PORTLAND, Ore. -- Today, September 19, is National Prisoner of War / Missing in Action (POW/MIA) Recognition Day, a time to remember and honor the service and sacrifice of military members who were captured by the enemy and/or are still missing and unaccounted for.
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) is charged to provide the fullest possible accounting for our missing personnel to their families and the nation. For more information on the current status of missing service personnel, see the DPAA website.
In the 142nd Wing’s history, there are a total of over 20 personnel who were POW and 11 who are still MIA. A listing of these men can be found in “Remembering on National POW/MIA Day 2019."
It was two days after D-Day, June 8, 1944, and the 371st Fighter Group, today’s 142nd Wing, was tasked to provide combat air patrol over the Normandy landings to keep the German Air Force (the Luftwaffe) away from the beachheads and ships offshore.
The Dogfight
Trademark was the call sign for the group’s 404th Fighter Squadron, and Trademark Red Flight was composed of four P-47D Thunderbolt fighters on this mission flying on the eastern end of the operations area for the Normandy landings. The flight leader was Capt. George D. Pieck, the operations officer of the squadron, with his wingman Flight Officer (F/O) Edwin S. Humphreys, Jr. (Trademark Red 2), along with element leader Capt. Harry P. Wagner (Trademark Red 3) and his wingman 1st Lt. Harry W. Hohl, Jr. (Trademark Red 4).
From an air perspective, the Germans now had 48 hours to respond to the Normandy landings, sending many more aircraft to try and break through the shield of Allied air cover protecting the beachhead. This was the first day of the war in which the 371st Fighter Group fought with the Luftwaffe, as described in “First Blood in the Air."
At 1650 hours, Trademark Red Flight encountered 12-15 Me-109s heading southwest in the Cormeilles area about 20 miles south of Le Havre and engaged them. Capt. Pieck shot down one Me-109 in the fight: “I was leading Trademark Red Flight flying at 20,000 feet. I let down through a thick layer of clouds and breaking out at 19,000 feet saw about 15 ME 109’s at 12 O’clock level approaching us at 45 degrees. I called the flight to break left. At the same time the E/A broke in all directions. I singled one out and did one 360 degree turn with him, attempting to position myself. He broke off toward the deck and I followed him down giving him a 4 second burst with about 20 degree deflection. After following him down to 2,000 feet and realizing my altitude and angle of dive, I broke off. At this time the ME 109 was smoking and an unidentified piece flew off his ship. Considering the altitude, speed, and angle of dive of the ME 109, I did not believe he could pull out. As I leveled off I looked back and saw an explosion on the ground. I claim one ME 109 destroyed.”
Capt. Pieck’s element leader Capt. Wagner supported his claim in the following written statement: “I was leading the second element of Trademark Red Flight at 20,000 feet. We encountered about 15 ME 109’s at 19,000 feet after coming out of the clouds. Captain Pieck told the flight to break. After breaking I felt hits on my ship and broke down. I pulled out at 3,000 feet, glanced back to my left and down where I saw an explosion with lots of smoke and flame, undoubtedly a plane crash in a small woods. From the relative position of this point to Captain Pieck’s aircraft, I concluded that the 109 he was following down had crashed.”
Mr. Frederic Henoff, an independent/freelance French regional historian, investigated this dogfight and some 15 Luftwaffe fighter losses that day. He believes it possible that Capt. Pieck achieved his victory against Oberfeldwebel (Ofw.) Peschel Martin of the fourth squadron of the 11th Fighter Wing (4./Jagdgeschwader (JG) 11), flying an Me-109G-6, Werk Nr. 440928.
Trademark Red 2 and 4 are downed
Capt. Pieck made a statement for inclusion in the Missing Air Crew Report (MACR) 5876 which the group submitted for F/O Humphreys on the mission. “On June 8, I was leading Trademark Red with F/O Humphreys flying No 2 and Lt Hohl flying No 4. Upon breaking through a slight overcast at 19,000 feet, we met head on with 15 plus ME-109’s. We broke into them as they turned into us. The last time that I saw Lt Hohl and F/O Humphreys was just before we engaged the ME-109’s. They were in perfect position upon breaking out of the overcast. After the engagement, I tried to reform the flight but the only person that I could find was Capt Wagner who was flying No 3. While trying to reform the flight over the R/T, someone called and stated that Trademark Red 2 and 4 were O.K.”
