- Herman Bottcher
Infobox Military Person
name= Herman J. F. Bottcher
born= 1905 or 1909
died=December 31 , Death year and age|1944|1909
died=
placeofbirth= Landsberg,Germany
placeofdeath=Leyte ,Philippines
placeofburial=
caption=Major Herman Bottcher Awarded two Disguished Service Crosses in World War II
nickname=
allegiance= Spanish Republic; United States of America
branch=International Brigade |branch=
serviceyears= 1936-38 1941-44
rank=
commands=
unit=Abraham Lincoln Brigade ; G Company, 126th Infantry, 32nd Division
battles=Spanish Civil War (1936-1938) *Battle of Madrid World War II , *Battle of Buna-Gona *Battle of Leyte
awards= Distinguished Service Cross (2)Silver Star Legion of Merit Purple Heart (4) Spanish Medal of Valour
laterwork=Major Herman J. F. Bottcher (1905 or 1909 –December 31 ,1944 ) was a German national who achieved the rank ofMajor (United States) with two different armies: theInternational Brigade during theSpanish Civil War and theUnited States Army duringWorld War II . He was awarded two U.S. Distinguished Service Crosses, the second highest U.S. military decoration after theMedal of Honor . Because the International Brigade was a nominallyCommunist organization, theUnited States Government denied himAmerican citizenship for many years. Bottcher however, joined the United States Army and distinguished himself incombat during World War II. He was granted his U.S. citizenship days before he was mortally wounded.Early years
Herman Bottcher was born in Landsberg,
Germany and was a witness to the events surrounding his country duringWorld War I . He trained as a cabinetmaker and in 1928, left Germany forAustria . In 1931, Bottcher emigrated to theUnited States and lived in San Francisco. During theGreat Depression , Bottcher who was a student atSan Francisco State College and applied for American Citizenship in 1935. cite journal
journal=World War II Magazine
title=Personality: Born and raised in Germany, Herman J.F. Bottcher gave his life in battle for his adopted country
author=Haydock, Michael D.
date=March 1998]panish Civil War
In 1936, Bottcher dropped his college studies and joined the Abraham Lincoln International Brigade,cite web|accessdate=2007-10-28
url=http://dlib.nyu.edu/findingaids/html/tamwag/valb.html
title=Guide to the Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Records 1933-2006
publisher=Tamiment Library & Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives] which fought against Spanish GeneralFrancisco Franco , afascist who revolted against the Spanish government (also known as Spanish loyalists) in what is known as theSpanish Civil War . Franco was an ally of Germany’sAdolf Hitler and Italy‘sBenito Mussolini . Bottcher was assigned with the rank ofCaptain to the Abraham Lincoln Brigade and during the 35 months that he served he was wounded twice, once in theBattle of Madrid and once atAragon . Spanish prime ministerJuan Negrin ordered the withdrawal of the International Brigades and onSeptember 24 ,1938 , the Abraham Lincoln Brigade was replaced by Spanish loyalist troops. Bottcher, who was then aMajor (United States) with three Spanish military decorations which included the Spanish Medal of Valour, and the rest of the men of the Brigade were sent home. cite journal
journal=World War II Magazine
title=Personality: Born and raised in Germany, Herman J.F. Bottcher gave his life in battle for his adopted country
author=Haydock, Michael D.
date=March 1998]Bottcher, returned home to San Francisco and continued his college education in architecture. Bottcher's citizenship request was denied by the United States government because of his involvement in the Spanish Civil War. Fisher, "Comrades: Tales of a Brigadista in the Spanish Civil War", 1998.]
World War II
Bottcher enlisted in the United States Army at the
Presidio onJanuary 5 ,1942 , just one month after theEmpire of Japan attackedPearl Harbor inDecember 7 ,1941 . [U.S. World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946. He was 66 inches and 126 pounds and working as a cabinetmaker, he listed his birth year as 1909, and his name as "Herman J. Bottcher". ] He was assigned to the 32nd Infantry Division aMichigan -Wisconsin National Guard Unit. The 32nd Division was sent to theSouth West Pacific Theater .The Battle of Buna
Bottcher's unit was sent to
New Guinea in late 1942, as part of a US-Australia n offensive against Japanese forces who had built extensive defenses around beachheads in the Buna area.On
November 16 ,1942 , Australian and US forces began to attack Buna, Sanananda and Gona. Bottcher was promoted to Staff Sergeant, and was appointed aplatoon commander in G Company of the 126th Infantry Regiment. OnDecember 5 ,1942 , when G Company was pinned down by enemy fire, Bottcher led a 31-strong detachment forward against the attacking force. Wading across a creek under constant mortar fire, Bottcher led twelve volunteers through to the Buna beach. He stood up and threwhand grenades at the enemy knocking out several pillboxes en route and was able to drive a wedge between Buna beach and Buna village. Bottcher, one eardrum broken by mortar blast, his hand cut by shrapnel, held that wedge. Bottcher ordered his men to dig in at once on the edge of the beach, which became known as "Bottchers Corner". He and his men fought against enemy attacks from both the village and the fortified beach which resulted in the death of over a hundred enemy soldiers. Bottcher's break-through completed the isolation of Buna village and is considered to be a turning point of the battle.cite book
accessdate=2007-11-01 |url=http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA/USA-P-Papua/USA-P-Papua-13.html
chapter=CHAPTER XIII Buna: The Second Two Weeks
series=United States Army in World War II
title=War in the Pacific: Vistory in Papua
author=Milner, Samuel Milner
date=1957] According to a "Time" magazine article, byAustralian war correspondent George Johnston, publishedSeptember 20 ,1943 ::"The American, Herman Bottcher, led twelve volunteers into the Japanese positions, built fortifications on the beach. Constantly under fire, Bottcher provided a diversion that resulted in Allied victory. By a conservative count ... Bottcher and his twelve men ... killed more than 120 Japs."cite journal
accessdate=2007-10-30
url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,774618-2,00.html
title=The Toughest Fighting in the World
author=Johnston, George H.
