Lieutenant Dean N. Post Jr.

Headstone of Lieutenant Dean N. Post, Jr. at the Epinal American Cemetery and Memorial

Dean N. Post Jr. was born in 1921 in Hillsborough County, Florida to Dean and Catherine Post. His father, Dean Post, was a clerk for an electrical supply wholesale company. Lt. Post Jr. had three younger brothers, Kent, Edward, and Earle and a younger sister, Peggy. Lt. Post Jr. completed high school and had trouble finding stable employment. According to the 1940 Census, Lt. Post Jr. had recently been laid off and was looking for a job.[1] Lt. Post Jr. enlisted in the Air Force and was assigned to the 357th Fighter Group in the “Mighty” 8th Air Division. Activated on December 1, 1942 the Mighty Eighth trained at Santa Rosa, California before being deployed. This group was also the first group of P-51 group assigned to the 8th Air Division.[2]

After being deployed overseas to England, this group earned the nickname “the Yoxford boys” as they were typically described as eager to fly the swiftest mustangs.[3] The 357th Group frequently escorted B-57 bombers that flew across the channel to bomb strategic positions on the European mainland. Battles of note that Post’s Fighter Group were involved in include the bombing run of March 4th and 6th, the second being dubbed “Black Monday.” The bombing of March 4th marked the first time P-51s escorted a bombing run by the 8th Air Division all the way to Berlin. The following Black Monday bombing run was one of the most impressive feats by the 8th Air Division as this mission fielded over 800 bombers with escorts such as the P-51s that Lt. Post Jr. flew. This mission, considered a success, dropped its payload on Berlin incurring minimal losses despite intense Luftwaffe resistance.[4] Bombing escort missions by the 357th Fighter Group began on February 11, 1944 from England to continental Europe and continued until the end of the war. Lt. Dean Post Jr. participated in many of these missions until he was shot down on May 27, 1944.[5]

Andre Clair at the Headstone of Lieutenant Dean N. Post, Jr.

Missing Crew Report for Lieutenant Dean N. Post, Jr.

Lieutenant Dean N. Post, Jr.'s Airplane After Crash

On May 27, 1944, the 357^th Fighter Group left their station in Leiston, England bound for Ludwigshaven, Germany. The mission report filed by his commanding officer states it was a classified “ramrod” mission - a short-range bombing run intended to keep the Germans in that area nervous of future attacks. The report also stated fair weather with good visibility which mostly eliminated weather related risks.[6] This was mission number 65 that the 357^th Fighter Group had been on since entering combat.[7] Lt. Post Jr. was commandeering a single-crew P-51B equipped with dual .50 caliber machine guns.[8] While en route, the squadron encountered German resistance. In this fight, several German aces were shot down including a decorated German pilot named Horst Carganico who had received numerous German awards in battle.[9] During the ensuing dogfight, Lt. Post Jr., last sighted by Major John Storch, was engaging an enemy fighter and accidentally colliding midair with the other plane.[10] It would later be revealed that Lt. Post Jr. had collided with Allied pilot Lt. Harris.[11]

            French citizens observing the fight from nearby saw both pilots bail out. Andre Clair was age 10 on this date and witnessed the crash and later escape by Lt. Post Jr. M. Clair states that he was playing in a field when Lt. Post Jr.’s plane caught fire and began to nosedive after the collision. He also saw Lt. Post Jr. successfully bailed out of the plane.[12] The crash location was found to be roughly eight miles north-east of Gerardmer, France in the Vosges at around 11:45. Lt. Post Jr. was located and described as having sustained extensive burn damage to his hands, arms, and face. He was taken under the care of Melle Bailly where he was hidden and treated for his wounds near Le Rudin. Unfortunately, too many witnesses in this town saw the crash and eventually the German Military Police were alerted that an American pilot was being hidden. Lt. Post Jr. was located and brought to a German prison. At this prison, Lt. Post Jr. was interrogated by German authorities for two days. On May 29, Lt. Post Jr. was walked to the nearby town square in front of the Kleber Barracks, which had taken the temporary German name Goering-Kasern, to await transportation via ambulance to a prison internment camp. While awaiting this ambulance at around two in the afternoon, a German officer identified as Major Hiss shot Lt. Post Jr. two times in either the back or the typical German back of the neck shot in varying reports. The German neck shot was commonly used on enemies to the German state on the Eastern front. The subsequent police report written by the German authorities stated that Post was “killed while attempting to escape” but Frenchman who witnessed the event all stated that he was shot with both hands up in the universal sign of surrender.[13]

On June 8th, 1944 Dean's mother wrote a letter to her son, Kent, about Dean's disappearance. In the letter, their mother asks Kent to pray for their family. She also says that Dean is probably in hiding or a prisoner because "Germans don't shoot the fellows coming down". She asks Kent to pray again saying "God made this world and controls everything in it but the wills of men. We are told that he knows when a sparrow falls - so he must know when a P-51 goes down". She goes on to say that Bud (Dean) will be well taken care of by the Germans because officers are treated with better respect. She tells Kent, "Don't for one minute let yourself feel that he isn't O.K he has just got to be. You both must get back". She ends by saying, "I am not going to weep - I am a Marine mother". This letter was written only eleven days after Lt. Post's death on May 29th.[14]

Grave of Lieutenant Dean N. Post, Jr.

Post Dean, tué Froidement le 29 Mai 1944

A French newspaper article about Lieutenant Dean N. Post, Jr.

     After his death, the German authorities allowed the French citizens to inter his body at a local cemetery provided they did not have a large funeral as they were nervous it would lead to resistance measures. In response, twelve French citizens followed the casket to meet a larger group in an informal ceremony under intense German scrutiny.[15] In defiance of these measures put up by the German authorities to take away from Lt. Post Jr.’s funeral, the locals of the surrounding villages came every night and covered Lt. Post Jr.’s grave with flowers which the Germans would then remove in the following morning. The French replaced these flowers every night for several weeks to show their anger of Dean N. Post Jr.’s execution.

In events following the Allied advancement and liberation of France, German troops shelled the city of Gerardmer on November 17, 1944. This destroyed most the city due to extensive fire damage.[16] After the war French citizens demanded Major Hiss be brought before a court for war crimes, but there is no evidence to show that such an event occurred.[17] At some point after the rebuilding of Gerardmer a plaque deploring the assassination of Dean Post Jr. and thanking all Allies who were killed for their service was put up at the entrance to the Kleber Barracks where Post was killed.[18] In addition, Lt. Post Jr. was awarded the Air Medal with two oak leaf clusters and a purple heart after his death.