In a statement for the MACR dated June 12, Capt. Wagner wrote: “While flying No 3 with Lt Hohl on wing we bounced the 109’s head on and then I broke through them and down to about 9,000 feet, leveled off, looked back and saw the ME’s buzzing up overhead where we bounced them. Lt Hohl was close on my wing at that time. Suddenly I felt a jarring in my tail and Lt. Hohl called break. We both broke left and down into a nearby cloud bank. After flubbing around in the clouds I came out N.W. of Le Havre heading for home and using the R/T to try to find Lt. Hohl. I haven’t heard from him since.”
Trademark Red 2 – Missing in Action
As things turned out, Trademark Red 2 and 4 were most decidedly not O.K. F/O Humphreys, from Chicago, Illinois, flew P-47D-16-RE, serial number 42-76081 as Trademark Red 2, and did not return from the mission, presumably shot down by a Luftwaffe fighter in the dogfight.
One source indicates he was shot down in the vicinity of Cormeilles by an FW-190A-8 flown by Leutnant Wilhelm Hofmann of the 8th Squadron of Fighter Wing 26 (8./JG 26). Mr. Henoff looked at ten Luftwaffe claims against P-47s that day, and considers attribution to Lt. Hofmann possible, but also identified a P-47 claim by Unteroffizier (Uffz.) Kurt Faltin of the fifth squadron of the 11th Fighter Wing (5./JG 11) in the vicinity of Rouen.
From whoever’s hands, Humphreys remains missing to this day, and is remembered on the Tablets of the Missing at Cambridge American Military Cemetery in Cambridge, England, United Kingdom. He was awarded the Air Medal and the Purple Heart. A search for missing personnel on the DPAA website shows F/O Humphreys’ status remains as “Unaccounted For.”
Trademark Red 4 – Missing in Action, for a while
MACR 5872 was filed for the loss of Lt. Hohl, in P-47D-21-RA serial number 42-25567, but in his case his loss was temporary. One source indicates he was shot down by an ME-109G-6 flown by Major Klaus Mietusch of Fighter Wing 26’s 3rd Squadron staff element (3. Stab/JG 26) northeast of Le Havre. This source stated the pilot was killed, but in this case, Hohl was very much alive. Mr. Henoff believes it was possibly Lt. Hoffman of JG 26 or Uffz. Faltin of JG 11 in claims for a P-47 around Rouen.
Hit by enemy fighters on his ninth or tenth mission since arriving in England April 6, the New Brighton, Pennsylvania native’s P-47 was “Out of control, right wing shot up badly, losing pieces. Fire not seen.” Hohl bailed out at about 15,000 feet and “Was knocked unconscious on leaving ship. Regained consciousness after about six hours.”
Hohl awoke to find someone had already taken things from him. He found himself without foreign currency and maps “…lifted by some kind Frenchman before I regained consciousness.” What followed was an evasion escapade which could make for an exciting novel.
As Hohl came to, he found himself being led by a French man across a railroad track enroute to a secure hiding spot, where he was given some civilian clothes to cover his uniform. He was then taken to the location that evening where another American fighter pilot was at, P-51 Mustang pilot 1st Lt. Robert K. Butler, 487th Fighter Squadron of the 352nd Fighter Group, shot down on D-Day. The location was described as the Cleout (Clouet?) farm between Lieurey and Jouveaux. Lt. Hohl had a doctor visit the next day to check on his condition.
With the FFI
Hohl was soon in the custody of French Forces of the Interior (FFI) guerillas wearing FFI armbands. The FFI were a paramilitary component of the French Resistance active during the Allied liberation of France in 1944-1945. It was a unified military structure aimed to bring together all the different groups which were resisting the German occupation by force of arms. With the Normandy campaign underway, Hohl and the group he was in soon moved to another location.
The group in which he and Lt. Butler found themselves was part of the Maquis, the rural resistance fighters in France, in a sub-group or a larger group of Maquis called Surcouf, led by Robert LeBlanc. (Robert Surcouf (1773–1827) was a famous French privateer, a national hero in France and a public enemy in Great Britain for his deeds during the Napoleonic Wars)
The deputy leader of the Surcouf sub-group in which the two American fighter pilots found themselves in was named “Marcel,” the code name for Louis Vesque, and the chief of the section/chef de section was identified as Robert LeBranche. Many other names appear in the evasion and escape debriefing report accomplished after the two pilots returned to friendly control some weeks later. Early on was a redhead named Jennie (35 ¾ 40) hiding out, a girl named Marguerite doing liaison work. Later there was Jean, a former criminal inspector for the surete at Rouen, acting as the bodyguard for a “big wheel” in the section, perhaps for LeBranche. They even saw Jean’s wife and three children. There was Alfred “who was always getting drunk,” and from Paris, Robert and Micheline. They also met a lot of the “black market boys” in their journey. And later met a Suzanne L’Auray. They mentioned some helpers by name as well, a Raymond “Toutroffe” Muller, Yves Conde, Le Ludel and Roy Raymond.
