Corporal · Headquarters, 324th Fighter Group (AAF)
Army · Service no. 36 360 522
Service Number
36 360 522
Rank
Corporal
Unit
Headquarters, 324th Fighter Group (AAF)
MOS
014, Automotive Mechanic
Theater
Mediterranean Theater of Operations (MTO/NATOUSA)
Follow Frank's World War II service through
his enlistment record and the Morning Reports, orders and unit records held by the National Archives. Dated entries, original documents and a map tell the
story of his service. Each entry cites its sources and explains any
uncertainty or disagreement between the records.
Map of Service
Locations follow the records cited below; likely identifications are labelled. Lines connect places for orientation and do not establish exact travel routes, ports or intermediate stops.
Service stops
Chicago, Illinoisinducted 23 July 1942
Atlantic City, N.J.likely training location; surname-only report, 1942
3 → 4Likely Baltimore assignment to confirmed Tunisia station; crossing date, ports and ship unknown
4 → 5Detached service, 7-10 Sept 1943
4 → 6Tunisia in Sept 1943; Italy by 5 Dec 1943; travel date and route unknown
6 → 7Rest camp, 17-21 Feb 1944
6 → 8Detached service, 20-26 Mar 1944
6 → 9Cercola in March; Montalto by 17 June 1944; intermediate route unknown
9 → 10To the 6th General Hospital, July 1944
10 → 6To the 17th General Hospital, Aug 1944
6 → 11Hospital ship Marigold, Sept 1944 (port of departure not documented)
11 → 12Hospital train to Mayo General Hospital, Sept 1944
12 → 13Discharged 12 Dec 1944 into VA care
13 → 14In Effingham by April 1950; date and route home unknown
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How to read this service timeline
This page brings together records created for different purposes. The labels below tell you what kind of evidence supports each entry; open either guide when a record or military term is unfamiliar.
?
Confirmed — Service record
A personal military record supports the entry.
Confirmed — Unit record
A record created by his unit names him or documents the unit’s activity.
Context
Helpful background, clearly separated from personal evidence.
Newly discovered
Information recovered during this research, rather than supplied at the start.
How to read a Morning Report
Morning Reports were daily administrative records prepared by individual Army and Army Air Forces units. They generally recorded changes—such as arrivals, transfers, promotions, illness, or return to duty—not a complete list of everyone present.
MORNING REPORT · SAMPLE
1Organization Company A, 123rd Infantry
2Station or location Camp Example, Virginia
3Date 14 September 1944
4Section Personnel changes
5Pvt Smith, John A., 35123456 6asgd fr Hq Co per SO 187, Hq 123d Inf
In plain English
Private John A. Smith, identified by Army Serial Number 35123456, was assigned to Company A from Headquarters Company under Special Orders No. 187.
1Organization: the company, hospital, squadron, or other unit filing the report.
2Station or location: where that unit reported from on that date.
3Report date: the date of the report, which may differ from the effective date of a change.
4Section: the part of the form containing personnel changes or the unit’s record of events.
5Soldier entry: usually rank, name, and Army Serial Number.
6Change and authority: what happened and the order authorizing it.
asgd
assigned
atchd
attached
trfd
transferred
fr
from
aptd
appointed
EM
enlisted men
SO
Special Orders
GO
General Orders
orgn
organization
sta
station
Common military and research terms
Army Serial Number (ASN)
The unique service number used to distinguish one soldier from others with similar names.
Discharge or separation paper
The document issued when a service member left active service. For many WWII Army enlisted soldiers, this is WD AGO Form 53-55. It summarizes service but is not a day-by-day history.
Morning Report
An Army unit’s daily administrative report. It usually lists people whose status changed, not every person in the unit.
Unit record
A document created by a military organization. It may name the soldier directly or provide context about his unit; the timeline states which applies.
OMPF or “201 file”
The service member’s Official Military Personnel File. Many Army and Air Force files were damaged or destroyed in the 1973 National Personnel Records Center fire.
Unit and final unit
A unit is the organization in which someone served. The final unit is the organization shown at separation; it may not be the only unit in the service history.
Rank or grade
The service member’s level in the military hierarchy. A timeline may show changes in rank over time.
MOS
Military Occupational Specialty—the Army’s classification for a soldier’s primary military job.
