World War II Honoree

Fred Hargescheimer

Branch of Service

U.S. Army Air Force

Hometown

Lincoln, Nebraska

Honored By

Friends of American Heroes

ON JUNE 5, 1943 HE, A P-38 PILOT WITH THE EIGHTH PHOTOGRAPHIC RECONNAISSANCE SQUADRON, WAS SHOT DOWN BY A JAPANESE FIGHTER WHILE ON A MISSION OVER THE JAPANESE-HELD ISLAND OF NEW BRITAIN IN THE SOUTHWEST PACIFIC. HE PARACHUTED INTO THE TRACKLESS JUNGLE, WHERE HE BARELY SURVIVED FOR 31 DAYS UNTIL FOUND BY LOCAL HUNTERS. THEY HID HIM FROM JAPANESE PATROLS FOR SEVEN MONTHS, FED HIM, AND NURSED HIM BACK TO HEALTH FROM TWO ILLNESSES. IN FEBRUARY 1944, WITH THE HELP OF AUSTRALIAN COMMANDOS, HE WAS PICKED UP BY A U.S. SUBMARINE.