But the winds of war brushed over the land and reminded them of the war. On June 18, a Mitchell medium bomber was shot down near the farm, in the vicinity of Les Bottereaux (about 30 miles south of Lieurey), a Royal Air Force No. 226 Squadron Mitchell Mk. II medium bomber, serial FV989, code MQ-J (a B-25, US serial number 42-87154). Two of the crew were killed and two others evaded capture. The group moved again, near Bailleul La Vallee and a barn where they were directed by a Louise Bouteiller. The FFI killed two Italians they held “…for talking too much.”
Other foreigners soon arrived, including a German army private named Wilhem Jordan put under guard by the guerillas. Also joining the group was a No. 426 Squadron (Royal Canadian Air Force) Handley-Page Halifax heavy bomber serial NP683 Flight Officer George D’Arcy, a Canadian. On August 13, Marcel’s group captured a German staff officer who was part of Field Marshal Günther von Kluge’s staff at Trouville, an Oberstleutnant Georg Ertle. Von Kluge was the Commander of the German Army in the West and would take over subordinate Field Marshal Erwin (the Desert Fox) Rommel’s Army Group B as well after Rommel was wounded by RCAF Spitfires in July, 1944.
The capture of the German staff officer took place when the German position in Normandy was becoming completely unhinged by Operation Cobra and General Patton’s breakout from Normandy. Third Army’s swift movement eastward across France was closely supported by Hohl’s fellow pilots in the 371st Fighter Group, which you can read about in “Second Campaign: The 371st Fighter Group in Normandy."
The capture of the staff officer occurred just a couple days after Trademark Red’s Flight leader, Capt. Pieck, went missing in action, which he also remains to this day. Pieck, from Clarksdale, Mississippi, went MIA on August 10, 1944 when his P-47D-20-RE, serial number 42-76408, was hit by flak. He bailed out a few miles east of Flers, France, and was observed by another flight member to land safely on the ground about 15 miles inside enemy lines. But he wasn’t heard from again. According to DPAA, he remains “Unaccounted For.” Capt. Pieck is remembered on the Tablets of the Missing at the Brittany American Cemetery, St. James, France. He was awarded the Air Medal with 13 Oak Leaf Clusters and the Purple Heart. (MACR 8011)
Meanwhile, back at the farm, the FFI may have wanted the Americans to join in on their operations, but the pilots, perhaps unfamiliar with infantry tactics, declined. Things got exciting when German forces shot up the section which caused the evaders to move to Heureville. They stayed there for three days before they returned to the Bouteiller farm.
Misunderstandings?
Possibly due the language barrier and unusual movements of personnel, Lt. Hohl drew the impression that the Surcouf FFI intended to sell their captives to the highest bidder, be they German or American. It is true that operating a resistance was costly and acquiring funds was difficult, which may explain Lt. Hohl’s missing foreign currency. But according to Mr. Henoff, the Surcouf group leader Robert LeBlanc was well regarded and that he “…was an honest and upright man, honored after WWII by his compatriots for his actions in the Resistance.”
In Late August as the Germans fled from Normandy, when Allied forces approached them, they suddenly changed their mind and got scared, thinking they would be punished for their illicit detention. Suddenly, the captives found themselves unguarded. Lt. Hohl acted swiftly and he and the P-51 pilot bolted, bringing the two Germans along with them.
So it was, in the last week of August the fighter pilots encountered an advanced patrol of the Queen’s Regiment, 7th Armored Division (UK, the Desert Rats) and were sent back to Caen, and then on to Bayeux by August 26, where they were processed by members of Intelligence School 9 (Western European Area) and counseled not to discuss his evasion and escape experience with anyone prior and signed a security certificate acknowledging that. He was then flown out for interrogation in England on August 26 or 27, 1944 (sources differ).
Evasion and Escape Debrief
Lt. Hohl was interviewed in England on either August 28 or 29, 1944 (date of report featured overstrike of date with a 9 over an 8, or an 8 over a 9). A report was compiled on November 23, 1944 pulling a variety of statements and information together. His remarks are insightful. While a captive, Lt. Hohl noted the following observations on Luftwaffe and Germany army operations: “In first weeks of June, observed much German air activity. Continued on into July, but little in August over area I was in. Often saw 109’s or 190’s on the deck, while Allied planes were above the clouds overhead. Never saw any Germans in good weather, but they were always out on cloudy days, just below cloud level, and on the deck. Also observed twin engine German aircraft at dusk usually on deck, headed toward front, usually single or pairs. Majority of German planes in day were pairs or flights of four.
