Comments on: "I'm so grateful for getting shot out of the sky"

"I'm so grateful for getting shot out of the sky"

The Light Fantastic — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 20:45:28 -0800

Stranded on the island of New Britain during WWII, Fred Hargesheimer was rescued by native islanders, who hid him for 8 months from occupying Japanese forces. Fred never forgot the kindness he received, and in 1960, he used his family's vacation money to return to the island to personally thank the people who saved him. Thus began a 48 year relationship between Hargesheimer and the people of New Britain.

Chico state has a slideshow about New Britain which also features a song written especially for Fred Hargesheimer.

By: uaudio

uaudio — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 21:13:41 -0800

Great post. Thanks.

By: caddis

caddis — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 21:35:18 -0800

wow, very cool.

By: killdevil

killdevil — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 22:08:36 -0800

A fine post. Thanks!

By: barnacles

barnacles — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 22:17:22 -0800

Fantastic. Well done, Fred.

By: KokuRyu

KokuRyu — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 22:49:18 -0800

Shigeru Mizuki was stationed on Rabaul during the Pacific War, and created some fantastic manga about his experiences. Japan At War: An Oral History also has some chilling accounts of the annihilation of Japanese forces on New Britain.

By: LobsterMitten

LobsterMitten — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 23:01:23 -0800

Wow.

By: GrammarMoses

GrammarMoses — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 06:12:49 -0800

Lovely and inspiring. Thanks for this.

By: dazed_one

dazed_one — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 06:50:48 -0800

What an experience. Good post.

By: Turtles all the way down

Turtles all the way down — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 08:05:47 -0800

A wonderful story! Thank you very much.

By: mediareport

mediareport — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 08:19:09 -0800

Thanks for this. I especially like the report that the Japanese pilot refused to shoot him as he floated down in his parachute.

By: dejah420

dejah420 — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 08:41:58 -0800

What a great story! Thanks for the find.

By: ceri richard

ceri richard — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 10:23:46 -0800

Such a wonderful story, thank you!

By: yazi

yazi — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 11:17:11 -0800

How utterly complex human nature and life are! Mundane, striving, good men can be trained to practice mayhem, whether for state sanctions or out of bonds of group loyalty, but any of them can be (and I believe most ARE) a beautiful soul, capable of a ray of insight or a wave of empathy. Sometimes, just sometimes, those rays and waves can burst into torrents. I think of my father, born 1917, an incredibly meek but empathetic man, who trained to be a flamethrower in N. Africa in WWII, then was part of the Anzio invasion. He was always so reticent to tell his stories of military work, violence (probably not very much in his particular case), and discovery as he moved around in italy, a place he ended up loving with all his heart. See Bertolucci's movie "1900"; my father glimpsed the old bonds of loyalty and fortitude in Italian localities. Sorry for the diversion, but it's all I could say that resonated with Hargy's love for New Britain.

By: nax

nax — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 13:51:37 -0800

Beautiful story. thank you.

By: drbrendamd

drbrendamd — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 17:01:54 -0800

This brought tears to my eyes. THANKS!