FLT O Gerald D Knott Name : Gerald D Knott
Rank : Flight Officer
Squadron : 94th Squadron
Group : 439th Troop Carrier Group
Entered Service from : Missouri
Date of Birth : 27 December 1919
Date of Death : 27 December 1944
Place of Death : Bastogne (Belgium)
In Henri-Chapelle : Plot G, Row 13, Grave 62
Awards : Air Medal
Purple Heart

Gerald Knott's Story, told by his Newphew Steve Knott ...

David, as he was called by his family, was born and raised in southwest Missouri, and he and his family lived a simple life. He grew up with his two brothers Robert and Wayne and his five sisters, Esther, Mable, Roberta, Lena and Grace. David was the 4th, and greatly loved by them all. He graduated from Monett High School.

     

Broadway, Monett, MO (looking East) & the old Monett High School (right)

He joined the Civilian Conservation Corps after high school, and worked for several years all over the western United States. He enlisted in the Army in March of 1941, wanting to be a pilot. He was assigned to the Glider Pilot program, and went to Lubbock, Texas for his training. It seems that my uncle was a maverick in today's terms, as he enlisted as a private, but made the grade up to officer. That doesn't happen in today's Army! I am not sure where he went directly after his graduation, but I believe his group graduated from training in 1943.



a Civilian Conservation Corps camp

David wound up in Chatuedon, France. His unit was chosen in December of 1944 to help re-supply the men of the First Army who were trapped behind German lines at Bastogne. Medical supplies and ammunition were badly needed to continue the fight to try and hold the Germans from advancing through to western Europe. It was decided that a total of 50 planes with 50 gliders would go and re-supply these men with what they needed. David would be in the 47th glider. This mission would be known as Operation Repulse.

     

Landing with gliders and collecting supplies in Bastogne

In December 1944, after the Germans launched their counter-offensive that came to be known as "The Battle of the Bulge," the American 101st Airborne Division holding Bastogne was surrounded but undefeated by enemy units. The 101st badly need ammunition, supplies, doctors and corpsmen. In violation of the Geneva Convention, the Germans captured the Division's medical personnel and with the casualties mounting, the need for doctors was critical. Because they occupied such a small area where parachuted supplies might easily fall into German lines, the Allies turned to the Glider Pilots and asked for volunteers to accomplish the resupply mission with pinpoint landings. Approximately 100 Glider Pilots volunteered.

     

Parachute Airdrop pack and Medical supplies for airdrop's

Naming the rescue of the defenders of Bastogne "Operation Repulse," the Allied high command directed the Glider Pilots to undertake these one-way resupply missions into the middle of enemy-held territory in daylight and casualties were very high. Of the roughly 100 gliders, only 65 reached Bastogne, a 35% mission loss rate, one of the highest of WWII. These hazardous flights into massed anti-aircraft and small arms fire were pivotal in keeping the defenders of Bastogne going until main ground units could break through enemy lines and complete the rescue. While the defense of Bastogne is well-known in military history, almost nothing is said about the amazing glider mission that enabled the 101st to hold out.



"flights into massed anti-aircraft fire"

As it turns out, the first 13 planes with gliders in tow were the lucky ones. They made it through the enemy lines with much anti-aircraft bombs going off all around them. The rest of the pilots weren't so lucky. Seems the Germans had figured out their mark, and planes and gliders were going to down at a heavy rate. Being 47th in line, David tried to do his job. In the process, he was hit by enemy fire, shot down and killed. The date was December 27, 1944. It was David's 25th birthday ...



hit by flak ... "a 35% mission loss rate, one of the highest of WWII"

I never got to meet my uncle David, but someday I will. I can't wait to talk to him, and tell him how proud all his family was of him. He gave his life for World freedom, not just American freedom. For that, people from all over the world are eternally grateful.



the Eagle & the flag watching over them ...

These days David Knott rests in the beautiful American Military Cemetery at Henri-Chapelle ... He is remembered and honored by his nephew Steve Knott, by his entire family, by every visitor of the Henri-Chapelle cemetery and by everyone who visits the In-Honored-Glory website.



Flight Officer David Knott's final resting place
Special thanks to David's nephew Steve Knott and to the rest of David's family.
© www.In-Honored-Glory.info
published June 17, 2006