I believe that Magda’s full name was Magdalena Joseva Marie Valter. She was born in Slavkov, Opava, Czechoslovakia, on November 3, 1909. Magda and Fred were married in Trieste, Italy on January 15, 1940. They had one son and one daughter between 1946 and 1948. Magda died on June 30, 1994, at the age of 84. She had been a widow for 32 years.

I began researching Magda after a conversation with her granddaughter, who wanted to learn more about the lives and experiences of all four of her grandparents. Magda was her maternal grandmother, and I became interested in uncovering the story behind the life she had shared with Fred Paul Herman.

Using my accounts on Ancestry, Newspapers.com, MyHeritage, and FamilySearch, I was able to begin tracing some of the stories connected to the lives of Ann’s “Grands.”

I started by gathering the facts I could find about Magda’s life. One of my first significant discoveries was a formal eulogy written for Magda’s daughter in 2020. This beautiful tribute provided important information about Magda and her husband, Fred Paul Herman. It stated:

“…(they) were refugees of the Holocaust from Czechoslovakia. In 1941 they fled to Manila in the Philippines, and Fred Paul took employment with the U.S. Army. Fred Paul Herman was a survivor of the Bataan Death March and was a prisoner of war in Bilibid Prison, while Magda was interned by the Japanese with other European women and children until the Philippines were liberated by the U.S. military in 1945. For his service assisting other prisoners of war, Fred Paul Herman was awarded the American Medal of Freedom in 1946.”

Reading this account raised an important question for me: Could I find Magda or Fred in official wartime or prisoner-of-war records?

As I began searching those records, I made a remarkable discovery concerning Fred. The information I found about Bedřich “Fred” Herman matches so closely with what I already knew about Fred Paul Herman that I believe these are records of the same man—Ann’s maternal grandfather, who was identified in some records as a Czechoslovak national.

The combination of names, dates, nationality, wartime experiences, and other details provides an extraordinarily strong connection. What began as a search to learn more about Magda has opened the door to a much larger story: two people who fled Czechoslovakia, found themselves in the Philippines during World War II, endured imprisonment and internment, and eventually began a new life together.

I visited the website of the Czech Embassy in Manila, where I found a list of Czechoslovak volunteers who fought alongside American forces during World War II. The list includes Bedřich Herman (Fred Hermann/Herman).

According to the information I found, Fred was an employee of the Bata Shoe Company. He was liberated from Bilibid Prison in 1945, received the U.S. Medal of Freedom, and later emigrated to the United States.

A 2023 article published in the Manila Bulletin also identifies Bedřich “Fred” Herman as one of 14 Czechoslovak heroes who fought alongside American and Filipino forces during World War II.

These records provide another significant piece of evidence connecting Bedřich “Fred” Herman with the Fred Paul Herman in my friend’s family history

The Czech sources added a fascinating detail that wasn’t in the family eulogy. Bedřich Fred Herman was one of a group of Czechoslovak’s who helped obtain food for starving American and Filipino forces.

He was part of a group that entered an area controlled by the Japanese to recover two rice mills. They spent approximately 36 hours under Japanese fire while carrying out the operation. A 1946 letter from U.S. Army Col. M. A. Quinn specifically names Bedřich Hermann among the seven Czechoslovak’s whose bravery was recognized.

That gives me a much better explanation for why Fred received the Medal of Freedom “for his service to assist other prisoners of war.” His service apparently began before his capture, helping supply the starving American and Filipino forces.

The Czech historical sources say that Fred:

1. Worked for Baťa Shoe Company in Manila.
2. Volunteered to assist the American forces after the Japanese attack.
3. Participated in the dangerous rice-mill operation.
4. Was captured after the surrender.
5. Survived the Bataan Death March.
6. Was imprisoned in the Philippines.
7. Was ultimately held at Bilibid Prison in Manila.
8. Was liberated in 1945.
9. Received the Medal of Freedom.
10. Eventually emigrated to the United States.

The Czech Embassy says he later died in an airplane accident.

There is also an interesting historical document I found in the London Gazette from 1949 that gives an additional identity clue. It lists: “Herrmann, Bedrich (or Friedrich), known as Fred Herman, Czechoslovakia; Chemist (Analytical Laboratory)”

The document pictured below was obtained from Family Search. It is an Index to Alien Case Files showing that Magda immigrated to the USA on 18 Oct 1946. This event took place in Detroit, MI. This document helped me find the names of Magda’s parents Vilem and Maria.

I found the 1960 U.S. Census record for Fred and Magda, which provides an interesting glimpse into their lives in Michigan. One detail that stood out to me was that Magda was older than her husband by six years.

The 1950 U.S. Census shows Magda, age 40, and Fred, age 34, living at 11390 Auburn Avenue in Detroit, Michigan. Their two children, John, age 4, and Marian, age 1, were also living with them. Both children were listed as having been born in Michigan.

Fred was working 40 hours a week as a field accountant at an auto factory, while Magda was listed as “keeping house.” The census also indicates that neither Fred nor Magda was yet a U.S. citizen.

A 1956 Dearborn, Michigan, city directory provides another glimpse into the family’s life. Fred was listed as a staff manager for Dodge Main in Detroit. Their address was given as 1121 N. York Street in Dearborn, although I am treating the address as tentative until I can confirm it with another record.

Together, these records help fill in the years after Fred and Magda survived the war and came to the United States. By 1950, they were establishing a home and raising their young children in Detroit. By 1956, Fred had moved into a management position at Dodge Main, suggesting that his career was progressing as the family established itself in the Detroit area.

Fred’s life ended tragically when he was only 46 years old. He died in a plane crash Continental Airlines Flight 11 on May 22, 1962. Flight 11 was flying from Chicago to Kansas City when it exploded and crashed in a field near Unionville, Missouri. It was later determined that a passenger detonated a bomb, taking his own life in an attempt to cash in on an insurance policy for his wife and daughter. I have access to several articles about this crash but because they show the actual wreckage I did not put them in this post. It gave me great pause to think of this sad event. Their daughter, Marian, was only 13 years old when she lost her father.