“Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines” – In Honor of the Liaison Pilots of the 2nd ID!
…it is April 26, 1945, when a shot is fired, causing one of the infantrymen of the 2nd Infantry Division to fall to the ground, seriously wounded. His unit is far into enemy territory in Germany, beyond the Mulde River, where it is trying to contact advancing units of the Red Army. The infantry patrol is under heavy enemy fire and his platoon leader knows that they will not be able to evacuate him in time. A young 25-year-old liaison pilot of the 15th Field Artillery Battalion is watching the situation from above. He is 1st Lt. Richard M. Ferguson from Ohio, who is piloting his Piper L-4 “Grasshopper”. In a moment he decides on a risky action, brings his L-4 down near a fire fight and evacuates a seriously wounded infantryman, saving the man’s life. For this rescue, 1st Lt. Richard M. Ferguson earned an Oak Leaf Cluster to his Air Medal.
When browsing through the photographs in our project archive, we often come across photos of young smiling men, in flight jackets and sometimes with aviator sunglasses, proudly posing, often even with their planes. Their acrobatic stunts and low-flying with these small planes were remembered not only by the Indianhead soldiers, but also by the people of liberated Czechoslovakia, such as my grandfather, who as a little boy was amazed by the skills of the liaison pilots. In June 1945, one of those pilots gave my grandfather an original rear wheel from a Piper L-4, which I still proudly keep in my display case.
Even today, the fates of these men interest and fascinate us. For this reason, we decided to search for the liaison pilots of the 2nd Infantry Division and hope to contact their families and uncover new stories.
Our project team is currently searching for the families and relatives of the following members of the 2nd Infantry Division:
- 1st Lt. Harry L. Bush
- 1st Lt. Elliott H. Beale – KIA June 1944
- 1st Lt. Bernard J. Czernicki
- 1st Lt. Merlyn B. Phillips
- 1st Lt. Harvey M. Ross
- 1st Lt. Theodore W. Timreck
- 1st Lt. Frederick S. Wilson
- 1st Lt. Homer W. Bennett
- 1st Lt. Richard M. Ferguson
- 2nd Lt. Walter R. Dunnihoo – KIA June 1944
- 2nd Lt. Charles E. Horner
- 2nd Lt. Eugene Taylor
- 2nd Lt. Herbert T. Weyenberg
Unfortunately, the names of the liaison pilots from the 37th and 38th Field Artillery Battalions of the 2nd Infantry Division are still unknown to us. In the next article, we will present to you the story of 1st Lt. Theodore W. Timreck, who served as a liaison pilot of the 12th Field Artillery Battalion, 2nd ID.
