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Krasny, John Friedrich (34170536): Difference between revisions

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|birth_year=1914
|birth_year=1914
|death_year=2005
|death_year=2005
|nativity=Au
|nativity=Austria
|religion=C
|religion=Catholic
|enlistment_place=FT BRAGG NORTH CAROLINA
|enlistment_place=FT BRAGG NORTH CAROLINA
|state=NORTH CAROLINA
|state=NORTH CAROLINA
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|class_number=10
|class_number=10
|class_display=10
|class_display=10
|death_date=8 April 2005
|birth_place=Vienna, Austria
|rank_final=Sergeant
|death_place=Gaithersburg, Maryland
|alias=John F. Krasny
|awards=Bronze Star
|awards_grid=Bronze Star
|awards_ribbons=Ribbon_Bronze_Star_Medal_ribbon.png
|awards_ribbon_rows=Ribbon_Bronze_Star_Medal_ribbon.png
}}
}}


<div class="soldier-lead">
<div class="soldier-lead">
'''John Friedrich Krasny''' (1914–2005) was a Ritchie Boy (from Austria; Catholic) who trained at Camp Ritchie in class 10.
'''[[Krasny, John Friedrich (34170536)|John Friedrich Krasny]]''' (c. 1915 – 8 April 2005) was a Vienna-born Ritchie Boy (Class 10) interrogator with Fifth Armored Division who later researched textile flammability for NIST.
</div>
</div>


== Biography ==
== Biography ==
Krasny was a Ritchie Boy. John was a native of Vienna, Austria, and worked in his mother’s textile factory in Czechoslovakia until he immigrated to the United States in 1938. He was a laborer in textile factories in North Carolina. He entered the U.S. Army in September 1941 and trained in intelligence at Camp Ritchie, MD. He was attached to the 5th Armored Division from D-Day through the end of the war and used his language skills as an interrogator of German prisoners and civilians. He told his family that he and other “Ritchie boys” used creative methods to gather intelligence — for instance, they would telephone an Axis armaments factory, impersonate a German officer and attempt to order certain weapons to ascertain whether production was underway. In his unpublished memoir, Mr. Krasny said that interrogators discovered in advance the German troop buildup for the Battle of the Bulge. The information, gleaned from prisoner interviews, was passed to Supreme Headquarters, Allied Expeditionary Force, but he and his colleagues felt that their warnings were ignored. “For me, knowing that SHAEF had strong warnings but did not act upon them remains the most frustrating event in my life,” Mr. He was awarded a Bronze Star by the Army. After the war, Mr. Krasny returned to the United States and received a bachelor’s degree in physics in 1948 from the University of Denver. While in Colorado, he indulged his love of skiing long before ski lifts were common in the mountainous West. He settled in the Washington area, working for what was then known as the National Bureau of Standards and later for the Gillette Research Institute on textile research-and-development projects. He received a master’s degree in statistics from American University in 1958. In 1972, he returned to the Bureau of Standards (now the National Institute of Standards and Technology), where he worked on garment and furniture flammability. He was the author of more than 80 technical papers and received a Bronze Medal from the Department of Commerce. John passed away April 8, 2005 at the age of 90.
John Friedrich Krasny was born in Vienna and worked in his mother’s textile factory in Czechoslovakia before immigrating to the United States in 1938. He labored in North Carolina textile mills until entering the Army in September 1941 and training in intelligence at Camp Ritchie (Class 10).
 
Attached to the 5th Armored Division from D-Day through the end of the war, he interrogated German prisoners and civilians. Krasny later wrote that Ritchie Boy teams warned SHAEF of the German buildup before the Battle of the Bulge and felt those warnings went unheeded. He received the Bronze Star.
 
After the war he earned a physics degree at the University of Denver (1948) and a master’s in statistics at American University (1958), working on textile research for the National Bureau of Standards / NIST and Gillette. Author of more than eighty technical papers, he died of congestive heart failure on 8 April 2005 at Asbury Methodist Village in Gaithersburg, Maryland, at age 90.


== Research notes ==
== Research notes ==
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== Timeline ==
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed soldier-timeline">
<div class="soldier-timeline-body">
* c. 1915 — Born in Vienna (age 90 at death in 2005).
* 1938 — Immigrated to the United States; North Carolina textile work.
* September 1941 — Entered U.S. Army; Camp Ritchie Class 10.
* 1944–1945 — 5th Armored Division interrogator; Bronze Star.
* 1948 / 1958 — B.S. physics, University of Denver; M.S. statistics, American University.
* NBS / NIST / Gillette — Textile flammability research.
* 8 April 2005 — Died in Gaithersburg, Maryland.
</div>
</div><div style="clear: both;"></div>


