This Day in History: USS Gato rescues Fred Hargesheimer

On this day in 1944, downed pilot Fred Hargesheimer is rescued by the submarine USS Gato. He’d been on the island of New Britain in Papua New Guinea for eight long months.

Fred’s troubles began on June 5, 1943, as he patrolled the skies in a P-38. He was then serving with the 8th Photo Reconnaissance Squadron and was helping to photomap the area.

Unfortunately, a Japanese fighter spotted him and fired. One of Fred’s engines was in flames. He did the only thing he could: He put his plane into a steep dive. When the canopy jammed, he stood up to free the hatch, but he was sucked out of the plane instead. 

In a surprising twist, the Japanese fighter let him parachute safely to earth.

Fred had an emergency kit with basic supplies and figured he’d walk toward the nearest coastline, but he soon realized he was a “tenderfoot” in the jungle. Poisonous insects, wild boars, and constant rain tormented him. His inflatable raft proved useless because of crocodiles.

On the tenth day, he found a lean-to and got a fire going inside. He kept reciting Psalm 23, trying to keep himself going, but he was famished, subsisting on a diet of snails. That might have been the end but for the natives who found him when he’d been on the island for about a month.

They’d witnessed his plane going down, and they’d been looking for him.

One of the natives handed him a note: “The bearer of this letter,” it read, “Luluai Lauo, has proven his loyalty to the Allied forces. These natives can be trusted.”

Fred was saved. He broke down in tears.

The natives hid Fred in the small village of Nantabu. For months, he helped them fish and work their gardens. He learned their language, and they called him “Mastah Preddi” (Master Freddie). When Japanese soldiers showed up, they hid him, using branches to sweep away the footprints he left behind.

“If they’d seen my boot prints, I think they would have tortured everyone in the village until they produced me,” Fred explained. He marveled that they took the risk for him.

Once, the Japanese appeared so abruptly that he was scrambling. He spent the night in a eucalyptus tree, where he was plagued by mosquitoes. He caught malaria, but the villagers nursed him back to health.

In early 1944, some Australian commandos figured out that a downed pilot was in Nantabu, which is how he came to be rescued by USS Gato on February 5.

He was soon back in the States, getting married and having kids.

“I remember telling my kids the war stories,” Fred later told a reporter, “but they never seemed to end right. I couldn’t stop thinking about what those people had done for me.”

In 1960, he returned to the village, where he received a hero’s welcome. The visit was a warm, friendly one, and Fred became determined to do more.

He learned that what the area really needed was a school, so he set out to raise enough money for one—and succeeded.

In 1963, he and his 17-year-old son returned, working through the logistics of building and opening a school. A year later, the Airmen’s Memorial School opened with 40 students.

Fred made numerous trips to his village over the years as the school grew. But that wasn’t all. He donated a library and a medical clinic. The school had created an experimental plot of oil palm, which ended up being a big boon for the local economy, ultimately turning into a large plantation with many jobs.

“When I think of the school, I think of how many lives have been changed by so few,” graduate Garua Peni says. She now holds a master’s degree from the University of Sydney.

Fred was humble about what he’d done, naturally. “These people were responsible for saving my life,” he shrugged. “How could I ever repay it?”

Primary Sources & Further Reading:

• Charles J. Hanley, ‘Mastah Preddi’ fell from sky (The Day; March 9, 2008) (p. A7)

• Charles J. Hanley, WWII Pilot Never Forgot Saviors (L.A. Times; March 23, 2008) (p. A14)

• Fred Hargesheimer, Who Repaid His Rescuers, Dies at 94 (New York Times; Dec.23, 2010)

• Oral History Interview with Fred Hargesheimer, April 1, 2008 (University of North Texas: Portal to Texas History)

• Steve Lange, Fred Hargesheimer: 'Almost dying gave me a reason to live’ (Post Bulletin; April 4, 2023)

• Steve Lange, ‘Warrior from the sky’ (Post Bulletin; May 9, 2016)

• Timberly Ross & Charles Hanley, P-38 pilot gave life of help to rescuers (Times Union; Dec 24, 2010)