Hagenbuch, James “Jim” Harry, born 13-11-1922 in Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania, United States, 
to Joseph Seligman Hagenbuch, 1890–1929 and his wife Alice born Mulvey Schmidt, Hagenbuch, 1902–1978. After his father’s death in 1929, 1930 census shows James and brother Joseph living with grandparents Eugene and Mary Mulvey..
James joined as a paratrooper Company A, of the 506th Parachute infantry Regiment with the 101st Airborne Division “Screaming Eagles. As an airborne division it becomes active on 16-08-1942 under the command of Major-General Lee, William Carey “Bill”. Father Of The Airborne., 
with Brigadier-General Don Forrester. Pratt 
as his assistant. Training takes place in Toccoa, Georgia, 
among other places. Here there are grueling marches up the hill Currahee. 
This Indian name will become the battle cry of the men of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR),
under command of the later Lieutenant General Sink, Robert Frederick “Bounding Bob”. 
which means; ‘We Stand Alone’. As further combat units next to the 506th PIR of the 101st Airborne Division, 
are accommodated; 501st Regiment 
under command of Colonel Howard Ravenscroft “Jumpy” Johnson 
and the 502 Regiment
under command of Colonel George Van Horn Moseley Jr. 
Van Horn Moseley was injured on the jump on D-Day, but refused to be evacuated, commanding his regiment from a wheelbarrow for two days. After convalescing in England, he returned to the United States to command the 2d Parachute Training Regiment at Fort Benning, Georgia. He attended the Naval War College at the end of World War II. Moseley died in Montague, Massachusetts, on 06-12-1976, age 71, and was buried at Old South Cemetery in Montague.
As support the 327nd Glider Infantry Regiment, 
under command of Colonel George Elmer. Wear 
the 81st Airborne Anti-Aircraft 
under command of Lieutenant Colonel W. C. Scoggin 
and Anti-Tank Battalion and four artillery battalions (377th and 463rd Parachute Field Artillery and the 907th and 321st Glider Field Artillery) are added. In Fort Bragg, together with the 82nd Airborne Division 
, under command of Major General Ridgway, Matthew Bunker, “Old Iron Tits”, 
they trained in parachute jumping. In June 1943, the 101st moved to Tennessee. Here, they practiced mass jumps and gliders..
James parachuted into Normandy, France with the 101st Airborne Division on D-Day, June 6, 1944. with his friend Donald “Don” Burgett, 
who compiled his memoirs into the 1967 book Currahee! 
As the sun began to rise, James Hagenbuch, Donald Burgett, and the other troopers welcomed the sight of American infantry walking up a hill in Normandy. There were rumors that the D-Day beach landings had failed, and the men who parachuted into Normandy were stranded indefinitely behind enemy lines. With friendly troops spotted, the men of Able Company knew the rumors were unfounded, and the Allies had at last gained a foothold in France.
Death and burial ground of Hagenbuch, James “Jim” Harry.
After roll call and breakfast, they headed south out of Ravenoville, towards their main objective at Saint-Côme-du-Mont. 
Almost immediately, they came under fire from two machine guns. Several German soldiers were blocking the road. But, the troopers had a trick up their sleeve. The day before they had captured an enemy half track, a type of armored fighting vehicle. Now, they used this to quickly eliminate the blockade.
Destruction and desolation were everywhere: broken trees, crumbling buildings, burning tanks, and craters in the ground. Yet, there were signs of life too. As the troopers walked along a field, they approached a woman pulling a cart full of milk cans. In exchange for cigarettes, she filled the men’s canteens. That morning, they passed through the villages of Foucarville, Saint-Germain-de-Varreville, Saint-Martin-de-Varreville, and Audoville-la-Hubert. There was sporadic enemy fire, though in many places the Germans were already routed.
Near the town of Sainte-Marie-du-Mont, the fighting intensified, and they saw more American troops—alive and dead. In his book, Burgett specifically mentions seeing a number of dead Americans who had been partially mutilated by the Germans. For the first time, he wished he were someplace else. The men of Able Company joined up with a few others from Easy Company. Together, they fought their way through the town and pushed out the enemy.
James and Donald found themselves with a few other men under the command of Staff Sergeant Sherwood Clyde Trotter.
Running through green fields and along hedgerows, they approached the junction of two roads: one leading from Sainte-Marie-du-Mont and the other to Saint-Côme-du-Mont. At the intersection, an American light tank had been knocked out and a dead crewman was hanging out of it. This earned the crossroads the nickname “Dead Man’s Corner.” 
About 100 yards south of Dead Man’s Corner, Able Company encountered German troops retreating across a road. Burgett recounts the incident:
The German troops were sliding down [a bank], running across the road, and climbing the bank at the other side. Hagenbuch was all for going after them and called to Hundley and me to bring the machine gun down onto the road where we could get clear shooting at them. Hagenbuch was dark haired, younger and smaller than me, and always laughing. Even now, he had a smile on his face. The little guy sure had guts. Some of his nerve must have rubbed off on me, for when he slid down the road bank, I was right behind him with the machine gun. Down on the road I opened fire with the gun …
With James feeding belts of ammunition, Donald fired the light machine gun—likely a Browning M1919A4. 
The Germans regrouped and began to return fire using small arms and later with machine guns. James and Donald were now in a bad position. The were in the middle of the road, right in the open, with embankments on either side. Yet, even knowing the danger, they kept firing at the Germans. Burgett continues:
There was another long burst from the enemy, and my machine gun jerked violently as bullets tore through the tripod and barrel jacket. Strings of bullets tearing past our heads made their familiar crackling sounds, but at the same time I heard a “plock” like sound, and Hagenbuch jerked backwards, then fell face forward. A bullet had passed through the top of his head killing him.
Private James Harry “Jim”. Hagenbuch, died the afternoon of 07-06-1944, just south of Dead Man’s Corner in Normandy, France. He was 21 years old. James “Jim” Harry Hagenbuch was temporarily buried in France and reburied in 1947 to St. Canicus Cemetery, Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania, United States.
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