Fort McCoy Soldiers support special service for former World War II POW

Photo By Scott Sturkol | Soldiers with the 86th Training Division of Fort McCoy, Wis., participate in a Mass of Christian Burial graveside service for Sgt. Jack Hohlfeld as the pallbearer/flag folding team 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 and the graveside service in La Crosse, Wis., 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. Nott is the former garrison commander at Fort McCoy, Wis. (U.S. Army Photo by Scott T. Sturkol, Public Affairs Office, Fort McCoy, Wis.)  

FORT MCCOY, WISCONSIN, UNITED STATES

09.20.2024

Story by Scott Sturkol                                                                                             

Fort McCoy Public Affairs Office           

Numerous current and even some former Soldiers associated with Fort McCoy took time Aug. 26 to be part of a special Mass of Christian Burial for former World War II POW Sgt. Jack Hohlfeld who was returned home from having been found in the Philippines earlier in 2024.

Soldiers with Fort McCoy Garrison and the 86th Training Division were among the hundreds of people at the Hohlfeld service in St. Patrick Parish in Onalaska, Wis., and at the Catholic Cemetery in La Crosse, Wis., on Aug. 26.

From Fort McCoy Garrison, Deputy Garrison Commander Lt. Col. Mike Corkum and Command Sgt. Maj. Thomas Calarco, garrison command sergeant major, attended the event to represent the installation.

From the 86th, and in probably one of the most important jobs of the day for the event, seven Soldiers served as the pallbearer/flag folding team for Hohlfeld. Those Soldiers included Maj. Steven Kelly, Capt. Jiaru Bryar, Sgt. Maj. Abdul Parsons-Bey, 1st Sgt. Matt Hardin, Master Sgt. Kristy Roemer, Staff Sgt. Haley Dexter, and Sgt. Dalton Bruser.

The team met the arrival of Hohlfeld to the parish for the start of the service, carried him into the parish and stood by him throughout the ceremony. Then returned with him to the hearse. At the cemetery, they also carried him from the hearse and to his final resting place.

And as a final duty, the team of Soldiers held the graveside flag-folding to honor Hohlfeld and to present that flag to the family.

According to the American Legion, the meaning of the flag-folding program is built on a special tradition of honor and respect.

“The flag-folding ceremony represents the same religious principles on which our great country was originally founded,” states the website https://www.legion.org/flag/folding. “The portion of the flag denoting honor is the canton of blue containing the stars representing states our veterans served in uniform. The canton field of blue dresses from left to right and is inverted only when draped as a pall on the casket of a veteran who has served our country honorably in uniform.

“In the U.S. armed forces, at the ceremony of retreat, the flag is lowered, folded in a triangle fold and kept under watch throughout the night as a tribute to our nation’s honored dead,” the website states. “The next morning it is brought out and, at the ceremony of reveille, run aloft as a symbol of our belief in the resurrection of the body. After the flag is completely folded and tucked in, it has the appearance of a cocked hat, ever reminding us of the Soldiers who served under Gen. George Washington and the Sailors and Marines who served under Capt. John Paul Jones and were followed by their comrades and shipmates in the U.S. armed forces, preserving for us the rights, privileges and freedoms we enjoy today.”

At another website, www.va.org (Veterans Authority), they explain what a team does during the flag-folding at a graveside service.

“The U.S. flag is carefully taken from the casket and silently folded by the honor guard company,” the website states. “Once folded, the flag resembles a triangle, representative of the three-cornered hats worn by colonial soldiers during the Revolutionary War. The method used during the folding of the flag requires 13 folds that represent the original colonies and once the flag is completely folded no stripes are visible, leaving only the blue and stars.

“After the flag is folded, it is presented to an honor guard member in the same military branch as the deceased veteran who subsequently marches the flag to the next of kin and presents the flag to them,” the website states.

When they completed their duty on the team, every Soldier was proud of what they supported. Dexter said it was an honor.

"Serving as one of Sgt. Hohlfeld’s pallbearers was an immense honor,” Dexter said. “His story inspired me to delve deeper into the history of the Bataan Death March and the POW camps of World War II. I’ve made it my mission to ensure that the sacrifices of these courageous service members are remembered. It was a deeply meaningful experience, watching the family and community come together to honor his legacy.”

Also supporting the overall effort through the Catholic parish was retired Army Col. Steven Nott, the former commander of Fort McCoy Garrison. Nott served as Fort McCoy’s garrison commander from February 2012 to March 2016.

For this event, Nott helped coordinate many of the events at the parish where he serves, plus he coordinated with Fort McCoy for further support.

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,” a DPAA news 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.”

Hundreds of people watched the Fort McCoy Soldiers support the event and honor Hohlfeld. Dexter said it was worth it.

“I’ll never forget it,” she said.

Fort McCoy’s motto is to be the “Total Force Training Center.”

Located in the heart of the upper Midwest, Fort McCoy is the only U.S. Army installation in Wisconsin.

The installation has provided support and facilities for the field and classroom training of more than 100,000 military personnel from all services nearly every year since 1984.

Learn more about Fort McCoy online at https://home.army.mil/mccoy, on Facebook by searching “ftmccoy,” on Flickr at https://www.flickr.com/photos/fortmccoywi, and on X (formerly Twitter) by searching “usagmccoy.”

Also try downloading the My Army Post app to your smartphone and set “Fort McCoy” or another installation as your preferred base. Fort McCoy is also part of Army’s Installation Management Command where “We Are The Army’s Home.”

• Date Taken: 09.20.2024
• Date Posted: 09.20.2024 15:08
• Story ID: 481427
• Location: FORT MCCOY, WISCONSIN, US