First Lieutenant Gus Newman Girlinghouse, Jr. (O-401572) was born December 4, 1919 in Manifest, Catahoula Parish, Louisiana, to Gus Newman and Ann Elizabeth Wright Girlinghouse. His father was a Lt. Col. who served with the Army in Italy in World War II and later was a property custodian in a U.S. Veterans hospital. Gus had one brother and one sister. He married Aleene Rylee on May 31, 1942 in Wichita Falls, Texas.

Gus graduated from Adamson High School in Dallas, Texas, in 1936 where he was a member of the Rifle Team and Hi-Y. He graduated from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in June 1940 with a Master’s Degree in Forestry where he was a member of ROTC and coached the freshman and varsity rifle teams.

Gus enlisted in the Army Air Forces in 1941. He trained as a pilot at Wichita Falls, Coleman, San Antonio, Greenville, Carrizo Springs, Amarillo, Texas and Dover, Delaware. He received his wings and commission as a Second Lieutenant at El Paso, Texas, on February 8, 1944. He was sent overseas in September 1944, assigned to the 391st Fighter Squadron (“Bold Tigers”), 366th Fighter Group, 9th Air Force which eventually flew missions out of the airfield at Laon/Couvron, France (ALG A-70).

The airfield at Laon/Couvron, France, was located northwest of the city of Laon, 28 miles northwest of Reims. The Germans took over the airfield when they invaded France, and flew their own Bf-109 fighters from there. Late in August 1944 the Laon area was liberated by the Third Army, and Laon-Couvron was captured around 7 September. The airfield was declared operationally ready for combat on 10 September. Under American control it was designated as Advanced Landing Ground "A-70 Laon-Couvron." Ninth Air Force based P-47 Thunderbolt fighters at the airfield on 15 September. The fighters flew support missions during the Allied invasion of France, and into Germany, patrolling roads, strafing German military vehicles, and dropping bombs on gun emplacements, anti-aircraft artillery and concentrations of German troops if spotted.

On November 17, 1944, 1 Lt. Girlinghouse departed ALG A-70, in P-47D A8- #42-26139 with a flight of the 391st FS on an armed recce mission to Hürtgen, Germany, during the Battle of Hürtgen. As the flight was nearing the target, they received many accurate bursts of heavy flak. 1 Lt. Girlinghouse was last seen attacking a column of tanks and trucks along a road near Merode Castle on the edge of the Hürtgen Forest.

On that day, November 17, 1944, the 391st FS flew what was perhaps the worst mission of the war for the squadron. A ground offensive had begun the day before along the Western Front from the northwest edge of the Hürtgen Forest up through Eschweiler, Germany. The weather was terrible with low-hanging clouds and light rain, but the squadron was able to take off with each plane loaded with two 500-pound bombs and a 150-gallon belly tank. Sixteen planes from the 391st FS were involved in the mission. When they reached the target area, they had to come in under the overcast at 4,500 feet. Dive bombing from such a low altitude is always a challenge.

1 Lt. Girlinghouse was shot down by flak, crashed, and was killed on November 17, 1944 at 1240 hours at Merode, Germany, 3.75 miles southwest of Düren, 30 miles west of Bonn, and 150 miles northeast of A-70. He was 25 years old.

The remains of 1 Lt. Girlinghouse were returned to the U.S., and he was buried in the Heard Cemetery, Manifest, Catahoula Parish, Louisiana.

A Memorial Plaque honors the 366th Fighter Group "Hun Hunters" at the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio, as well as a Memorial Marker to the 366th located in the cemetery of the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

1 Lt. Girlinghouse was awarded the Purple Heart.

Thank you for your sacrifice and service, 1 Lt. Girlinghouse … Rest in Peace.

This story is part of the Stories Behind the Stars project (see www.storiesbehindthestars.org). This is a national effort of volunteers to write stories of all 421,000+ of the US WWII fallen saved on Together We Served and Fold3. Can you help write these stories? These stories will be accessible via smartphone app at any war memorial or cemetery.

SBTSProject/Oklahoma

If you noticed anything erroneous in this profile or have additional information to contribute to it, please contact me at roktscientist@hotmail.com … I would be honored to make changes/additions where requested.

Sources:

1. 1930, 1940 Federal Census

2. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/32803382/gus-newman-girlinghouse

3. https://www.americanairmuseum.com/archive/aircraft/42-26139

4. https://www.armyaircorpsmuseum.org/missing-aircrew-reports/macr-10872-42-26139.cfm

5. https://aircrewremembered.com/Girlinghouse-Gus.html

6. https://www.ancestry.com

7. https://newspapers.com

8. Familysearch.org

9. https://www.honorstates.org/profiles/520132/

10. https://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1942_1a.html

11. http://cgibin.rcn.com/jeremy.k/cgi-bin/gzUsafSearch.pl?target=42-26139&content=

12. http://www.historyofwar.org/air/units/USAAF/366th_Fighter_Group.html

13. https://www.366thgunfighters.org/the-366th-in-ww-ii.html

14. https://www.americanairmuseum.com/archive/unit/366th-fighter-group

15. https://www.americanairmuseum.com/archive/unit/391st-fighter-squadron

16. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/391st_Fighter_Squadron#:~:text=The%20391st%20Fighter%20Squadron%20is,the%20United%20States%20Air%20Force.

17. https://www.natotigers.org/tiger-unit/391st-fighter-squadron

18. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_P-47_Thunderbolt

19. Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1982) [1969]. Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-406-12194-6. LCCN 70605402. OCLC 72556.

Photo Credits:

ancestry.com, americanairmuseum.org, findagrave.com, laststand.com, militarygraphics.com, pinterest.com, wikipedia.com

Gus Girlinghouse