In Memory of Army Air Forces 1st Lieutenant
Paul Joseph Fergen
Parkston, South Dakota
Hutchinson County
April 29, 1918 – January 12, 1943
Killed in a Plane Crash at Hunter Field Air Force Base in Savannah, Georgia
Paul J. Fergen was born April 29, 1918, in Parkston, South Dakota. He went to high school in Parkston and graduated in 1935. He was a very talented athlete. He was a quarterback for the football team and played as a forward for the basketball team. After high school he went to the colleges of Madison and then Brookings. Paul married Jeanne Mattison, July 12, 1942, in Georgia.
Paul J. Fergen then joined the Armed Forces on November 1, 1941, at Omaha, Nebraska. He trained to become an Army 1st Lt. Dive Bomber. After earning his wings and commission, Lt. Fergen was an instructor pilot for the P-51 Mustang and was stationed at Warner-Robbins Field, Macon, Georgia.
On January 11, 1943, Lt. Fergen, while engaged with a cadet in a training flight over Hunter Field in Savannah, Georgia, noticed his plane was malfunctioning and successfully landed. The next day, January 12, Fergen went into the air once again and the plane which had supposedly been repaired, caught fire. Lt. Paul Fergen was gravely injured in the ensuing crash during a forced landing at Hunter Field. Although rushed to the hospital, Paul died two hours later.
His remains were returned to South Dakota by train, accompanied by two Air Force officers, and he was buried in the cemetery at Parkston. The entire town, filled with Paul’s friends and family, grieved his death. Lt. Fergen left behind his pregnant wife. He is survived by one son named Paul (Fergen) Rotz, who now lives in Sacramento, California.
This entry was respectfully submitted by Jon Hasson, 8th Grade West, Spearfish Middle School, Spearfish, South Dakota, February 10, 2000 and updated 2002. Information for this entry was provided by Audrey Fergen and Fran Fergen of Parkston, South Dakota, 2nd cousins of Army 1st Lt. Fergen and by Jackie Fergen Waldo, Bennington, Nebraska, sister to Paul Fergen.
