World War II Honoree

Fred Hargesheimer

Branch of Service

U.S. Army Air Force

Hometown

Rochester, Minnesota

Honored By

Grateful American

PILOT OF A P-38 AIRCRAFT AND WAS SHOT DOWN BY A JAPANESE PLANE IN THE SOUTHWEST PACIFIC ON JUNE 5TH, 1943. HE PARACHUTED INTO THE WILDERNESS FOREST OF THE ISLAND OF NEW BRITAIN. AFTER 31 DAYS HE WAS FOUND BY NATIVE VILLAGERS WHO HAD BEEN SEARCHING FOR HIM SINCE THEY SAW HIS PLANE GO DOWN. THE VILLAGERS HID HIM FROM JAPANESE PATROLS FOR EIGHT MONTHS. IN FEBRUARY, 1944, HE WAS PICKED UP BY A U.S. SUBMARINE,THE USS GATO, IN A RENDEZVOUS ARRANGED BY AUSTRALIAN 'COAST WATCHER' COMMANDOS OPERATING BEHIND JAPANESE LINES. HE RECEIVED, AMONG OTHER AWARDS, THE SILVER STAR, THE DISTINGUISHED FLYING CROSS AND THE PURPLE HEART.