Assigned and attached
Assigned means formally placed in a unit. Attached usually means serving with a unit temporarily while belonging administratively elsewhere.
Special Orders and General Orders
Official directives used to authorize personnel actions, awards, organizational changes, and other decisions.
Campaign credit
Official recognition for service connected with a named campaign. It does not, by itself, describe a service member’s individual actions.
Station or location
The place from which a unit filed a report. It does not automatically prove that every member was physically present there.
Source citation
The note beneath a timeline entry identifying the record or records that support it.
Service Timeline
22 min
Records differ
August 29, 1917 or 1918
Born in Illinois
Frank J. Hoene is born in Illinois. His grave marker, the Veterans Administration’s death file and the Social Security Death Master File give 29 August 1917; his Army enlistment record gives 1917 and Illinois as his birth state. A draft card signed Frank Joe Hoene, which appears to be his, instead gives 29 August 1918 and age 22 in October 1940. The records differ by one year; neither year can be treated as certain. Both sides of the draft card appear in the registration entry below. His Find A Grave memorial identifies his parents as Frank Henry Hoene and Mary K. (Doedtman) Hoene.
Source: VA BIRLS death file; Social Security Death Master File; Find A Grave memorial #82642091 (dates, marker photographs and links to his parents’ memorials); WWII Army Enlistment Records (NARA AAD), record 6529886; supplied DSS Form 1, Frank Joe Hoene, front and reverse, registration dated 16 October 1940 (shown below)
Likely — linked records
October 16, 1940
Draft registration: a card signed Frank Joe Hoene
A Selective Service card signed Frank Joe Hoene appears to record Frank’s registration on 16 October 1940. It names his mother, Mrs. Mary Hoene, at R.F.D. No. 1, Teutopolis, and lists his employer as Gottlieb Eberle at Speer, Illinois. The registrar describes blue eyes, blonde hair, a height of 5 feet 10 inches and a weight of 163 pounds. The name, mother’s name, Illinois locations and August 29 birthday support the connection. However, the card gives a birth year of 1918 and age 22, conflicting with the 1917 year in his other records. It contains no Army serial number. Its serial 1176 and order 1037 are Selective Service identifiers; this registration is separate from his Army induction in July 1942.
The signed registration card: Frank Joe Hoene, birth date August 29, 1918, and mother Mary Hoene. The birth year differs from his other records.The accompanying reverse gives the registration date as October 16, 1940. The board’s October 22 stamp is a separate date.
Source: Supplied scans of Selective Service Registration Card, DSS Form 1, Frank Joe Hoene, serial 1176, order 1037, front and accompanying Registrar’s Report; registration dated 16 October 1940, Cumberland County board stamp dated 22 October 1940. Front: evidence/web/draft_card_1940_front.jpg; reverse: evidence/web/draft_card_1940_back.jpg. Original archive reference was not supplied.
Records differ
June 6, 1942
Marriage to Emma C. Repking: the gravestone date
Frank and Emma C. Repking’s shared gravestone at St. Anthony Cemetery in Effingham gives their wedding date as 6 June 1942. Emma’s memorial gives her birthplace as Bishop Township, Effingham County. Frank’s Army enlistment record of 23 July 1942 lists him as single, without dependents. The wedding date is therefore presented as the gravestone records it, with the conflicting Army entry noted here.
The Army inducts Frank at Chicago as a selectee, to serve for the duration of the war plus six months. His enlistment record gives his county of residence as Cook County, Illinois, his schooling as grammar school, and his civilian work as semiskilled metalworking. The Army issues him serial number 36 360 522, the service number that identifies him throughout his Army records. The Veterans Administration’s death file gives the same date of entry, 23 July 1942.
Source: WWII Army Enlistment Records (NARA AAD), record 6529886, serial number 36360522; VA BIRLS death file
Likely — linked records
September 4, 1942
Baltimore: likely joins the 314th Fighter Squadron
A private named Hoene, likely Frank, is among ten men assigned to the 314th Fighter Squadron at Baltimore Municipal Airport on 4 September. They arrive from the Army Air Forces Technical Training Command at Atlantic City, New Jersey. A separate entry attaches Hoene and nineteen other privates to the squadron for meals, quarters and administration. These entries give surnames without service numbers. Heinly and Horn, two men listed with Hoene, later appear alongside Frank in the 324th Fighter Group’s records with service numbers. Their shared service supports the identification, but does not make it certain.
