Clyde Knisley was the squadron commander when Hap was shot down. Clyde's predecessor, Chuck Appel, was shot down was shot down on 17 November 1944 so the day that Hap was shot down, November 18, 1944, was Clyde's first day as commander. Chuck Appel bailed out of a flak damaged aircraft, was captured and survived the war as a POW. Clyde Knisley was killed in action a very short time after he became commander. Hap was flying wing on Capt. Richard Nonnemacher who was shot down on November 19, 1944, the day after Hap. Nonnemacher managed to get the plane across the bomb line and bail out. He hit the elevator when he bailed out, was severely injured, and never flew again. I have Nonnemacner's address if you need it. Nonnemacner married the nurse that cared for him after he bailed out. Clark Bremseth was one of our pilots, and it is probably his account, supported by others, that is written up in the history that you will receive. Bremseth survived the war and died a natural death about six years ago.

The write up from the JJJ book that you will receive states that Hap survived the crash, for a very short time. When I first read that, in the middle eighties, it cause me a great amount of pain. I had assuaged my grief over Hap's death by thinking that it was mercifully quick. The information in that write up, and a good picture, came from a close relative in the family who was contacted by Chuck Mohrle, the editor of the Journal.

Here is the way that JJJ Journal write up happened. After the war teams of researchers and morticians went to Europe seeking the remains of American soldiers. They found Hap's remains, returned them to the states and, as you know, he is now buried at Shell Lake. The researchers also looked for witnesses and sought accounts of how the deaths occurred. They apparently found the Germans soldiers who were on the ground, near the crash site (or claimed to be), and were told what you will read.. That account was sent to his closest relatives, probably his mother. I prefer to think the account of Hap surviving the crash is not true. You will read that he lost a wing on a high speed strafing pass. The chances of surviving the resulting crash are minuscule to non existent. This may also be rationalization on my part because I was far more comfortable with my original deduction.

Onward and upward.