Donald Hoobler
Donald Hoobler | |
|---|---|
| File:Pfc donald hoobler 506e.jpg | |
| Nickname(s) | Hoob |
| Born | June 28, 1922 Manchester, Ohio |
| Died | January 3, 1945 (aged 22) Foy, Belgium |
| Place of burial | Manchester Cemetery |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Service/ | United States Army |
| Years of service | 1942–1945 |
| Rank |  Corporal |
| Unit | Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
| Awards | |
| Relations | Ralph B. (father) Kathryn Carrigan (mother) |
Corporal Donald B. Hoobler (June 28, 1922 – January 3, 1945) was a non-commissioned officer who served with the Ohio National Guard from 1940–1941, and later served with Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, in the 101st Airborne Division of the United States Army during World War II. Hoobler was portrayed in the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers by Peter McCabe.
Youth
Hoobler was born on June 28, 1922 to Ralph B. Hoobler and Kathryn (Carrigan) Hoobler in Manchester, Ohio. He had one sister, Mary Kathryn Lane, and a brother, John R. Hoobler. Hoobler graduated from Manchester High School in 1940.[1][dead link]
Military service
Hoobler served in the Ohio National Guard on October 15, 1940.[1][2] He was discharged in November 1941 and sent home from training at Camp Shelby, located in Mississippi, due to his father's death.[1] He then enlisted in the U.S. Army on July 22, 1942 at Fort Thomas, Kentucky. Hoobler, with two hometown friends, joined E Company.[1][2]
During World War II, he served with E Company, of 2nd Battalion in the 101st Airborne Division.[1] He fought in the D-Day and Operation Market Garden.
Hoobler also fought in the Battle of the Bulge in Bastogne in December 1944.
Hoobler died of a non-combat-related injury.[3] On January 3, 1945, at Bastogne, Cpl. Hoobler was killed when a pistol (a Belgian FN 1900 .32 cal, which did not have a safety) he had taken from a dead German fired accidentally while he was moving from foxhole to foxhole checking on other soldiers. He bumped into a tree, snow got into his jacket, he tried to shrug his shoulders, hitting the trigger, causing the pistol to fire. The bullet entered his thigh, severing his femoral artery, and he died of blood loss.[3]
Burial
Hoobler was buried at Manchester Cemetery in Adams County, Ohio.[4]
Band of Brothers
The scene where Hoobler accidentally shot himself was depicted in the miniseries. However, in the TV series, Hoobler is shown acquiring a Luger pistol from a German soldier he shot down, and later accidentally shooting himself with that weapon. In reality, Hoobler did not obtain a Luger. The pistol may have been a Colt M1911 service sidearm[5], or a Belgian-made .32 automatic.[6] According to Clancy Lyall, it was the latter. He and Hoobler both obtained one from German prisoners during Operation Market Garden.[7]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Weyrich, Carleta (April 2007). "Hoobler fights in WWII elite 'Easy Company'". The People's Defender. Archived from the original on 2010-12-02. Retrieved 2009-10-06.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 WWII Army Enlistment Records: on-line NARA Archival Database
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Ambrose, Stephen E. (1992). Band of Brothers: Easy Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest. Simon & Schuster. p. 198. ISBN 978-0-7434-6411-6. Search this book on
- ↑ Donald Hoobler at Find a GraveLua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 23: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
- ↑ Sgt Don Malarkey and Bob Welch, Easy Company Soldier, the Legendary Battles of a Sergeant From World War II's "Band of Brothers"
- ↑ p.239, Larry Alexander, In the Footsteps of the Band of Brothers: A Return to Easy Company's Battefields with Sgt. Forrest Guth
- ↑ p.71, Ronald Ooms, Silver Eagle: the official biography of 'Band of Brothers' veteran Clancy Lyall