The clerk’s entries: the ten men assigned on 4 September, and below them Hoene, Heinly and Horn transferred to the 324th Fighter Group on the 7th. The yellow highlighting was added to help locate the information cited here.The 4 September entry attaching Hoene and nineteen other privates to the squadron. The yellow highlighting was added to help locate the information cited here.The squadron’s station page for August 1942: Municipal Airport, Baltimore, Maryland.
Source: Morning Report — 314th Fighter Squadron, Baltimore Municipal Airport, Md. — NARA Roll 235, images 3550 and 3552 (NAID 424949658; September 1942); station page, image 3538 (August 1942)
Likely — linked records
September 7, 1942
Likely transfer to the 324th Fighter Group
Privates Hoene, Heinly and Horn transfer to the 324th Fighter Group on 7 September, while remaining attached to the 314th Fighter Squadron for meals, quarters and administration. The men named alongside Hoene strongly suggest that this is Frank’s transfer. By September 1943, records identify him by service number at the Group’s headquarters. The September 1942 entry gives no service number, so its identification remains likely. His overseas departure date, route and troopship are not documented in the cited records.
Source: Morning Report — 314th Fighter Squadron, Baltimore Municipal Airport, Md. — NARA Roll 235, image 3552 (NAID 424949658; September 1942)
Likely — linked records
June 24, 1943
North Africa: likely listed as a private first class
The 314th Fighter Squadron in North Africa lists Private First Class Hoene as attached for meals at six in the morning, together with Technical Sergeant Shipe, Staff Sergeant Burns and Private Beare. The entry likely refers to Frank, but gives no service number. Harold I. Shipe later appears alongside Frank, both identified by service number, on the Group’s report of 7 September 1943.
The 24 June entry: T/Sgt Shipe, S/Sgt Burns, Pfc Hoene and Pvt Beare. The yellow highlighting was added to help locate the information cited here.
Source: Morning Report — 314th Fighter Squadron, North Africa — NARA Roll 235, image 3762 (NAID 424949658; June 1943)
Confirmed — Unit record
September 7, 1943
Cape Bon, Tunisia, and three days at Tripoli
By September 1943, Frank is a corporal serving with Headquarters, 324th Fighter Group, at El Haouaria Landing Ground, Cape Bon, Tunisia. The report identifies him as “36360522 Hoene cpl” and records his departure for detached service at Tripoli at three in the afternoon. Master Sergeant Harold Shipe leaves on the same assignment. The headquarters records “usual camp duties” that day. Tripoli, in Libya, lies about 300 miles to the southeast.
His serial number in the Group’s own report: 36360522 Hoene, corporal. The yellow highlighting was added to help locate the information cited here.
Source: Morning Report — Headquarters, 324th Fighter Group, El Haouaria Landing Ground, Cape Bon, Tunisia — NARA Roll 600, image 266 (NAID 451747090; 7 September 1943)
Confirmed — Unit record
September 10, 1943
Back from Tripoli
Frank and Master Sergeant Shipe return from detached service at Tripoli at eleven at night. The Group remains at El Haouaria Landing Ground in Tunisia.
Shipe and Hoene back on duty at 2300 hours. The yellow highlighting was added to help locate the information cited here.
Source: Morning Report — Headquarters, 324th Fighter Group, El Haouaria Landing Ground, Cape Bon, Tunisia — NARA Roll 600, image 269 (NAID 451747090; 10 September 1943)
Confirmed — Unit record
December 5, 1943
Naples: to the 4th Field Hospital
By December the Group is at Cercola Airdrome, outside Naples. Frank is admitted to the 4th Field Hospital in Naples. His unit records him as absent sick and classifies the illness as incurred in the line of duty. The report does not name the illness.
From duty to absent sick, 4th Field Hospital, Naples. The yellow highlighting was added to help locate the information cited here.
The 23rd General Hospital admits “HOENE Frank J, 36360522, Cpl, Hq 324 Ftr Grp” on 17 December, from the 4th Field Hospital, and classes his case as disease, in line of duty. The Group’s clerk, writing on 23 December, dates the move to the 18th. The admission and 12 January discharge records suggest that Frank spends Christmas 1943 in the hospital.
