Hallmark, Dean Edward, born 24-01-1914 in Robert Lee, Texas,

, son of
Ollie Dean Hallmark and Raleigh Amanda, born Ake, Hallmark. Dean was their firstborn child and he had one sister, born a few years later on 11-11-1918, named Mozelle Amanda (Hallmark) Bigler (aka Clanton and Smith). Dean grew up and graduated from Greenville High School,

Texas and attended Paris Junior College, Texas and Alabama Polytechnic Institute, Alabama for two years. Entered service on 21-11-1940 at Houston, Texas. He graduated as Pilot and commissioned as Second Lieutenant from Advanced Flying School, Stockton, California in July, 1941. He was captured by the Japanese and executed for “war crimes” after a staged mock trial. On 18-04-1942, after months of bad news on the war in the Pacific, the US public was stunned to learn that 16 American B-25 bombers, of the 95
th Bombardment Squadron led by Lieutenant Colonel,
James “Jimmy” Doolittle

had successfully bombed Tokyo and a number of other Japanese cities. The B-25s had taken off from the aircraft carrier, USS Hornet,

The 95
th Fighter Squadron (95 FS) was part of the 325
th Fighter Wing

at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida and flown over Japan to bomb strategic targets. “In 30 Seconds over Tokyo” movie honored Dean-heard them say “here comes Hallmark” before he was killed. Following the bombing made famous by the 1944 book and film, “Thirty Seconds over Tokyo” the raiders flew on to China rather than return to the USS Hornet. “The engines of the ‘Green Hornet,’ piloted by Dean Hallmark, sputtered and failed 4 mins short of the coast. Hallmark brought the plane down in the stormy sea; the impact tore off a wing. Hallmark smashed through the windshield. After 4 hrs in high waves, Hallmark, copilot Robert Meder, & navigator Chase Nielsen made it to shore-cut, bleeding, & exhausted. Bombardier William John “Billy Jack” Dieter

& flight engineer/gunner Donald Fitzmaurice

were both seriously injured in the crash; their bodies later washed ashore. Local Chinese fishermen tried to hide the survivors. But 3 days later Japanese soldiers captured all 3 men. Their ordeal was just beginning. Short of fuel, most of the planes crashed far short of the friendly Chinese airfields they were to find, ending up inside Japanese lines, and 8 crewmen (2 men had died when their planes crashed) were captured by the Japanese. Initially the Japanese jailed the flyers, torturing them for information. Confined and poorly fed, the men contracted dysentery and beriberi. After interrogation, the men were sent to Tokyo, Japan for further interrogation, then returned to Shanghai, China where they were again imprisoned.
The epilogue to the Tokyo raid was bitter. The Japanese held Barr, DeShazer, Farrow, Hallmark, Hite, Meder, Nielsen & Spatz. They would make them pay, man by man.
Death and burial ground of Hallmark, Dean Edward.

On 14-10-1942, Japanese officers gave the crews a mock trial, and although never told of the charges against them, they were quickly found guilty and sentenced to death. 2
nd Lieutenant. Dean E. Hallmark, age 28, 2
nd Lieutenant
William Glover Farrow “Bill”

and Sergeant Harold A. Spatz

were selected for execution, while the Japanese gave “mercy” to the others by commuting their sentences to life in prison. “On Oct 15 1942, a black limousine entered the First Cemetery grounds outside of Shanghai. Farrow, Hallmark, & Spatz were brought out. Prison guards marched the men to 3 small wooden crosses situated 20 ft apart.The 3 Americans were made to kneel with their backs against the crosses. Guards removed the handcuffs & tied the prisoners’ wrists to the cross-pieces. They wrapped the upper portions of the men’s faces with white cloth, marking black “X’s” just above the noses.A 6-man firing squad took positions 26 ft in front of the Americans. At the count, they pulled the triggers. There was no need to fire a second time.” Following their execution, on 15-10-1942 at Kiangwan Prison, Shanghai, China, The coffins were taken to the Japanese Residents Association Crematorium, the bodies were cremated and the ashes buried in the cemetery. Four crewmen survived the war, 2
nd Lieuteant
Robert J “Bob” G. Meder died in captivity in December 1943 and returned to the US.

In February 1946, four Japanese officers were tried for their mistreatment of the Doolittle aircrews and sentenced to five years imprisonment. The Japanese soliders cremated his body and buried the remains, and marked the grave with the wrong name. After the war, Lieutenant Hallmark’s, ashes were recovered and buried in Arlington National Cemetery, Section 12, site 158.
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