Marvin Gerald Krieger was born to Abraham and Pauline Krieger on July 31, 1920, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Abraham moved the family to Knoxville when he joined the Tennessee Valley Authority as a civil engineer. Marvin graduated from Knoxville High School in 1937 and enrolled at the University of Tennessee, where he participated in the ROTC and graduated with a degree in business administration in 1941. In September of that year, he was ordered to active duty with the Army Air Corps at Brookley Field in Mobile, Alabama, entering as a 2nd lieutenant. Before departing for Mobile, Marvin wed Jean Schklar, a Tennessee native and graduate of George Peabody College in Nashville.
In April 1942, Lieutenant Krieger completed a two-month course at the Atlanta Quartermaster Base’s motor school. He was subsequently restationed to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and promoted to 1st lieutenant. In January 1943, he transferred to South Plains Army Flying School in Lubbock, Texas, where he served as a materiel officer. By April 1943, he was promoted to captain and transferred to Alliance, Nebraska, where he served in the 71st Troop Carrier Squadron, 434th Troop Carrier Group. In late 1943 or early 1944, Krieger’s unit departed for England, where he was once again promoted, this time to major at the age of 23.
Major Kreiger’s squadron dropped the first glider units ahead of the D-Day invasion at Normandy, France, the actions for which were honored with a Bronze Star and Presidential Unit Citation. During most of World War II, Major Krieger’s unit evacuated injured Allied soldiers from the frontlines to safety in France and England. Importantly, they also supplied air drops to the 101st Airborne Division at the Battle of Bastogne, Belgium, the culminating action of the Battle of the Bulge.
Following World War II, Major Kreiger returned to the University of Tennessee and obtained a law degree; he was admitted to the bar in August 1948. Kreiger joined the judge advocate general corps as a prosecutor and was chosen to serve on the Nuremburg War Crimes Tribunal. He remained in the Army, retiring as a colonel in 1971. He and his family ultimately moved to San Diego, California, where he taught law at the University of San Diego School of Law until 1983. Colonel Marvin Krieger died in 1999.
Knox County Archives, located on the second floor of the East Tennessee History Center, is proud to honor those who have served our country in the armed forces by preserving the history of their service. Team members at Knox County Archives are digitizing military discharges (military form DD-214) that were registered in Knox County, Tennessee. These permanent records represent every conflict from the American Civil War through the Vietnam War and reveal a great deal about a veteran’s service. This biographical and historical information may not exist in any other form due to a fire at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1973; it destroyed an estimated 80% of United States Army discharges from World Wars I and II. Using these rare and important DD-214s, Knox County Archives hopes to share the stories of some of East Tennessee’s veterans.
If you have questions about accessing the DD-214s registered in Knox County, please call 865-215-8800, email archives@knoxlib.org, or visit Knox County Archives at the East Tennessee History Center, 601 S. Gay St., Knoxville, TN 37902.
Research by Zachary Keith, County Archives Digital Assistant