The 23rd General Hospital’s admission sheet, 17 December 1943. The yellow highlighting was added to help locate the information cited here.The Group’s report of 23 December, recording the move as of the 18th. The yellow highlighting was added to help locate the information cited here.
Source: 23rd General Hospital admission sheet, 17 December 1943, filed with the Morning Reports — NARA Roll 642, image 2557 (NAID 459764972); Morning Report — Headquarters, 324th Fighter Group, Cercola Airdrome, Italy — NARA Roll 664, image 1318 (NAID 459838167; 23 December 1943); 23rd General Hospital dispositions, 12 January 1944, NARA Roll 494, image 676 (NAID 461622237)
Confirmed — Unit record
January 12, 1944
Released to his unit
On 12 January 1944 the 23rd General Hospital returns Frank to “Duty Own Organization”, his own unit. That evening the Group carries him “fr ab sk LD 23rd Gen Hosp, Naples Italy to sk in qrs 1900”: sick in quarters with the headquarters instead of in a ward.
Back to his unit’s quarters at Cercola, 1900 hours. The yellow highlighting was added to help locate the information cited here.The 23rd General Hospital’s disposition sheet: Duty Own Organization. The yellow highlighting was added to help locate the information cited here.
Source: 23rd General Hospital dispositions, 12 January 1944, filed with the Morning Reports — NARA Roll 494, image 676 (NAID 461622237); Morning Report — Headquarters, 324th Fighter Group, Cercola Airdrome, Italy — NARA Roll 537, image 3589 (NAID 461779237; 12 January 1944)
Confirmed — Unit record
February 1, 1944
Back on duty at Cercola
Frank returns to duty at Cercola Airdrome after a period of illness in hospital and in his unit’s quarters. About eight weeks have passed since he first reported sick on 5 December.
From sick in quarters to duty, 1 February 1944. The yellow highlighting was added to help locate the information cited here.
Frank leaves at ten in the morning for detached service with the 6727th Administrative Platoon at the Air Force Rest Camp on Capri. Captain Paul F. Breen leaves for the same camp at the same hour. Both return to the Group at three in the afternoon on 21 February.
17 February: to the rest camp on Capri, 1000 hours. The yellow highlighting was added to help locate the information cited here.21 February: back from Capri, 1500 hours. The yellow highlighting was added to help locate the information cited here.
Source: Morning Report — Headquarters, 324th Fighter Group, Cercola Airdrome, Italy — NARA Roll 459, images 1163 and 1167 (NAID 464023382; 17 and 21 February 1944)
Confirmed — Unit record
March 20, 1944
Detached to Palermo, Sicily
Master Sergeants Willard G. Manning and Philip W. Tuckerman and Corporal Frank J. Hoene go “fr dy to DS 31st Base Ord. Depot, Palermo, Sicily 0800.” The three return to duty at 0600 on 26 March. Neither report says why they went.
20 March: to the 31st Base Ordnance Depot at Palermo, 0800 hours. The yellow highlighting was added to help locate the information cited here.26 March: the three men back on duty, 0600 hours. The yellow highlighting was added to help locate the information cited here.
Source: Morning Report — Headquarters, 324th Fighter Group, Cercola Airdrome, Italy — NARA Roll 555, images 1776 and 1783 (NAID 466495440; 20 and 26 March 1944)
Confirmed — Unit record
June 17, 1944
Montalto Airfield, and four days at the Fifth Army Rest Center
The Group is now at Montalto Airfield. Frank and four other enlisted men leave at 10:30 in the morning for temporary duty at the Fifth Army Rest Center. All five return at 4:30 in the afternoon on 21 June. That day, the headquarters lists 79 enlisted men on its rolls.
17 June: five men to the Fifth Army Rest Center. The yellow highlighting was added to help locate the information cited here.21 June: back on duty at 1630 hours. The yellow highlighting was added to help locate the information cited here.