== Sources ==
== Sources ==
* Camp Ritchie class roster (classes 1–31), merged research file
* RB Archive: John_F._Krasny.docx / Textile Technologist obituary OCR (Washington-area death notice)
* Camp Ritchie Museum, Inc. (The Ritchie History Museum), Classes 1–31 roster data
* Dan Gross research spreadsheets, including original Excel timeline/roster work, combined with other research and records
* NARA World War II Army enlistment records (where a NARA ASN is present)
* NARA World War II Army enlistment records (where a NARA ASN is present)
* 1940 U.S. Census (where a census match is present)
* 1940 U.S. Census (where a census match is present)
* Ritchie Boys of WWII Facebook page, post dated 2022-12-06 (1 post)
* Ritchie Boys of WWII Facebook page, post dated 2022-12-06 (1 post)
* Dan Gross, ''Timeline of John Friedrich Krasny for Camp Ritchie'' (private research document; 1 source documents reviewed)
* Dan Gross, ''Timeline of Krasny, John Friedrich for Camp Ritchie'' (private research files; selected non-private narrative findings; 1 source files: JOHN F. KRASNY.doc)

Latest revision as of 20:45, 16 September 2026

John Friedrich Krasny
Personal details
Birth nameJohn F. Krasny
Born1914
Vienna, Austria
Died8 April 2005
Gaithersburg, Maryland
NativityAustria
ReligionCatholic
AwardsBronze Star
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch United States Army
ASN34170536
RankSergeant
Rank at RitchieTechnician Fourth Grade
Camp RitchieClass 10 (23 July – 20 September 1943)
Section5B
EnlistedFt Bragg, North Carolina
Awards and honors
Bronze Star
Research notes on this page are compiled from the source file and later edits. They may be unverified, incomplete, or incorrect, and should not be treated as established fact. Please correct the article or add sources on the talk page. For class-roster terms, see About the data.
Sources & confidence: Treat Research notes as leads, not settled fact. Prefer NARA, the class roster, newspapers, Find a Grave, or published histories for contested claims. Mark unsourced claims with {{Needs source}}, or explain disagreements on talk. Baseline import notes: About the data.


John Friedrich Krasny (c. 1915 – 8 April 2005) was a Vienna-born Ritchie Boy (Class 10) interrogator with Fifth Armored Division who later researched textile flammability for NIST.

Biography[edit | edit source]

John Friedrich Krasny was born in Vienna and worked in his mother’s textile factory in Czechoslovakia before immigrating to the United States in 1938. He labored in North Carolina textile mills until entering the Army in September 1941 and training in intelligence at Camp Ritchie (Class 10).

Attached to the 5th Armored Division from D-Day through the end of the war, he interrogated German prisoners and civilians. Krasny later wrote that Ritchie Boy teams warned SHAEF of the German buildup before the Battle of the Bulge and felt those warnings went unheeded. He received the Bronze Star.

After the war he earned a physics degree at the University of Denver (1948) and a master’s in statistics at American University (1958), working on textile research for the National Bureau of Standards / NIST and Gillette. Author of more than eighty technical papers, he died of congestive heart failure on 8 April 2005 at Asbury Methodist Village in Gaithersburg, Maryland, at age 90.

Research notes[edit | edit source]

  • Class 10 GerOB NBS/NIST
  • OB 29 BS

Technical record[edit | edit source]

Field Imported value
Approx Age at Death 91
Nara ASN 34170536
Nara Name KRASNY JOHN F
Nara State 46
Nara County 21
Nara POE 4625
Nara DOE 130941
Nara Grade Alpha PVT
Nara Grade Code 8
Nara Branch Alpha BI
Nara Branch Code 0
Branch Branch Immaterial - Warrant Officers, USA
Nara Term or Enlistment 0
Term of enlistment Unknown
Defer. Date 0
Nara Source 0
Nara Nativity N2
Nara Year of Birth 14
Nara Race J
Nara Race Description White not yet a citizen
Nara Education 7
Nara Civilian Occupation 50
Nara Marital Status 1
Nara Height (inches) 67
Nara Weight (lbs) 140
Class_ASN 34170536
Class_Name KRASKY, John F.
match_method asn_exact_name_compatible
row_source both

Timeline[edit | edit source]

  • c. 1915 — Born in Vienna (age 90 at death in 2005).
  • 1938 — Immigrated to the United States; North Carolina textile work.
  • September 1941 — Entered U.S. Army; Camp Ritchie Class 10.
  • 1944–1945 — 5th Armored Division interrogator; Bronze Star.
  • 1948 / 1958 — B.S. physics, University of Denver; M.S. statistics, American University.
  • NBS / NIST / Gillette — Textile flammability research.
  • 8 April 2005 — Died in Gaithersburg, Maryland.

Sources[edit | edit source]

  • RB Archive: John_F._Krasny.docx / Textile Technologist obituary OCR (Washington-area death notice)
  • Camp Ritchie Museum, Inc. (The Ritchie History Museum), Classes 1–31 roster data
  • Dan Gross research spreadsheets, including original Excel timeline/roster work, combined with other research and records
  • NARA World War II Army enlistment records (where a NARA ASN is present)
  • 1940 U.S. Census (where a census match is present)
  • Ritchie Boys of WWII Facebook page, post dated 2022-12-06 (1 post)
  • Dan Gross, Timeline of John Friedrich Krasny for Camp Ritchie (private research document; 1 source documents reviewed)
  • Dan Gross, Timeline of Krasny, John Friedrich for Camp Ritchie (private research files; selected non-private narrative findings; 1 source files: JOHN F. KRASNY.doc)
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