Dwane "Duke" Denver Hunt

February 1, 1921 - September 8, 2017

One of fifteen children (nine boys and six girls), Dwane was born in Pattytown, Ohio, to Otwell and Carrie (nee Besecker) Hunt. 

He met the love of his life, Clara "Pauline" Arnett, in the summer of 1939 at a free outdoor movie. He was 18 at the time and a recent high school graduate and she was 16. In an interview with Nancy Bowman of the Dayton Daily News, celebrating their 75th wedding anniversary, Pauline recalled when they met, saying,  "I thought he was good looking", to which Dwane quipped with a telling laugh, "I thought she was well built...just what I was looking for."

They married on May 30, 1941,  within days of Pauline's high school graduation. [1] 

At the time of their marriage, Dwane worked at the Frigidaire Corporation in Dayton, Ohio, which was then part of General Motors. Two years later, he enlisted in the Army and underwent pre-deployment training at Camp Blanding, Florida, and Fort Meade, Maryland. Pauline did her part in the war effort by working at an artillery shell factory in Miami and then at N.C.R. (National Cash Register, Co.), after Dwane departed for Europe. [2]

He shipped out to England in April of 1944 and served with the US Seventh Army during the invasion of Italy. Thereafter, with the 45th Infantry Division, Dwane switched to the war in southern France, landing at St. Maxime and pursuing the retreating German forces to Grenoble. The 45th dashed northwestward to meet up with Patton's Third Army, which was advancing at lightning speed from Normandy.  It was just before the link-up that they were subjected to an unexpected German counterattack. During the Battle of Meximieux, Dwane's unit was decimated by Germany's 11th Panzer Division.

On August of 1944, Dwane's father received a telegram from the War Department that his son had been awarded the Silver Star for gallantry in battle. Then, on September 6, 1944, Dwane’s wife, Pauline, was notified that he was missing in action. [3]

His wife and family thought he was dead until he was seen in German newsreel that had been captured and repurposed for a US newsreel, showing US prisoners of war. His brother-in-law, his sister, and his brother, Leo, identified Dwane in the film. [4] An article appeared in The Daily Advocate about this amazing discovery:

Through the medium of a captured German army film, which was included in a news reel recently shown at the State Theater, Greenville (Ohio), relatives of Pfc. Dwane Hunt, formerly of Arcanum, have verified reports that he is a prisoner of the Nazi government. No direct word had been received from him since last September. Hunt's brother-in-law and sister, Mr. and Mrs. Schultz, first saw the film and they were so positive that he (Dwane) was among a group of prisoners pictured in one of the scenes that they appealed to the theatre management for a private screening of the movie. Their request was immediately granted and to further establish Hunt's identity an enlargement of the section of the film showing the prisoner group was made. [5]

He wasn’t missing. Dwane had been injured in battle near Marseilles, and captured. [6] The Germans shipped him by truck and train to Stalag 7A in Moosburg, where Dwane wrote a letter to his family that was received November 29, 1944, letting them know his injury had healed and he was doing as well as could be under cold and cramped conditions with the scantest of food rations.

On March 16, 1945, Dwane and 19 other men were sent by train to Nussdorf am Inn where he worked on a farm, growing food.[7]

His American campmates called him "Duke" or “Hunt”.

In Nussdorf, Dwane was "assigned to work the farm of an elderly widower"..  Name of German woman/family? Frau Christian Margreiter? Hs.-Nr. 31?  

Insert here: Experiences in Nussdorf.

Liberation

On May 12, 1945, Dwane's older sister was the first to receive the news of his liberation. [8]

When he returned to the US, in June of 1945, Dwane was allowed to go home on furlough. Then he was required to report to a redistribution camp in Florida, were he was informed that he'd be sent to fight in the Pacific against the Japanese, but before his unit was scheduled to ship out, a law was passed stipulating that POWs would be discharged. [9]  Duke and Pauline were blessed with two children, Dennis, born in 1948, and Pamela, born in 1954.

After the war, he returned to Frigidaire in Dayton, Ohio, as a job-setter*, and later as machine line foreman until he retired in 1976. In retirement Duke and his brother, Leo, took pride in being the neighborhood handymen, particularly for family and friends and he spent his time as a household repairs and handyman to his neighbors, family friends, and the elderly in and around West Milton. [10] and dancing at the Crystal Ballroom in Versailles, Ohio.

Dwane was a long-time member and regular at VFW 8221 and American Legion 487. He, his wife, and brother Lloyd, gathered every week at the Greenville VFW, for 40 years, to play cards. In 1992, Dwane was presented with an American flag, a POW-MIA flag and a commendation by Ohio State Representative, Robert Netzley, on behalf of the Ohio House of Representatives. A second ceremony took place on Memorial Day in which his local VFW received a special flag from US Congressman, John Boehner. [11] 

[1]  The Union City Times-Gazette, May 15, 1945, p. 6 (one of 15 children); Nancy Bowman, "Couple Celebrating 75th Wedding Anniversary" Dayton Daily News, May 12, 2016 p. D2; The Arcanum Times, Jan. 20, 1944, p. 5; ASN 35878273 - Co. F, 192 Bn.; NARA : RG 64: Morning Report April 1944: Roll 230:  Fort Meade report of April 9, 1944: Dwane D. Hunt #35878273 PVT; 

[2] The Daily Advocate of Sept. 16, 2017, p. 2; The Daily Advocate, May 12, 1945, p. 1.; Nancy Bowman, "Couple Celebrating 75th Wedding Anniversary" Dayton Daily News, May 12, 2016 p. D2.

[3] “Pfc. Dwane Hunt is Reported Missing in Action in France”, The Arcanum Times, Oct. 12, 1944, p. 1; The West Milton Record, Nov. 29, 1944, p. 2. Note 1: Two other sources indicate Sept. 11, 1944. Note 2:  The Silver Star and notification of POW status: The Journal Herald of Oct. 8, 1944, p. 6.

[x] "10 Years Ago in the Advocate", The Daily Advocate, May 12, 1955, p. 4.

[4] Dayton Daily News, March 6, 1945.

[5] "Captured German News Reel Shows Dark Curtain in Prison Camp", The Daily Advocate, Feb. 20, 1945, p. 8.

[6] He was awarded a Purple Heart for injuries sustained when captured.

[7] Tipp City, Ohio, obituary of Dwane Hunt.

[c] WW2 movie still photo, as printed in the Dayton Daily News, Oct. 11, 1944, p. 9.

[8] "10 Years Ago in the Advocate", The Daily Advocate, May 12, 1955, p. 4;  The Union City Times-Gazette, May 15, 1945, p. 6 (Sister's name given as  "Mrs. Paul Schultz of Greenville")
[9] Obituary posted to https://www.hale-sarver.com/obituary/DwaneDuke-Hunt; The Arcanum Times,  Jun. 21, 1945, p. 3 (redistribution camp in Florida)

[10] Ibid.;  Note: *  a job-setter prepares and adjusts machinery for production, including tooling and setup, before and during operation.

[11] "Local WWII POW's Receive Honors" The West Milton Record, May 27, 1992, p. 3.
[12]  VFW cards sharps, The Early Bird, Sun, Mar 06, 2011, p. 9. (Their favorite game was Euchre). 

[13]  Photo of Duke and Pauline from Nancy Bowman, "Couple Celebrating 75th Wedding Anniversary" Dayton Daily News, May 12, 2016 p. D2.

[14]  Obituary photo of Dwane Hunt.