Source: Morning Report — Headquarters, 324th Fighter Group, Montalto Airfield, Italy — NARA Roll 518, images 2576 and 2581 (NAID 477975033; 17 and 21 June 1944)
Confirmed — Unit record
July 12, 1944
Reports sick at Montalto
Three weeks after returning from the rest center, Frank is recorded as sick in quarters at Montalto Airfield. The Army classifies the illness as incurred in the line of duty.
From duty to sick in quarters, 12 July 1944. The yellow highlighting was added to help locate the information cited here.
“Fr sk in qrs (LD) to ab sk (LD) 105th Sta Hosp, 0900.” The 105th’s admitting clerk writes down the diagnosis: “11286 Hoene, Frank J, Cpl. 36360522, AC, Hq Sq 324 Ftr Gp … Pleurisy.” Pleurisy is an inflammation of the lining around the lungs. Clerks at the 6th and 17th General Hospitals copy the same diagnosis, and the 17th dates the case from this day.
To the 105th Station Hospital, 0900 hours. The yellow highlighting was added to help locate the information cited here.The 105th Station Hospital’s admissions: Hq Sq 324 Ftr Gp, pleurisy. The yellow highlighting was added to help locate the information cited here.
Source: Morning Report — Headquarters, 324th Fighter Group, Montalto Airfield, Italy — NARA Roll 723, image 2718 (NAID 481344876; 14 July 1944); 105th Station Hospital admissions, 14 July 1944, filed with the Morning Reports — NARA Roll 710, image 2810 (NAID 481300525)
Confirmed — Unit record
July 26, 1944
Rome: the 6th General Hospital, Ward 415
The 105th Station Hospital transfers Frank to the 6th General Hospital in Rome. On 26 July the 6th’s clerk lists “36 360 522 Hoene Frank J, AC, Cpl, atchd fr 324th Ftr Gp,” and the admissions register puts him in Ward 415 with pleurisy.
The 105th Station Hospital transfers him, 26 July 1944. The yellow highlighting was added to help locate the information cited here.The 6th General Hospital at Rome receives him from the 324th Fighter Group. The yellow highlighting was added to help locate the information cited here.Admissions register: Ward 415, pleurisy. The yellow highlighting was added to help locate the information cited here.
Source: 105th Station Hospital dispositions, 26 July 1944 — NARA Roll 710, image 2893 (NAID 481300525); Morning Report — Detachment of Patients, 6th General Hospital, Rome, Italy — NARA Roll 691, image 1815 (NAID 481238103; 26 July 1944); 6th General Hospital admissions, 26 July 1944 — NARA Roll 691, image 1823
Confirmed — Unit record
August 5, 1944
Transferred out of the 324th Fighter Group
In paragraph 15 of Special Orders No. 129, the 6th General Hospital transfers “Cpl Frank J. Hoene, AC, 36360522, Class C” from the Group’s headquarters squadron to its own Detachment of Patients, and orders his service record forwarded. The Group drops him from its rolls six days later.
Special Orders No. 129, page 2: paragraph 15 transfers Frank to the hospital’s Detachment of Patients. The yellow highlighting was added to help locate the information cited here.
Source: 6th General Hospital Special Orders No. 129, par. 15, 5 August 1944, filed with the Morning Reports — NARA Roll 441, image 1210 (NAID 565809287); Headquarters, 324th Fighter Group morning report, 11 August 1944, NARA Roll 470, image 612 (NAID 565911281)
Confirmed — Unit record
August 7, 1944
Special Orders 131: on to the 17th General Hospital
In paragraph 4 of Special Orders No. 131, the 6th General Hospital sends seven enlisted men, all Class C, to the 17th General Hospital “for further hospitalization and disposition.” Frank is fourth: “Cpl Frank J. Hoene, AC, 36360522, C.” The first man listed, S/Sgt Matthew J. Hill Jr., turns up on the same hospital, ship and train records as Frank for the next seven weeks.
Paragraph 4: the seven men sent to the 17th General Hospital, Hoene fourth. The yellow highlighting was added to help locate the information cited here.
