Personal Narrative Manuscript/Mixed Material Photo, Print, Drawing Software, E-Resource Audio Recording Doane Hage Collection
Veterans History Project Service Summary:
- War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
- Branch of Service: Army Air Forces/Corps
- Unit of Service: 423rd Bomb Squadron, 306th Bomb Group, 8th Air Force
- Location of Service: England; St. Nazaire, France; Moosburg, Bavaria, Germany; Krems, Austria
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/1202
Determined to serve in the Army Air Corps during World War II, 20-year-old Doane Hage enlisted and set out to be a fighter pilot. He wound up an armament man with a bomber squadron and then caught a break when a vacancy opened up on one plane's crew. Shot down over France in November 1942, he was sheltered for a time by a family of Spanish refugees. He was captured trying to cross into Spain and confined to the famous Stalag 17B, where he sharpened his drawing skills for the other prisoners, recreating scenes of their own planes going down. In his interview, Hage reveals a secret about his captivity previously known only to his family.
Doane Hage Collection
Interview / Recording
Transcript
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PlayBeginning of his sketching airplanes: creating outlines of German targets for the American crews to shoot at; his postwar career in art and design. 00:07:36.2 - 00:09:37.0
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PlayHis first mission: taking the place of a gunner, which got him an immediate promotion from corporal to sergeant; feeling prepared despite his lack of experience; his oxygen mask freezing up on first three missions; shooting down an enemy plane. 00:17:53.2 - 00:24:55.4
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PlayGoing on a longer mission-4 hours each way; getting hit by anti-aircraft fire that killed two men and forced Hage to parachute to safety. 00:27:49.7 - 00:35:00.7
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Doane Hage Collection
Interview / Recording
Transcript
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PlayLying to the Gestapo to protect the people who had sheltered him; horrible conditions in prison; finally breaking down to tell the truth; hearing of his protectors' fates after the war. 00:07:01.8 - 00:11:52.3
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PlayIn Stalag 17B, helping to dig tunnels for escape; feeling guilt over turning in his protectors; forged passes; began drawing at request of other prisoners; forced march near the end of the war; taking pity on a guard trying to escape liberators. 00:13:44.3 - 00:18:36.4
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PlayFinding out the fate of the family who protected him; feeling sorry for what he did; not all wounds suffered in war are visible. 00:22:11.4 - 00:23:51.4
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About this Item
Title
- Doane Hage Collection
Names
- Lugar, Richard
- U.S. Senate/Richard Lugar
- Ordner, Larry
- Hage, Doane
Home State
- Indiana
Headings
- - Hage, Doane
- - World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
- - United States. Army Air Forces/Corps.
- - Prisoner of War -- United States
Repository
- Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress
Gender
- Male
Status
- veteran
Service History
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World War, 1939-1945
- Branch of Service: Army Air Forces/Corps
- Unit of Service: 423rd Bomb Squadron, 306th Bomb Group, 8th Air Force
- Location of Service: England; St. Nazaire, France; Moosburg, Bavaria, Germany; Krems, Austria
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Dates of Service: 1942-1945
- Prisoner of War: Yes
- Military Status: veteran
- Service History Note: The B-17 the veteran was flying on was shot down over Saint-Nazaire, France on 1/9/1942. Veteran was a prisoner of war (POW) at Stalag VIIA in Mooseburg and at Stalag XVIIB at Krems for two years.
Materials
- Audio: CD [1 item] -- Reference copy (collected 2005-10-18; 2005-10-18)
- Manuscript: Memoirs [1 item] -- (collected 1994)
- Audio: Audio Cassette [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2002-07-18)
- Photograph: Original photographic print [1 item] -- (collected unknown)
- Computer File: Floppy Disk [1 item] -- Electronic file of manuscript (collected 2002-07-19; 2007-01-24)
- Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Transcription of audio recording (collected 2007-01-19)
Collection Number
- AFC/2001/001/1202
Cite as
- Doane Hage Collection (AFC/2001/001/1202), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress
Online Format
- audio
- image
- online text