Lt. Courtlyn Hotchkiss, was shot down while on a strafing run in France, on March 17, 1944. He was rescued by the French Resistance and worked with them in the days leading up to D-Day, rejoining American forces on August of 1944.
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8th Air Force Fighter Pilot’s Grouping – 83rd Fighter Squadron.
Lt. Courtlyn W. Hotchkiss, was shot down while on a strafing run in France, on March 17, 1944. He was rescued by the French Resistance and worked with them in the days leading up to D-Day, rejoining American forces on August of 1944.
This small group consists of:
- Original 8 x 10 black & white glossy photo of Lt. Courtlyn Hotchkiss. Note he is wearing a “Mae West” life vest identified to another individual by the name of JOHNSON. The vest may have been issued to 2nd Lt. Hotchkiss after his repatriation to American forces he connected with shortly after the fall of Paris. No photograph information on the reverse.
- Photo ID Card dated 15 Dec. 1944.
- Pair of Dog Tags with Tetanus date 1943, with sterling silver chain.
- 8th AAF fully embroided machine made patch.
- The other photos and news clipping are photocopies from original that family kept.
Any other photos seen on this site came from other internet sources, with reference to original sources for your further researching.
Courtlyn W. Hotchkiss (1920 – 2001), was from Fort Collins, Colorado. He was assigned to the 83rd Fighter Squadron, 78th Fighter Group based at Duxford, England. He piloted the P-47 Thunderbolt, and had over 50 missions, either escorting bombing units, or strafing tactical sites in Northern Europe, etc. On the morning of March 17, 1944, he was shot down by a German Folke-Wolf fighter, suffering a few cuts on the face, and spraining his right ankle upon landing in the area of Laon, France. He evaded capture and was later joined with the French Resistance, working with them in the days leading up the D-Day Invasion, until August of 1944. I have photographed a few pages of a report he had to fill out on a Government form (very long and informative.) Hitchkiss spoke French, with certainly was a major factor to evading capture and having the ability to work with the underground.
The forms ask what items he carried, etc. and there is three page report in his hand were he recounts his time on the ground in France. In a newspaper from Strother Field, Winfield, Kansas, of Oct. 1944, it has a small mention of him, “once rode a bicycle for scores of miles through German occupied France. He spent several months with French Patriots before the country was liberated.” The color maps where found on the AMERICAN AIR MUSEUM In Britain site / Google. The long info sheet with 3 page report can be found at :https//catalog.archives.gov/id/5555863.
The original items are in fine to excellent condition. A good deal of history here
Additional information
| Weight | 1 lbs |
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