Source: 6th General Hospital Special Orders No. 131, par. 4, 7 August 1944 — NARA Roll 441, image 1247 (NAID 565809287); other copies on Roll 441, images 1249 and 1251; Roll 468, image 1677 (NAID 565904710); Roll 789, image 184 (NAID 567609930)
Confirmed — Unit record
August 9–10, 1944
Naples: the 17th General Hospital
Frank joins the 17th General Hospital’s patients at Naples on 9 August. The hospital’s admission sheet for 10 August lists him: “16312 Hoene, Frank J, Cpl 36360522, AC, Hq Sq 324 Ftr Gp, FT 6 GH, 14 Jul, Pleurisy, sl ill.” A note on the sheet explains that the date after the source marks the first day of treatment, so the hospital dates his case from 14 July. Sl ill means slightly ill. The 21st General Hospital’s sheets of 9–11 August also name Frank. Large X-shaped lines cross the admissions page and the transfer block, including his entries. The crossed-through transfer entry gives 10 August, one day later than the 17th’s recorded joining date. The purpose of the marks is not stated. These sheets, shown below, do not establish a separate stay at the 21st General Hospital.
Attached to the 17th General Hospital, joined 9 August 1944. The yellow highlighting was added to help locate the information cited here.The 17th General Hospital’s admissions for 10 August 1944. The yellow highlighting was added to help locate the information cited here.21st General Hospital admissions, 9 August 1944 (Roll 789, image 191). A large X spans the page; Frank’s entry, 34418, is near the bottom. The crossing lines cover many entries. Their purpose is unclear, and this page does not establish a separate hospital stay. The yellow highlighting was added to help locate the information cited here.Roll 789, image 208: the heading identifies the 21st General Hospital and dates these dispositions 11 August 1944. Frank appears on the continuation page that follows, not on this heading page. The yellow highlighting was added to help locate the information cited here.21st General Hospital dispositions, 11 August 1944 (Roll 789, image 209). A large X crosses the transfer block, including Frank’s line under “Patients transferred to the 17th General Hospital 10 August 1944.” The date differs from the 17th’s joined date of 9 August. The marks’ purpose remains unclear; this page does not establish a separate hospital stay. The yellow highlighting was added to help locate the information cited here.
Source: Morning Report — Detachment of Patients, 17th General Hospital, Napoli, Italy — NARA Roll 444A, image 496 (NAID 565820057; 10 August 1944); 17th General Hospital admissions, 10 August 1944 — NARA Roll 444A, image 502; crossed-through 21st General Hospital admission/disposition sheets, NARA Roll 789, images 191, 208 and 209 (NAID 567609930)
Confirmed — Unit record
August 11, 1944
Corsica: the Group’s last entry for him
By August the 324th Fighter Group had moved to Ghisonaccia Airfield, Corsica. Frank, in hospitals since mid-July, did not go with it. On 11 August the Group’s clerk records the transfer: “36360522 Hoene, Frank J. cpl, fr ab sk (LD) to trfd to Det of Patients, 6th Gen Hosp.” Captain Fred P. Woodson signs the report. The likely September 1942 transfer places his association with the Group at about twenty-three months. The day before, the clerk had entered a block of job-classification (MOS) changes, and one line covers Frank, Robert K. Horn and Charles W. Richardson: “above EM MOS changed fr 345 to 014”, from light truck driver to automotive mechanic.
11 August 1944: the Group’s last entry for him, signed by Captain Fred P. Woodson. The yellow highlighting was added to help locate the information cited here.10 August 1944: MOS changes. The line “above EM MOS changed fr 345 to 014” follows the names Hoene, Horn and Richardson. The yellow highlighting was added to help locate the information cited here.
Special Orders 243: ordered to a hospital in the United States
In paragraph 3 of Special Orders No. 243, the 17th General Hospital sends 52 officers and men, all Class C, “trfd in rank and gr to a US Army Hosp ZI for further hospitalization treatment and disposition.” ZI, the Zone of the Interior, meant the United States. Frank is number 22: “Cpl FRANK J. HOENE, AC, 36360522.” The order tells the men to ask correspondents and publishers to stop mailing to them until they have a new address.
Number 22 on the list of patients ordered to an Army hospital in the United States. The yellow highlighting was added to help locate the information cited here.
