second Infantry Division, 82nd Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion, and were sent to Korea in early 1950. Private Vincent Krepps drove an M19 self-propelled gun, while Richard, or Dickie, served as a cannoneer.

Only thirteen days after arriving in Korea, Vincent found himself on the frontlines near the Naktong River. Assaulted by heavy enemy artillery fire, Vincent’s unit received orders to retreat. In the mêlée, enemy troops surrounded them. Armed with only a hand grenade, Vincent left the cover of his damaged M19.  Hours later during the retreat, an abandoned tank blocked the road.  Amid heavy North Korean fire, Vincent ran two hundred yards to the tank, steered it off the road, and performed emergency repairs before driving the vehicle through an enemy road block in search of American aid.  Careening down the road, Vincent drove miles before spotting another friendly detachment.  The unit rushed heavy tanks to Vincent’s encircled battalion, but most of the men had been killed or taken prisoner. Vincent Krepps received the Silver Star for his actions.  Following this ordeal, Vincent reunited with Dickie, who had also experienced combat with his M16 halftrack crew. It would be the twins’ last moment together.  After a short period of time, both brothers received orders to return to the front lines.

In the fall of 1950, Chinese forces entered Korea.  During the American retreat at Kuna-ri, they captured Dickie Krepps.  After learning of Dickie’s capture, his family did not hear anything from their son.  As a POW, Dickie had been placed in North Korea’s Camp 5, one of the most notorious wartime prisoner camps. However, rumors of deplorable POW camp conditions had not yet reached the United States, and the Krepps family had already received a glimmer of hope from an unlikely source: in 1951, the family spotted a picture of Dickie in the local newspaper. Released as propaganda by the Chinese Communists, the picture revealed eleven POWs, one of whom was Dickie. Despite the heartbreaking look on Dickie’s face, his family knew that he was alive.

Following the war, Dickie did not appear on any POW lists. In 1954, the U.S. Government informed the family that, according to the North Koreans, Dickie had died in June 1951. Vincent could hardly bear the pain of losing his twin brother, and for years sought to learn more about Dickie’s imprisonment.  He contacted veteran after veteran for information, until finally, in 1998, Ronald Lovejoy told Vincent that he had stayed in the same make-shift hospital as Dickie. Lying on the cold floor, they had talked and comforted one another in the abysmal conditions. One morning, Dickie did not reply. Their captors took Dickie’s body outside and stacked it with others.  After nearly fifty years of waiting for Dickie to reemerge, Vincent found comfort in the fact that his twin brother did not die alone. Unfortunately, many families of POWs have not had the same consolation. However, Vincent Krepps demonstrates that the POWs of “the Forgotten War” have never really been forgotten.

The National Museum of Americans in Wartime honors the service of Vincent and Dickie Krepps, and all other Americans who have served the cause of freedom.