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Grave marker for Gust A. Thompson
in the Bess Hampton Memorial Gardens, Othello (Adams county), Washington.
Gust enlisted in the Army on
24 March 1943. It is unclear when he was transferred into the 58h but he did
parachute with the regiment during the D-Day Normandy invasion.
Based on a family member's
recounting of what was told by Gust, "Pfc Thompson was separated from his
unit and after several days reunited with some other paratroopers. Six of
them tried to find their way to their unit and were captured. Gust said the
Germans came at them so fast [that] a shotgun would have been more effective
than a rifle. Gust told us the Nazis lined them up against a hedgerow and
assassinated five ... Gust was the last one. A Nazi officer drove up and
ordered them to take Gust prisoner. He spent the remainder of the war in
Stalag 7B. "
Gust was liberated from Stalag
7B on 6 June 1945 and after receiving medical care he was returned to the
U.S. and discharged on 27 November 1945 |
