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World War Two Flying Ace Who Retired to Oroville |
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Born | Missoula, MT, USA | 14 March 1914 |
Transferred to 479th Fighter Group | Wattisham, Ipswich, Suffolk IP7, UK | 12 August 1944 |
Prisoner of War | Stalag Luft I | 30 October 1944 – April 1945 |
Died | Oroville, CA, USA | 30 August 1994 |
Beale AFB has a library dedicated to the memory of Hub Zemke. This library focuses on being a resource center for children and their teachers. http://www.bealefss.com/hub-zemke-library/
'Hub' Zemke's book about his life in the Army Air Corps near the end of World War II, particularly his life as a Prisoner of War in Germany.
Hub's parents were German immigrants. So, he was a fluent German speaker, making his POW experience especially interesting. I sat with him at a kitchen table and listened to his stories about his sevice experiences. They were spellbinding to this 35 year old listener. He was candid and precise in his telling.
Hub commanded his own squadron in England in his early twenties and he became a colonel while still in his early twenties.
In his very early 20's he was the ranking officer in the Stalag Luft I prisoner population. He developed an interesting relationship with the stalag komendant.