“About August 15th Germans moved into the area I was hiding in. Observed many trucks and much flak. All area now in Allied hands. Germans moved out ahead of Advancing British and Canadians.
“Talked to a German major who was captured by F.F.I. He was Commandant of an Inf. Div. at Honfleur or that vicinity. He believed that the power of Allied production and Germany’s lack of air force would cause them to retreat. Two German enlisted men also captured were obviously glad to quit fighting. One was a Hollander who had been drafted into Army.”
In a critique of his evasion and escape (E&E) aids box, he was asked to comment on the following box items and responded thus:
Horlicks tablets. Ate them for several days. Tasted good
Chocolate or Peanut Bar. Ate peanut bar
Milk (tube). None
Benzadrine tablets (fatigue). Not used
Halazone tablets (water purifier). Used them once, after that found fairly safe water supply
Matches. Not used
Adhesive tape. None
Chewing gum. Chewed it
Water bottle. No good – needs screw top or cork instead of draw strings
Compass. Used several times
Sewing kit. Best thing in box
Once the E&E box was emptied, Lt. Hohl gave it to the French along the way, who used it for a sugar box.
In addition to the box, Lt. Hohl had a “purse” also, which contained several E&E maps, foreign currency, a compass and a file (hacksaw). The last two items Hohl had in his escape box. Alas, his purse was purloined, as mentioned above and as he conveyed in his debrief: “Purse was in flying coverall knee pocket (zipper), taped to escape box, with maps. When I regained consciousness on ground, purse and two of three maps were missing.” Hohl used the remaining map as patches for his clothing and as a towel.
In his E&E debrief in England, Lt. Hohl was asked for suggestions to help future evaders and escapers, to which he responded “Keep away from units of F.F.I. – they stink. Resistance is OK, will help you. Safest place to be is working on some farm in civilian clothes.”
Mr. Henoff understands from American reporting the unfavorable impression of the FFI which Lt. Hohl seemed to have. He referred to French Norman Historian, Alain Corblin who has written three books on the Surcouf Maquis group, which “had some rather “special” methods of collecting money,” a relatively common practice at that time across France.
Mr. Henoff quoted remarks Mr. Corblin made in promotion of his (Corblin’s) latest book: “During the German Occupation, a pair of shoes was worth as much as a gun, and 40 grams of tobacco as much as a liter of gasoline! My aim was to enable today's readers to understand Robert Leblanc's courage and tenacity," says Alain Corblin. It's easy to imagine what was involved in maintaining so many men at a time when products were rationed, unobtainable or very expensive.
“With this in mind, he had to find a lot of money. The operating expenses of the Surcouf maquis are estimated at 4 million francs for the period from November 1942 to September 1944. Some of the boss's decisions, some of his methods, may today give rise to unease.”
Mr. Henoff concluded with a possibility: “Perhaps during a discussion, while the airmen were there, someone jokingly said, “To get money, all we have to do is to ask the Germans for a bonus for prisoners!!” Who knows?” He is looking into the matter to see if there’s any more information about this episode which could perhaps better explain how Lt. Hohl developed his point of view on the FFI.
Shot Down Again
Sadly, despite his surviving a Luftwaffe shootdown and an evasion and escape experience, Lt. Hohl did not survive the war. Returned to duty, promoted to Captain, Harry W. Hohl, Jr. kept flying and fighting until he was shot down again in a lethal encounter with the Luftwaffe after a successful attack on German railroads on January 2, 1945. It was a big furball between 14 P-47s of the 404th Fighter Squadron and an enemy force of some 30+ Messerschmitt and Focke Wulf fighters.
The P-47 pilots claimed three FW 190s shot down but lost one in return. As Capt. Hohl levelled off on the deck heading for home base in France, flames and smoke were seen streaming from his aircraft. He didn’t make it back, and a search found his body six days later near Luneville, in eastern France. Though he had bailed out, he apparently died of wounds after landing in his parachute. Capt. Harry William Hohl, Jr. is buried in the Grove Cemetery in New Brighton, PA. He was awarded the Purple Heart.
On this National POW/MIA Recognition Day, let us remember 1st Lt. Harry W. Hohl, Jr. F/O Edwin S. Humphreys and Capt. George D. Pieck. Freedom isn’t free and they gave their all for their comrades-in-arms and the citizens of the United States and France.