U.S. Army Tech. Fifth Grade Ben R. Shrum served in a unique tank during World War II. As a member of the 738th Medium Tank Battalion (Special), his tank was outfitted with a coastal defense light (CDL) to light up the night and blind the enemy. The battalion was later given a mine-clearing mission. Shrum’s tank trekked from Belgium into the heart of Germany and played a key role in a critical battle during the latter months of the war in Europe.
His children recalled his remarkable life at Shrum’s funeral service at Arlington National Cemetery on April 23, 2025. “He talked about how nice the Belgian people were who put him up in their house,” said retired Air Force Capt. Joe Shrum, Ben’s son. Ben’s daughter, Judy Mudgett, recalled her father telling her that during night training in Wales, England, his tank flipped over, killing his tank commander. He also told her that during the Battle of the Bulge (Dec. 16, 1944, to Jan. 16, 1945), he guarded an American headquarters from German paratroopers. “Dad talked about pulling guard duty from underneath his tank,” she said.
After the Battle of the Bulge, the Allies fought across Germany, and on March 7, 1945, American armored troops captured the Ludendorff Bridge over the Rhine River at the town of Remagen. The river was Germany’s last natural defense, and the Germans fought hard to destroy the bridge.
Shrum’s children recalled their father telling them that his battalion rushed four CDL tanks to the bridge and lit up the river’s far bank, preventing German saboteurs from destroying the bridge. Although Shrum and his fellow tankers successfully defended the war-torn bridge, it collapsed a week later. “Dad crossed the river on the bridge that [eventually] fell down,” said Joe. “They had to cross one tank at a time.”
As the war wound down in April and May, Shrum found himself pulling guard duty again, this time at Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower’s headquarters in Reims, France. As he told his son Joe, he noticed a group of German generals coming into the building one day. They had arrived to sign the final surrender, which ended the war in Europe on May 7, 1945. He told Joe, “There were so much top brass coming in and out.”
After the war, Shrum worked at Kraft Foods in Gallatin, Tennessee, until the plant closed. He then worked as a handyman. When his wife, Lonnell, passed in 2006, he moved in with Judy and her husband David. Despite a full life, World War II and the friends he made during his service always remained with him. “He went to all of the tank reunions for 15 years,” Judy said, “and his tank crew was always there too.”