Photo By Scott Sturkol | A scene from the Mass of Christian Burial graveside service for Sgt. Jack Hohlfeld is...... read more read more
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On a hot August day, Bataan Death March and World War II veteran Sgt. Jack Hohlfeld was laid to rest in La Crosse, Wis., approximately 82 years after his death.
A Mass of Christian burial service was conducted at St. Patrick Parish in Onalaska, Wis., on Aug. 26, and internment was then held at the Catholic Cemetery in La Crosse. Hundreds of people attended the event, including family members, veterans, Catholic clergy, active military members, and even complete strangers thankful he was home.
“This is a very special event,” said Kathy Gurnee at the service. Gurnee, of Fenton, Mich., is the grandniece of Hohlfeld. “This is very nice.”
Accounting for a hero
In July, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced it had identified Hohlfeld and would bring him home. The identification was made conclusive in May.
“U.S. Army Air Forces Sgt. Jack H. Hohlfeld, 29, of Trempealeau, Wis., who was captured and died as a prisoner of war during World War II, was accounted for May 29, 2024,” the DPAA release stated. “Hohlfeld was a member of Headquarters Squadron, 24th Pursuit Group, when Japanese forces invaded the Philippine Islands in December 1941. Intense fighting continued until the surrender of the Bataan peninsula on April 9, 1942, and of Corregidor Island on May 6, 1942.
“Thousands of U.S. and Filipino service members were captured and interned at POW camps. Hohlfeld was among those reported captured when U.S. forces in Bataan surrendered to the Japanese. They were subjected to the 65-mile Bataan Death March. Hohlfeld was then held at the Cabanatuan POW Camp #1. More than 2,500 POWs perished in this camp during the war.”
According to prison camp and other historical records, the release states, “Hohlfeld died Dec. 26, 1942, and was buried along with other deceased prisoners in the local Cabanatuan Camp Cemetery in Common Grave 811.”
“Following the war, American Graves Registration Service (AGRS) personnel exhumed those buried at the Cabanatuan cemetery and relocated the remains to a temporary U.S. military mausoleum near Manila,” the release states. “In 1947, the AGRS examined the remains in an attempt to identify them. Three of the sets of remains from Common Grave 811 were identified, while the remaining 3 were declared unidentifiable. The unidentified remains were buried at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial (MACM) as Unknowns. In 2018, as part of the Cabanatuan Project, DPAA exhumed the remains associated with Common Grave 811 and sent them to the DPAA laboratory for analysis.”
To identify Hohlfeld’s remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and anthropological analysis, as well as circumstantial evidence, the release further states. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA analysis. Although interred as an Unknown in MACM, Hohlfeld’s grave was meticulously cared for over the past 70 years by the American Battle Monuments Commission. “Today, Hohlfeld is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial in the Philippines. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.”
Finally home
Hohlfeld’s family shared his biographical information, and it shows he came from humble beginnings. 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,” biography information shows. “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 (later) assigned to the Philippines as a member of Headquarters Squadron, 24th Pursuit Group, U.S. Army Air Corps.”
A release from St. Patrick’s Parish further relayed more about the effort it took to bring Hohlfeld home.
“Jack’s mother, Mary Hohlfeld, deeply wanted to know what had happened to her son so that he could come home,” the release states. “She began writing letters to the War Department before the war had ended and continued doing so for many years. Sharon Graw, Sgt. Hohlfeld’s niece (her father was Jack’s brother, William), continued these efforts. In 2015, undoubtedly due in part to the persistence of Sharon, the multiple agencies involved in identifying and repatriating remains took a new interest in Jack’s case.”
Mike Gurnee, Kathy’s husband who also was in attendance for the service with Hohlfeld family members, said he was appreciative of everything that was done to honor Hohlfeld. He could see, with his wife’s Aunt Sharon in attendance, that it was a special day for her.
Mike also said he could only imagine how difficult it was for Hohlfeld.
“My father and all my uncles were in World War II, and I've known about the Bataan Death March,” he said. “I watch all the movies. I’m big into the history, too. So, I knew all about the Bataan Death March before I knew her Uncle Jack was in there.
