In Support of WP-ORGPlease Donate Online
West Point Societies WP-ORG Services WP-ORG Home West Point Parents USMA Class Year Groups Greater West Point Family and Friends About WP-ORG
 

15579 Hirsch, George Walter
June 30, 1925 - February 23, 1950

usma1946

 

 

 MEMORIAL ARTICLE
Published Assembly Jul '89

George Walter Hirsch, Jr.  No. 15579  Class of 1946  Died 23 February 1950 Near Yokota, Japan, aged 24 years. Interment: West Point Cemetery, West Point, New York

A strong military tradition brought George Walter Hirsch, Jr. to West Point. His father, a member of the Class of August 1917, fought in France in World War I and in the Philippines at the start of World War II, was captured on Corregidor and was a POW until the surrender of Japan. George's great-grandfather was a Union soldier in the Civil War and fought with a Wisconsin Infantry regiment in Sherman's march to the sea. His brother Tom is a former cadet, Class of '51. George was born at Benicia Arsenal, California 30 June 1925. As an Army brat, he moved often and attended various schools until he graduated from Tome School in Port Deposit, Maryland. After high school, George attended Severn School in Maryland, and Sullivan School in Washington, DC to prepare for West Point. He scored number 11 in the entire country on the presidential entrance exam, and thus became a member of the Class of '46.

Instilled by his family with a high sense of dedication to the Army and an innate sense of patriotism, George had no trouble getting through his cadet years even though he was under extra stress not knowing the fate of his father after the fall of Corregidor. It wasn't until well into plebe year that he learned that his father was a POW and had not been killed. He had a goal, to get into flying, and reached his goal when he was selected to receive flight training. Thus first class year, during which he took basic and advanced flight training, was a pleasure for George as he was doing everything that he enjoyed.

After graduation leave, George reported to Ajo Field, Arizona for gunnery training, then went to Williams Field, Arizona for fighter transition. His first assignment was with the 161st Recon Photo Squadron at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia. The summer of 1948 saw George travel to Japan where he was a test pilot and element leader in the 9th Fighter Squadron flying F-80's. He was in his element now, doing what he loved. And he was good at his profession. He was a member of the 1st Place Team, Jet Class, in the 1949 Far East Air Force Fighter-Gunnery Meet. He was selected as a member of the Far East Air Force Gunnery Team to participate in the biannual competition at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada in March 1950. But fate interfered and George never got to participate in this meet. On 23 February 1950, George was returning from a practice with the Far East Team. The F-80 he was flying had previously been involved in an accident in which the canopy accidentally ejected in a hanger. The canopy had hit the tail of the aircraft and inspection had reported only superficial damage, when in fact the L-section members that held the tail to the fuselage had been broken. The aircraft had been flown several times before that February day when George was returning from the team practice. It was routine for the team to perform simple aerobatics on their way back to home base. On that day George was doing a loop when a portion of the tail came off his aircraft. The F-80 apparently tumbled, pinning George in the cockpit. The crash resulted in George's death near Yokota Air Base in Japan. This tragic loss of such a fine officer just starting to make his mark in the service of his country was sorely felt by family and classmates. Bryce Poe led a flight of RF-80's flown by his classmates into Misawa in terrible weather to attend George's funeral services prior to his body being flown back to West Point for interment.

The messages of condolences received by George's parents were indicative of the respect George had gained in the Air Force. The commanding general, Far East Air Forces wrote: "Your son was an officer and a gentleman of the highest order. He was one of a four officer team of jet fighters to represent FEAF at Las Vegas this summer in the United States World Wide Gunnery Meet. We in the Far East Forces earnestly hope the knowledge that your son was an outstanding leader and died while on an assigned mission will afford some consolation in your bereavement. I am terribly sorry."

The Chief of Staff of the Air Force wrote: "We of the Air Force share your sorrow in the untimely death of your son, First Lieutenant George W. Hirsch, Jr. We are cognizant of your great loss and are saddened by his passing He was a courageous officer and upheld the best traditions of the Air Force, and won the respect of all his associates. My deepest sympathy is extended to you in the great loss you have sustained''

Our memories of George are best described by his mother, brother, and sister in their "Thoughts and Remembrances of George" which follow:

"To us who remain behind, our George was more than a beloved son and brother. He was a prince, a champion. His years with us were so few that they are precious, and memories of him bring magic and gentle thoughts. He enriches our lives still Having known him, having  been a part of him as he was a part of us, is a blessing that remains undiminished by time.

"He had dreamed of flying during all his formative years and it finally came true for him. The joy of flight was in his soul. He was gifted with the precision and the grace that was called for. He was a natural. The delicate and lovely contrails that our George wove across the sky are now gone, but our clear and proud thoughts and recollections of him remain, A jet engine's lonely sound drifting down to our ear stirs the memory and touches the heart.

"It must be true that he was close to God when he flew. He spent many hours of his last few years in the approaches to the heavenly kingdom. He lived in the windswept heights.

"And when God called him, George didn't have very far to go. He was already closer than the rest of us."

As the then secretary of the Association of Graduate, wrote to George's  parents upon learning of his death, "It is not as if he had left us entirely; he has just taken his place in that Long Gray Line which stretches 'through the years of a century told.' His spirit will be with us always."

'46 Memorial Article Project and his family
 
 
 
 
Personal Eulogy
deceased 

ADMIN
Return Home