Source: 17th General Hospital Special Orders No. 243, par. 3, 5 September 1944, filed with the Morning Reports — NARA Roll 632, image 146 (NAID 569928320)
Confirmed — Unit record
September 22, 1944
Charleston, South Carolina: home aboard the hospital ship Marigold
At Charleston, Stark General Hospital’s patient detachment takes in 738 patients, “adm fr overseas (1320) transported aboard USAHS ‘MARIGOLD’”, and files the Army hospital ship’s list of patients with its report. Frank is number 294: “Hoene, Frank J., 014, 36360522, Cpl, AC.” The 014 is his MOS, the Army’s code for his job: automotive mechanic. Neither page gives the Marigold’s sailing date or port of departure.
Stark General Hospital, 22 September 1944: 738 patients admitted from the hospital ship Marigold.Marigold patient list, page 1 (Roll 202, image 451). The column headings place MOS between NAME and ASN. Read these headings with Frank’s entry, number 294 on page 25, to identify 014 as his job code. Frank is not listed on this heading page.The ship’s list of patients: number 294, Hoene, Frank J., MOS 014. The yellow highlighting was added to help locate the information cited here.
Source: Morning Report — Detachment of Patients, Stark General Hospital, Charleston, S.C. — NARA Roll 202, image 450 (NAID 568396725; 22 September 1944); USAHS Marigold list of patients, pages 1 and 25 — NARA Roll 202, images 451 and 475; MOS title from War Department TM 12-427 (12 July 1944), MOS 014 and 345 entries
Confirmed — Unit record
September 23–26, 1944
By hospital train to Mayo General Hospital, Galesburg
Frank returns to Illinois for care at Mayo General Hospital in Galesburg. Special Orders No. 260, dated 23 September, direct patients to leave Stark General Hospital on or about 25 September. Paragraph 5 states: “Travel will be accomplished via Train No. 6.” Frank appears in the Mayo party under Ward No. 33 as “Cpl Frank J. Hoene, 36360522, AC.” The # before his name designates him as a litter patient, to be transported on a stretcher. On 26 September, Mayo records his arrival from Stark among seventeen men attached as hospital patients. Galesburg is about 160 miles from Effingham in a straight line. The orders specify the planned train and approximate departure date; the Mayo report establishes his arrival date. The relevant order pages and arrival reports are shown below.
Special Orders No. 260, page 1 (Roll 202, image 578), shown upright. Paragraph 5 near the top gives travel on or about 25 September and states: “Travel will be accomplished via Train No. 6.” Read this instruction with the Mayo party on page 5 below. This is an order for travel, not a record of the train’s actual departure. The yellow highlighting was added to help locate the information cited here.Special Orders No. 260: the party for Mayo General Hospital, with Frank under Ward No. 33. The yellow highlighting was added to help locate the information cited here.Special Orders No. 260, page 7 (Roll 202, image 584). The first sentence of the lower paragraph explains that names preceded by # are classified as litter patients. Frank’s name carries that symbol on page 5. Large crossing lines also cover this paragraph; their purpose is not stated. The yellow highlighting was added to help locate the information cited here.Mayo General Hospital, 26 September 1944, page 10: Frank’s name among the arrivals. The yellow highlighting was added to help locate the information cited here.Page 11: the seventeen men who arrived from Stark General Hospital, Charleston.Mayo report, page 12 (Roll 315, image 1599). The first two lines complete the preceding arrival entry: “SO 260, Par 5, 23 Sept 44” and “EDCMR 26 Sept 44.” Read with pages 10 and 11 above. The unrelated patient entries below are not Frank’s.
Source: Stark General Hospital Special Orders No. 260, par. 5, 23 September 1944, filed with the Morning Reports — NARA Roll 202, images 578, 582 and 584 (NAID 568396725); other copies on Roll 312, image 1439 (NAID 568740752) and Roll 95, image 363 (NAID 567961454); Morning Report — Detachment of Patients, Mayo General Hospital, Galesburg, Illinois — NARA Roll 315, images 1597, 1598 and 1599 (NAID 568748289; 26 September 1944)
Confirmed — Unit record
October 5, 1944
Seventeen days’ convalescent furlough
Mayo General Hospital sends Frank and four other men on convalescent furlough: “5 above EM atchd unasgd sk in hosp to conv fur 17 days.” The clerk does not record where he spent it. On 22 October the hospital lists him among 28 men back from furlough.
