Page 8 - Gold Star Sons of Georgetown Prep

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UNITED STATES ARMY AIR FORCE
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STAFF SERGEANT HAROLD R. “HAL” HIRSCH, JR. ’28
APRIL 12, 1943 PAPUA NEW GUINEA
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GEORGETOWN PREPARATORY SCHOOL
In September 1927, at the urging of his two older brothers — Maximillian ’26, and William (“Buddy”) ’27 — Harold R. “Hal” Hirsch arrived at Prep from New York City
for his senior year of high school. The Hirsch brothers were the sons of Max Hirsch, Sr., one of the leading trainers
of thoroughbred horses in the nation. Hal had his eye on attending Georgetown University and thought that a year at Prep would give him a leg up. He joined the staff of The Cupola and also played intramural basketball and varsity baseball. He specialized, however, in varsity tennis. The yearbook described Hal as “an all-around good fellow, well- liked and known for “his witty sayings and his good nature.” It predicted that he would be just as popular at Georgetown University.
By October 1940, Hal, now 30 years old, was employed as a supervisor by Mason and Hangar Company, whose owner was a big fan of horse racing in general and his father in particular. Mason and Hangar was building the Radford Ordnance Works and New River Plant for the military in
Radford, Virginia. On May 23, 1941, Hal, who stood 5’11,” enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Force, rose to the rank of staff sergeant, and, like Robert Keeler, was sent to the South Pacific, where he was also involved in action against the Japanese in Papua New Guinea.
On April 12, 1943, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, the mastermind behind the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, threw the full weight of Japanese carrier and land based aircraft, including fighters and bombers, against American and Australian bases in and surrounding the strategically important city of Port Moresby, which was located on the south-east peninsula of Papua New Guinea.
The Japanese operation was dubbed I-Go by Yamamoto, and was the last major Japanese air raid over Port Moresby. Allied air power and anti-aircraft guns repelled the Japanese. The attackers, however, did attack airfields scattered around the city and managed to destroy some Allied planes and to inflict some casualties.
One hundred and seventy-four planes, for example,