Remembering POWs: America remembers Bataan Death March veteran Sgt. Jack Hohlfeld with special service; welcomes him home to Wisconsin [Image 83 of 95]

LA CROSSE, WISCONSIN, UNITED STATES

08.26.2024

Photo by Scott Sturkol                                                                                             

Fort McCoy Public Affairs Office           

A vintage World World II-era fighter plane flies over a scene from the Mass of Christian Burial graveside service for Sgt. Jack Hohlfeld on Aug. 26, 2024, at the Catholic cemetery in La Crosse, Wis. Hundreds of people attended a special Mass for Hohlfeld at St. Patrick Parish in Onalaska, Wis., and the graveside service as well. Hohlfeld was born in Hamburg Township in Vernon County just outside Stoddard, Wis. When he was 13 years old, his family moved to Centerville, just north of Holmen. As a young adult, Jack lived for a brief time in both Trempealeau and La Crosse before moving to California. He volunteered to enlist and was sworn into the Army at Fort MacArther, Calif., in 1938. Hohlfeld was assigned to the Philippines as a member of Headquarters Squadron, 24th Pursuit Group, U.S. Army Air Corps. When the Japanese began their attack on the Philippines on Dec. 8, 1941, the 24th Pursuit Group rapidly became combat ineffective. Its soldiers were rushed to the Bataan Peninsula where Hohlfeld fought as an infantryman, eventually becoming a POW upon its surrender. Hohlfeld survived the Bataan Death March and entered the infamous Cabanatuan Japanese POW camp. On Dec. 26, 1942, Hohlfeld died and was placed into Common Grave 811 with five other service members who passed in that 24-hour period. It wasn't until recently he was fully identified from that gravesite and brought back to Wisconsin. (U.S. Army Photo by Scott T. Sturkol, Public Affairs Office, Fort McCoy, Wis.)

• Date Taken: 08.26.2024
• Date Posted: 09.20.2024 13:08
• Photo ID: 8653345
• VIRIN: 240826-A-OK556-1493
• Resolution: 6000x4000
• Size: 10.55 MB
• Location: LA CROSSE, WISCONSIN, US