The Harold Hetzler Crew

In the course of my research, I was sent a new photo that means a lot me and certainly will mean a lot to the family members of the Hetzler Crew. This photo was graciously sent to me by one of S SGT Donald Davis' nephews. I believe this photo was taken near the end of October, 1943 in Elko, NV. The whole crew had a 6 day leave and really enjoyed themselves; "tore up the town" as they themselves put it. Since they were shot down and killed in action only a few months later, I am always happy to see that they had a good time in their short lives. The officers and enlisted men in this crew are obviously very close and disregarded the protocol that mandated that officers and enlisted men were not allowed to fraternize. I am sure that Harold and the other officers were in charge in the air, but on the ground, they were equals. This may have its roots in the fact that Harold was an enlisted man for 3 years before being promoted to Flight Officer. I believe he understood his men, showed them respect and knew how to create Esprit de Corps. This is a skill that many leaders don't seem to understand anymore, but in this circumstance, it was a matter of life and death to get the best from your men.

If you are a relative, friend or have any information about any of these men, please contact me: kirbhund at sbcglobal.net

The Sigmond Hons Crew

Today, I received parts of a B-24 Liberator Bomber in the mail! These parts are from a B-24 that crashed on November 16, 1943 in the desert near Tonopah, Nevada. The men on board this ship were in the same squadron as the Hetzler Crew. Donald Davis, the Tail Gunner on the Hetzler Crew wrote home about this crash:

Did you read in the paper about the plane that crashed here? They were in our flight. Their crew played our crew a football game while we were waiting for the ships to be gassed and oiled. They took off 2 planes ahead of us. They got about 200 ft. in the air and went right straight down. One of the guys had a cold, so the doctors wouldn't let him go up. 8 of them got killed and the other one got hurt pretty bad but is going to live. Boy that is awful isn't it.


I wrote Allen Metscher of the Central Nevada Museum to get more information about this crash. Mr. Metscher has placed 17 markers to memorialize fatal crash sites near what was Tonopah Army Air Field. This work is known as the Tonopah Army Air Field (TAAF) Project. He said that when he placed the marker at this site 20 years ago, there were still gouge marks in the ground and hundreds of small pieces of the aircraft covering the area. Not only did Mr. Metscher send me a photo of the memorial marker, he also sent me the parts from the aircraft that you see above.
Training flights were dangerous enough, not to mention the dangers of combat flying. Unfortunately, these would not be the last friends from the 458th Bomb Group that the Hetzler Crew would lose, before they themselves were shot down over Germany on March 23, 1944.
For more information about this crash, including photos of the crew, the crash and an eyewitness account from the only survivor, go to: http://www.458bg.com/crew16hons.htm

Wilson's Creek National Battlefield

This morning we visited Wilson's Creek National Battlefield near my hometown of Springfield, MO. Teddy really enjoyed the museum, film, trails and markers in the park. As you can see, we had perfect October weather and the trees were peaked in color.

Wilson's Creek was the 2nd major battle of the Civil War, taking place on August 10, 1861 in hideous heat and humidity. 5 soldiers were awarded the Medal of Honor for their heroics in this battle. During the battle, Union General and rising star Nathanial Lyon was killed in action; the first general to be killed in the civil war. This battle was all about whether Missouri would remain part of the Union or join the Confederacy. Outnumbered, the Union lost this battle, but fought well enough to set up a Union victory early the next year at Pea Ridge, Arkansas that would keep Missouri safely in the Union for the rest of the war.

In the photo you can see Teddy at the sight where German-American General Franz Sigel and his St. Louis German-American troops mistook confederate forces for friendly, gray-clad Iowa troops. The mistake was costly for the Union in this battle and the audio to which Teddy is listening quotes the Germans in their confusion: Sie haben gegen uns geschossen! (They are shooting at us!) In the early 90's I was a volunteer at this park, which helped me get on as a seasonal Park Ranger at the Gateway Arch in St. Louis. Wilson's Creek is still one of my very favorite places to visit.

Flight Officer Charles W. Callahan

Flight Officer Charles W. Callahan was the Navigator on the Hetzler Crew that was shot down in a B-24 Liberator over Germany on March 23, 1944. Callahan was from Brooklyn and one of his duties was to use the interphone and report headings to the Pilot and Co-Pilot from his Navigator's desk. I can imagine that Callahan's "brooklynese" would have provided character, romance and in a tense combat situation a certain level of confidence to the crew. I like to think they called him "Brooklyn". Callahan was the youngest officer on board at just 21 years of age. His father, John Callahan, was a proud Irish fireman. Both of his parents were from Ireland, or the Free State of Ireland as he put on the Census in 1930. His mother, Mamie Callahan, was also the daughter of immigrants and ironically, both of her parents were from Germany. In 1930 the census list that he had two siblings: John, who was one year older and Dorothy who was 3. He apparently had a younger sibling born after the census. On his World War II Honoree certificate for the WWII Memorial he is honored by Ms. Joan Callahan, Sister. It is possible that all 3 of these siblings are still living. We are having a difficult time finding family members so far and searching in big area like Brooklyn adds to the challenge, but we will get it done...these men seem to want their story told and I have pledged to do my best to tell that story and honor their memory.

If you are a relative, friend or have any information about Charles W. Callahan, please contact me: kirbhund@sbcglobal.net