Personal Narrative Manuscript/Mixed Material Photo, Print, Drawing Audio Recording Fred Grant Hargesheimer Collection

Veterans History Project Service Summary:
- War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
- Branch of Service: Army Air Forces/Corps
- Unit of Service: 8th Photo Reconnaissance Squadron
- Location of Service: Garbutt Field, Australia; New Guinea; Fort Dix, New Jersey; Sikeston, Missouri; Randolph Field, and Brooks Field, Texas; March Field, California; Pentagon, Arlington, Virginia; Pacific Theater
- Highest Rank: Major
A pilot with the 8th Photo Reconnaissance Squadron, Fred Hargesheimer was on his 49th mission taking pictures in the South Pacific when he encountered enemy fire. Forced to bail out, he landed in a eucalyptus grove with all of his limbs and his survival kit intact. After a month of eating snails to stay alive, a group of villagers found and cared for him for nearly five months before he was rescued. After leaving the military at the end of the war, he raised funds to build a school in the New Britain community where he had landed, in order to say thank you to the people who had saved his life.
Fred Grant Hargesheimer Collection
Interview / Recording
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PlayGoing out on patrol over West New Britain; encountering a bad storm; flying behind enemy lines; shot down; bailing out; using survival kit. 00:07:22.0 - 00:15:50.3
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PlayNeeding to find food; building grill out of bamboo and broiling snails; kept track of time by marking notches on tree; on 31st day after crash, heard voices; encountering natives; could only communicate by sign language; feast; heard them sing a song set to the tune of “Onward Christian Soldiers”; knowing he was among friends. 00:15:50.4 - 00:23:47.2
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PlayStaying in village for about five months; coming down with malaria; eventual rescue; picked up by submarine; transfer back to the States. 00:23:48.3 - 00:31:21.6
About this Item
Title
- Fred Grant Hargesheimer Collection
Names
- Donohue, Jerri
- Hargesheimer, Fred Grant
- World War II - Korean War Roundtable
State of Birth
- MN
Home State
- CA
Headings
- - Hargesheimer, Fred Grant
- - World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
- - United States. Army Air Forces/Corps.
Repository
- Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress
Gender
- Male
Status
- Veteran
Service History
-
World War, 1939-1945
- Branch of Service: Army Air Forces/Corps
- Unit of Service: 8th Photo Reconnaissance Squadron
- Location of Service: Garbutt Field, Australia; New Guinea; Fort Dix, New Jersey; Sikeston, Missouri; Randolph Field, and Brooks Field, Texas; March Field, California; Pentagon, Arlington, Virginia; Pacific Theater
- Highest Rank: Major
- Dates of Service: 1941-1946
- Entrance into Service: Enlisted
- Military Status: Veteran
Materials
- Photograph: Photographic print [1 item] -- Photograph (collected 01/22/2008)
- Audio: Audio Cassette [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 01/22/2008)
Collection Number
- AFC/2001/001/56930
Cite as
- Fred Grant Hargesheimer Collection (AFC/2001/001/56930), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress
Online Format
- audio
- image
Additional Metadata Formats
IIIF Presentation Manifest
Part of
Wars & Conflicts
Service Branch
Location of Service
- Fort DIX, New Jersey
- Garbutt Field, Australia
- March Field, California
- New Guinea
- Pacific Theater
- Pentagon, Arlington, Virginia
- Randolph Field, and Brooks Field, Texas
- Sikeston, Missouri