Just wanted to pass along the news that my dear friend and somewhat adopted grandfather, Joachim Hohne (or Hoehne as we spell it) passed away late Monday night at the age of 85.
Joachim was the only son of Ritterkreuztrager Walter Otto Hohne, and he served as a Flakhelfer as K1 in a six-gun 88mm battery while also undertaking glider training in the Flieger Hitlerjugend. When he entered the Luftwaffe in 1944, he volunteered for pilot duty with the ME163 Komet and was trained at Udetfield with III/JG400 before being assigned to Sprottau - he was seventeen at that time. He ended the war as part of a Luftwaffe Kampfgruppe north of Nuremberg as an Unteroffizier and Oberfahnrich.
"Joe" as he was widely known, came to the U.S. in 1953 and lived here ever since. He built most of the interstate systems we now travel on as a concrete engineer and also built the runways that are currently at Barksdale AFB here in Louisiana.
I had the honor of editing his memoirs which he recorded in a book entitled "Glory Refused; The Memoirs of a Teenage Rocket Pilot of the Third Reich" years ago and both he and his wife Ursula became like family to me and my daughter. Joe continued flying a Cessna 170 up until about 8 years ago, he was VERY active in the community and with the National WWII Museum in New Orleans and spoke numerous times to the 8th Air Force Society at Barksdale.
Just wanted to let everyone know another Komet pilot has passed, please feel free to spread the word - he was a truly great gentleman.
Joachim was the only son of Ritterkreuztrager Walter Otto Hohne, and he served as a Flakhelfer as K1 in a six-gun 88mm battery while also undertaking glider training in the Flieger Hitlerjugend. When he entered the Luftwaffe in 1944, he volunteered for pilot duty with the ME163 Komet and was trained at Udetfield with III/JG400 before being assigned to Sprottau - he was seventeen at that time. He ended the war as part of a Luftwaffe Kampfgruppe north of Nuremberg as an Unteroffizier and Oberfahnrich.
"Joe" as he was widely known, came to the U.S. in 1953 and lived here ever since. He built most of the interstate systems we now travel on as a concrete engineer and also built the runways that are currently at Barksdale AFB here in Louisiana.
I had the honor of editing his memoirs which he recorded in a book entitled "Glory Refused; The Memoirs of a Teenage Rocket Pilot of the Third Reich" years ago and both he and his wife Ursula became like family to me and my daughter. Joe continued flying a Cessna 170 up until about 8 years ago, he was VERY active in the community and with the National WWII Museum in New Orleans and spoke numerous times to the 8th Air Force Society at Barksdale.
Just wanted to let everyone know another Komet pilot has passed, please feel free to spread the word - he was a truly great gentleman.
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