Chess Set, Swords Gone Missing; Toms River Family Seeks Return Of World War II Mementos

TOMS RIVER, NJ — James Fraunberger remembers the stories his father, Stephen, told of his service in World War II.

The U.S. Army veteran served in both the European and Asian theaters and was highly decorated for his service, receiving two Bronze Stars and a Silver Star, his son said in a message to the Patch.

"(He) served as a sergeant in the U.S. Army in Germany and ended his tour in the Philippines at the finish of the war in the Pacific. He witnessed the attack on Pearl Harbor and the atrocities in Germany and France," James Fraunberger wrote.

When Stephen Fraunberger returned to the States, he attended the police academy and became a police officer and later police detective in Clifton. As he and his wife, Elsie, raised their sons, James and his older brother, Stephen, the family often played chess on a chess set Stephen Fraunberger received as a gift in while he was in Germany, and on the wall of their basement hung a pair of swords — a headhunter's sword, and a battle sword — that he had been given in the Philippines.

"When my dad died (in April 1996) these mementos were all given to my older brother who had them at his home in Bloomfield and later at his retirement home in Toms River," James Fraunberger wrote. His brother died in November 2015, he wrote, and his sister-in-law put the items in her Toms River garage for James Fraunberger to pick up at a later date.

"The week prior to Memorial Day (2016), my sister-in-law’s daughter decided to donate some furniture and items to the Vietnam Vets and Habitat for Humanity," James wrote. "She also invited some 'garbage pickers' into the garage to take some Christmas decorations. While they were in there she remembered that there were a few things inside the house and was gone for about 2 minutes."

When the daughter returned, the person was gone. And so were the swords and the chess set, he said.

"My dad was awarded the chess set by a German baron while his battalion liberated the town of Gutengluck," James Fraunberger wrote. "The family has played many games of chess with that set and it always reminded us of the fact that with endurance and fortitude you can overcome great obstacles since that chess set was in a castle that was in or near the town that was nearly destroyed."

The swords were given to him after the Battle of Corregidor that closed out the war in the Philippines, he said.

"When my sister-law told me I was heartbroken, because those items were my last connection to my dad," James Fraunberger wrote. Most of the family's photos were destroyed during flooding caused by Hurricane Floyd, he said.

While his brother followed in their father's military service footsteps, attending Valley Forge Military Academy and taking Reserve Officer Training Corps training there and later at Seton Hall University before serving in the 82nd Airborne, James was unable to do so.

"I wanted to follow in the service to my country but due to health reasons could not," he wrote. "So I did the next best thing and have worked with autistic, Down syndrome, muscular dystrophy and disabled children in local school district here in central New Jersey."

"(The chess set and swords are) a memory of the accomplishments his battalion performed both in Germany and the Pacific," James wrote of his father's belongings. "I am sadly realizing that these items are gone forever and in the hands of someone that has no connection to them and does not even know the history."

He's hoping someone might see his story and return the items, no questions asked.

"They are of no value to him/her but mean a great deal to myself and his grandchildren," James Fraunberger said.

Sgt. Stephen J. Fraunberger served in the 329nd Infantry, A Company. In the April 1981 issue of the Thunderbolt, a publication put out for veterans of the Army's 83rd Infantry Division, he recounted an incident from that time in Gutergluck, wbere he was faced with an oncoming German tank while on a scouting mission. He credits an American tank with stopping the Germans and saving his life — allowing him to report back that the American flank was exposed and protecting American troops in the process. (The item refers to him as being in the 392nd, but that appears to be a typographical error as an item in a later Thunderbolt announcing his death lists him as in the 329th.)

If you are the person who took the chess set and swords, or if you have any information on the whereabouts of either one, email karen.wall@patch.com.

Photo of Stephen Fraunberger, playing the accordian, provided by James Fraunberger