journal=TIME Magazine
date=September 20 ,1943 ]Bottcher was awarded the battlefield commission of Captain and his first Distinguished Service Cross Medal.cite journal
accessdate=2007-10-28
url=
title=The Red Arrow Pierced Every Line
author=Murdock, T/4 Charles P.
journal=Saturday Evening Post
date=November 10 ,1945 ]On
December 20 , Bottcher led a detachment of his men in an attack and that was within 20 yards of the enemy, when he stood up to draw the enemy fire upon himself so that his men could move forward. He was wounded twice and awarded an oak leaf cluster in lieu of a second Distinguished Service Cross Medal. He was sent to Australia, for treatment to his three wounds.cite journal
accessdate=2007-10-28
url=
title=The Red Arrow Pierced Every Line
author=Murdock, T/4 Charles P.
journal=Saturday Evening Post
date=November 10 ,1945 ]Final battle
Bottcher, returned to his unit following the
Battle of the Philippines in June 1944, with the rank ofMajor (United States) . There he received the news that the US Government, by a special act of Congress, had granted him U.S. Citizenship. Fisher, "Comrades: Tales of a Brigadista in the Spanish Civil War", 1998.] Bottcher's men had spent 43 days behind enemy lines during theBattle of Leyte when, onDecember 30 ,1944 , a group of Japanese soldiers encountered Bottcher's men and attacked them with small arms fire and mortar rounds, one of which fell directly into Bottcher's position.cite web|accessdate=2007-10-28
url=http://www.32nd-division.org/history/ww2/32ww2-7.html
title=The New Guinea Campaign - Aitape and the Driniumor River
date=2005
work=The 32nd Infantry Division in World War II
publisher= The 32nd 'Red Arrow' Veteran Association] The next day, Bottcher's men sent the following radio message: "Bottcher dead. Recon troop withdrawing west..."cite web|accessdate=2007-10-28
url=http://www.32nd-division.org/history/ww2/32ww2-7.html
title=The New Guinea Campaign - Aitape and the Driniumor River
date=2005
work=The 32nd Infantry Division in World War II
publisher= The 32nd 'Red Arrow' Veteran Association] Captain (later Major) Dick Tucker, sent the following message to the news wires: "Major Herman Bottcher, veteran soldier in the fight against Fascism, hero of the battle of Buna and reconnaissance-troop commander, whose exploits had become legend among the men who were fighting the Pacific war, lay dead on a hill overlookingSilad Bay ."cite web
accessdate=2007-10-28
url=http://www.32nd-division.org/history/ww2/32ww2-7.html
title=The New Guinea Campaign - Aitape and the Driniumor River
date=2005
work=The 32nd Infantry Division in World War II
publisher= The 32nd 'Red Arrow' Veteran Association] Bottcher is buried in the Manila American Cemetery,Manila in Plot L Row 4 Grave 134.Legacy
There is a memorial plaque at Buna today which is dedicated to Bottcher's role in the battle. [cite web
accessdate=2007-10-28
url=http://www.pacificwrecks.com/provinces/png_buna.html
title= Buna]Lloyd Joseph Knutson, from
Tacoma, Washington , is working on a project to honor Major Herman Bottcher.cite web
accessdate=2007-10-28
url=http://www.washington.edu/alumni/columns/march02/alumnotes.html#1930
title=Class Notes: 1930
work=Columns Magazine
publisher= The University of Washington Alumni Magazine
date=March 2002]In 1945, Sgt. John Rossen wrote an eloquent poem that pays tribute to Bottcher and the sacrifice he made in his fight against fascism. This poem went on to inspire the artist Pierre Daura to create a painting that commemorates Bottcher and captures the tone of the poem which was anti-fascist. In this work, found in the Art Museum of Western Virginia's permanent collection, a Filipino kneels beside Bottcher's grave, marked with a cross and his helmet and covered with a palm leaf, and looks toward Heaven. He clearly contemplates Bottcher's sacrifice as his eyes are closed. [To view the poem, go to mhtml:http://cenphilsoc.brinkster.net/Pax%20Pacific%20Poem.mht. To view the painting "Pax Pacific," Pierre Daura, oil on canvas, ca. 1945, go to http://cenphilsoc.brinkster.net/Pax%20Pacific%20Painting.jpg.]
Military decorations and awards
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