“We’re just so (glad) that Sharon (could) bring him home,” Mike said. “We spent … years trying to locate him and work with the government to find him.”
During the main service, Monsignor Steve Kachel with St. Patrick Parish spoke about Hohlfeld as well.
“If one were to look at the definition of the word hero, we would find out that a hero is one who is admired or idealize for courage, outstanding achievements, and noble quality,” Kachel said. “We are gathered in this church as we have brought home a real hero and laid him to rest in his home city near his parents. And we know Jack was a hero for the courage that he showed in the face of evil. The courage that gave him stamina in prison and at the death march. … And the courage … shown as a prisoner of war until he succumbed to polio in prison. For Jack had the courage to fulfill a duty to serve, to honor, and to fight for his country.”
Somber scenes of honor
Viewing the Hohlfield service from balcony of the parish, it’s possibly gave the best perspective of the entire scene. All the people. Hohlfeld by the altar. The Catholic clergy and altar servers. The many service members in attendance in uniform. The family members at the front. The media members in many places. The community members in the back. Everyone … everywhere.
A team of Soldiers from the 86th Training Division at Fort McCoy, Wis., served as pallbearers for the service carrying Hohlfeld into the parish and out when the service was complete. They also did the same work at the Catholic Cemetery where they also folded the U.S. flag and presented it to Graw.
In the parish, also, members of the Knights of Columbus in their uniforms lined both the entry and departure lanes for Hohlfeld from the outer door of the church to the altar. In the process, these knights raised their swords to honor Hohlfeld as he passed both times at the beginning and end of the service.
Also present were the American Legion Riders organization who escorted the vehicle with Hohlfeld to the parish and then later to the cemetery. The many motorcycle riders cruising as escorts on their bikes are veterans themselves and were also in the parish for the service and stood graveside at the cemetery with U.S. flags to honor the fallen Soldier.
At the graveside service, there was also a lot to take in, but the biggest thing to remember would be that Hohlfeld was honored fully, and properly. The team of Soldiers performed a flag-folding ceremony in front of the family members and presented the flag.
In the process of the flag-folding ceremony, overhead of the ceremony, a vintage World War II-era fighter plan flew over bellowing smoke in its wake. And immediately following, several Wisconsin National Guard UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters also flew over the graveside service to pay tribute to Hohlfeld.
In the backdrop of the graveside service, and outside the parish, the U.S. flag was posted at half-staff to honor Hohlfeld. Matter of fact, the U.S. flag was at half-staff for Hohlfeld in the entire state of Wisconsin on Aug. 26, including at Fort McCoy.
Never giving up
As Kathy Gurnee said, her mother, her Aunt Sharon, and her grandmother all never gave up hope that her great uncle Jack would someday come home.
The DPAA is dedicated to never giving up on bring those service members like Hohlfeld who are in missing-in-action (MIA) status or whose whereabouts aren’t fully known. On the Department of Defense website about National POW/MIA Day, which in 2024 is Sept. 20, they discuss what DPAA does every year to recover the thousands of service members still in MIA status around the world.
“Each year, DPAA conducts investigation-and-recovery team missions around the world to search last known locations of missing American service members,” the website states at https://www.defense.gov/Multimedia/Experience/POW-MIA. “These missions last weeks and comprise personnel with varied expertise — from explosive ordnance technicians to mountaineers. And the locations are diverse, often remote areas, sometimes underwater and sometimes in mountainous regions.”
For family members like Kathy Gurnee who get to see their loved one come home, that never giving up was worth it. The work, the hope, the prayers, and more. They’re thankful when they can be at an event like the one in La Crosse that brings closure.
“It's just … very nice to be here,” Gurnee said.
Learn more about DPAA by visiting https://www.dpaa.mil. Learn more about National POW/MIA Day by visiting https://www.defense.gov/Spotlights/National-Pow-Mia-Recognition-Day.
| Date Taken: | 09.20.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 09.20.2024 13:09 |
| Story ID: | 481410 |
| Location: | FORT MCCOY, WISCONSIN, US |
| Web Views: | 16 |
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