5 October 1944: Frank is the second of five men listed. The two lines beneath those five names read “5 above EM … to conv fur 17 days.” EM means enlisted men: this is the 17-day furlough instruction for Frank’s group. The “15 days” line at the top belongs to a separate entry above this group. The yellow highlighting was added to help locate the information cited here.22 October 1944: Frank’s name among the 28 men back from furlough. The yellow highlighting was added to help locate the information cited here.Mayo report of 22 October 1944, page 6 (Roll 217, image 1746). The statement “28 above EM conv fur to rejd atchd unasgd sk in hosp” records the return from convalescent furlough of the preceding group, including Frank on page 5. His name and the group’s return statement are on consecutive pages.
Source: Morning Report — Detachment of Patients, Mayo General Hospital, Galesburg, Illinois — NARA Roll 217, image 1509 (NAID 571542361; 5 October 1944) and images 1745 and 1746 (22 October 1944)
Confirmed — Service record
December 12, 1944
Honorably discharged on a Certificate of Disability
Frank leaves the Army with an honorable disability discharge and the final rank of corporal. Mayo General Hospital records his release on a Certificate of Disability for Discharge, abbreviated “CDD,” and marks it “Hon” for honorable. Its notation “Non BC” classifies his case as a non-battle casualty. The same entry records his delivery to the custody of the manager of the Veterans Administration facility at Wood, Wisconsin. The Veterans Administration’s death file independently gives the same Army release date: 12 December 1944.
The entry that ends his Army service, 12 December 1944. The yellow highlighting was added to help locate the information cited here.
Source: Morning Report — Detachment of Patients, Mayo General Hospital, Galesburg, Illinois — NARA Roll 217, image 2268 (NAID 577793415; 12 December 1944); VA BIRLS death file
Context
1942–1945
The 324th Fighter Group
Frank’s group flew fighters for the Army Air Forces from three squadrons, the 314th, 315th and 316th. It trained on P-40 Warhawks in Egypt, flew escort and patrol missions between Tunisia and Sicily in 1943, and from October 1943 supported the ground armies in Italy. In July 1944 it converted to P-47 Thunderbolts. After Frank left, the Group moved on to southern France and reached Stuttgart, Germany, on 8 May 1945. The War Department awarded the Group two Distinguished Unit Citations: for action from March 1943 to the invasion of Sicily, and for 12–14 May 1944, when it bombed an enemy position on Monastery Hill at Cassino. France awarded it the Croix de Guerre with Palm for supporting French forces in 1944 and 1945. His documented assignments, together with the likely September 1942 transfer, suggest an association with the Group during both cited periods. These are the Group’s honors. The cited records do not establish which awards Frank was individually entitled to wear.
Maj. Gen. John K. Cannon ties a citation ribbon to the Group’s guidon in Italy while Col. Leonard C. Lydon, the Group’s commander, holds the standard. The caption on the back names the Group’s first Distinguished Unit Citation, for Tunisia and Sicily. The print is stamped as received on 19 July 1944, before Frank left the Group.
Census taker Catherine Lowe finds Frank in Effingham with Emma and their three young children. He reports working 40 hours during the preceding week as a pusher in a stove factory, and she marks yes beside the question of World War II service.
1950 census, Effingham, ED 25-8, sheet 11. Lines 9–13 show Frank, Emma and their three children. On Frank’s line, the work columns give 40 hours, pusher, stove factory. In the lower supplemental section, the row marked 9 has Yes checked under World War II service. The yellow highlighting was added to help locate the information cited here.
Frank dies on 18 December 1982. He lies in St. Anthony Cemetery, Effingham, under a bronze marker that reads “Frank J Hoene, Cpl US Army, World War II.” Emma joined him there in 2010.
Frank’s surviving records trace his Army service from induction at Chicago on 23 July 1942 to honorable disability discharge as a corporal on 12 December 1944, followed by his postwar life in Effingham. Enlistment data, unit morning reports, hospital registers, special orders and the Marigold’s patient list provide the dated evidence for this account. Each entry identifies its sources, with supporting documents shown alongside the story. Likely identifications and conflicting dates are noted where they occur. Frank’s separation paper is not among these records, and the evidence does not establish his individual campaign credits or awards. The National Archives reports that the 1973 fire destroyed about 80 percent of Army personnel files for men discharged between November 1912 and January 1960; whether Frank’s own file was lost is unknown.
