PVT Arthur A. Hutchins
Today we honor and remember PVT Arthur A. Hutchins of the 101st Airborne Division
Private (PVT) Arthur Aaron Hutchins of Baker Battery, 321st Glider Field Artillery Battalion (GFAB), 101st Airborne Division, was born in Clearwater, Pinellas County, Florida, to Hoyt M. and Annie K. (Rucker) Hutchins on March 30, 1925.
He had six brothers, Bethel, Glenn, Harmon, Clement, James, and Elmer, and two sisters, Betty Ann and Mildred. His brother, Glenn, served during WWII, and his other brother, Clement, also served during WWII as well as in Korea and Vietnam. James served in Korea and Vietnam with the U.S. Navy.
Arthur attended a local high school for one year, after which he went to work as a self-employed fruit picker and seller. He was inducted into the Army at Camp Blanding, Florida, on July 1, 1943. Shortly before his induction, he married Marion Waller in Clearwater, Florida, on June 19, 1943.
After his stateside training at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and a small six-day furlough, PVT Hutchins went overseas to England in December 1943. He fought with the 321st during its Normandy campaign with the 101st Airborne in France.
Since his battalion was part of the amphibious assault, Hutchins would make his first insertion with a glider during Operation Market Garden. His flight across the English Channel toward Belgium and the intended Landing Zone (LZ) around Eindhoven, Netherlands, would end up in a tragedy.
On September 19, 1944, the takeoff of the 81st Troop Carrier Squadron and its gliders, carrying the 321st glidermen from Membery Airfield, was postponed in hopes the flying conditions would improve during the afternoon. They did not.
After crossing the English Channel, the planes would fly over Belgium via the shortest route to Eindhoven, then fly over the British-held salient at the Albert Canal. At a certain point they would turn straight north and fly right up “Hells Highway” toward LZ “W.” By doing so, they were able to stay as far away as possible from the German-controlled areas and avoid the enemy’s flak batteries.
The takeoff went well and the planes managed to meet up at the assembly point in fairly good order. But the weather closed in rapidly even before they reached the English Channel. The planes had to fly on instruments, trying to find their way through a virtually solid cloud bank all the way up to Belgium.
Captain Robert Pristou, the pilot of the C-47 aircraft that towed the glider carrying PVT Hutchins and five other 321st glidermen, and CPT Pristou’s radio operator, SSGT Cornelius Scannell Jr., described the crash of the glider in their statements.
“As we broke through the overcast we were about two miles from the [Belgian] coast, in the vicinity of Blankenberge. As soon as we broke through the overcast I felt my glider cut [for unknown reasons]. I told my radio operator to look out the dome so he could follow the glider.” - CPT Pristou
SSGT Scannell also stated,
“I saw the glider release from our plane, and nose down to the right. Another ship flying our wing was in his line of flight, and trying to evade him, the glider banked to the right sharply, catching approximately one-third of his left wing on the [other] wing ship’s tow rope. [The glider] immediately went into a spin. We circled low over the glider and verified it as being [the] glider we were towing.”
CPT Pristou continues,
“I circled down, released my rope, and spotted the glider. It was a complete wreck. There was no sign of life at the scene of the wreckage. We were able to identify the glider by the number on the rudder.”
SSGT Scannell confirmed that situation in his statement,
“There was no sign of life after civilians pulled the bodies from the wreckage. After making several passes to make sure there was no sign of life, we pulled up and proceeded back to our home station.”
Besides the glider pilot, CPT Robert E. Brown, and the other five 321st glidermen, PVT Arthur Hutchins was killed in action that day.
Another Screaming Eagle had soared to the ultimate height. 🦅
PVT Arthur Hutchins was first buried at the temporary facility at Neuville-En-Condroz Cemetery, Liege, Belgium, at Block E, Row 6, Grave 148. He would later be reburied at the permanent facility, the Ardennes American Cemetery of Neupré (Neuville-en-Condroz) at Plot B, Row 35, Grave 38. May Arthur and his comrades rest in peace.
Happy Birthday in Heaven, Arthur.
Lest we forget! 🇺🇸
Sources
Tampa Bay Times Articles, 1943 and 1944
Missing Air Crew Report-15324
Headstone Inscription and Interment Record from Green Light: A Troop Carrier Squadron’s War From Normandy to the Rhine by Martin Wolfe (1993)