The only son of Harvey and Rose Hornberger, Herbert John, was born in Lawrenceville, Indiana, on 11 January 1918. Later in their marriage, the couple had three daughters: Dorothea, Mildred and Carol. As with most younger siblings, his sisters likely looked up to their big brother, John. Children of the Great Depression, Herbert and his siblings lived on the family farm. No doubt, they relied on farm produce to sustain them through those hard years from 1929 to 1940.

The depression that followed the prosperity of the 1920s was deeper and lasted longer than any other economic downturn in Indiana history. Many Hoosiers lost their jobs and could not find work. Widespread unemployment affected all job segments: skilled and unskilled, white and blue collar workers. People went hungry, wore patched clothing and "made do or did without." Families who had homegrown and canned food were fortunate.

President Roosevelt’s agencies, such as the Works Progress Administration (WPA), Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), Federal Art Project (FAP) helped Indiana and the rest of the nation begin to recover. As war’s dreadful events pushed the country into global conflict, America’s economy realized revival.

Herbert was drafted into the Army and assigned to Company C, 741st Tank Battalion. He received basic training at Fort Knox, Kentucky, and later at other bases. On 22 October 1943, he left the states from Camp Shanks, New York. He was stationed at Liverpool, England.

6 June 1944: Crossing the Channel

Ten tank battalions were distributed among British, Canadian, and American forces for the D-Day assault on Normandy. The Allied armored battalions would use Sherman dual-drive tanks, known as DD tanks. Designed to float in open water by means of a deployable, 9-foot water-proof “skirt,” the tank was driven by rear-mounted propellers. Going forward to 6 June, American command staff remained skeptical of its use.

The first wave of Shermans included 112 tanks from the 741st and 743rd Battalions. On Sword, and Utah Beaches, the majority of the tanks and their 5-man crews swam successfully to shore. On Gold Beach, the tanks were brought directly to the shore by landing craft due to high seas. On Juno Beach, only some of the tanks were launched because of high seas.

But the 741st, assigned to Omaha Beach, was in grave danger before it ever landed. On 6 June, the Channel had been whipped up by a 10-18 knot wind. Waves averaged 3-4 feet in height with some as high as six feet. The tanks had to cross six thousand yards of open water.

Companies B and C of the 741st Tank Battalion were launched in darkness at 0540 hours (H minus 50) and immediately ran into trouble from the weather. Off- shore from Easy Sector, Omaha, the tanks struggled, swept off course by wind and waves. One after another, tanks were overcome and sunk to the Channel bottom. Most crews were rescued by incoming LCTs.

Of the 32 tanks in these two companies, 27 swamped on the way in, two swam in, and three were landed from an LCT. Company B lost 11 tanks. Company C, T4C Hornberger’s company, lost 16 tanks. Herbert John Hornberger was 26 years old. Initially listed as missing in action, his body was recovered from the beach after D-Day.

He could not know that the Allies would be victorious that day and, on the days to follow. Ahead was St. Lo, Metz, the Battle of the Bulge, Bastogne and Remagen, Germany and finally, V-E Day. At each point, American troops were steadfast, courageous and dedicated to their country.

Herbert John was first buried in a military ceremony in France. In May 1949, Herbert’s remains were brought home for final interment in St. John's Evangelical Cemetery at Penntown, Indiana.

A Personal Quest:

In the post-war years, T4C Hornberger’s nephew, Charles V. Schmidt, began a personal quest to learn about the uncle he never knew. Charles was an infant when Uncle Herbert joined the U.S. Army in 1942. As Charles grew up, no one in his family talked about him or what happened during the war. Memories were so painful that his grandfather walked away at the mention of his son’s name.

Charles gathered glimpses of his uncle when visiting his grandparents on their farm. He recalled sleeping on a satin pillow sent by his uncle from Fort Knox, its smooth patriotically-colored surface embroidered with pictures of tanks. A picture of Herbert sat nearby on a chest. Charles learned the significance of a “Gold Star Mother,” and the small flag his grandmother hung in their window.

But Charles did not know what happened to his uncle, why he was missing in action and then returned five years later for burial. Then at the 50th Anniversary of Normandy and a reunion of the 741st, Charles discovered the tragic story of Company C and the circumstances of his uncle’s death that were too sorrowful for his family to discuss. With the help of 741st veterans, he came to know the man who died on a cold June morning so many years earlier.

Charles documented the story of his quest for a Memorial Day in the hopes that we will always remember the men and women who paid for our freedom at the cost of their lives.

This story is part of the Stories Behind the Stars project (see www.storiesbehindthestars.org). This national effort of volunteers is writing the stories of all 400,000+ of the US WWII fallen servicemen and women here on Fold3. Can you help write these stories? Related to this work, a smart phone app will allow people to visit any war memorial or cemetery, scan the fallen individual’s name and read his/her story.

This researcher is grateful to Donald Schwegman who provided carefully researched documents and photographs of T4C Hornberger. His contributions provided invaluable details about Herbert John’s life, military career and his D-Day sacrificial service.

References:

Ancestryinstitutions.org. 1930 United States Federal Census.

https://indianahistory.org/wp-content/uploads/Hoosiers-and-the-American-Story-ch-09.pdf

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/71985710/herbert-john-hornberger

https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/NHC/NewPDFs/USArmy/USArmy,%20Armor%20in%20Operation%20Neptune.pdf

https://www.scribd.com/book/305523012/Swimming-Shermans-Sherman-DD-amphibious-tank-of-World-War-II

http://worldwar2headquarters.com/HTML/normandy/HobartsFunnies/DD-sherman.html

http://ww2fallen100.blogspot.com

Public Member Photos & Scanned Documents. Herbert John Hornberger. (1) Headstone. Collection of Cynthia Wilson, 6 June 2017. (2) Herbert John Hornberger. Obituary: Photograph, publication; Fort Mead, Photograph; Fort Harrison, Group Photograph; Collection of Don Schwegman, 13 April 2017.

U.S., Headstone Applications for Military Veterans, 1925-1970.

U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947.