| Donald Hoobler | |
|---|---|
| Nickname | Hoob |
| Born | 1923 Manchester, Ohio |
| Died | January 3, 1945 (aged 21–22) Foy, Belgium |
| Place of burial | Manchester Cemetery |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Service/branch | United States Army |
| Years of service | 1942-1945 |
| Rank | Corporal |
| Unit | Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division |
| Battles/wars | |
| Awards | |
| Relations | Ralph B. (father) Kathryn Carrigan (mother) |
Corporal Donald B. Hoobler (1923 - January 3, 1945) was a non-commissioned officer who served with the Ohio National Guard from 1940–1941, and later serving with Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, in the 101st Airborne Division of the United States Army during World War II. Hoobler was portrayed in the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers by Peter McCabe.
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Hoobler was born in 1923 to Ralph B. Hoobler and Kathryn (Carrigan) Hoobler in Manchester, Ohio. He had one sister; Mary Kathryn Lane, and a brother; John R. Hoobler. Hoobler graduated from Manchester High School in 1940.[1]
Hoobler served in the Ohio National Guard on October 15, 1940.[1][2] He discharged in November 1941 and was sent home from training at Camp Shelby, located in Mississippi, due to his father's death.[1] He then enlisted in the U.S. Army on July 22, 1942 at Fort Thomas, Kentucky and became a member of Easy Company.[1][2]
During World War II, he served with Easy Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, of 2nd Battalion in the 101st Airborne Division.[1] He partook in the D-Day, Operation Market Garden, and the Battle of the Bulge, where he died of a non-combat related injury.[1][3][4] On January 3, 1945 at Bastogne, Cpl. Hoobler was killed when a pistol he had taken from a dead German snagged on a piece of barbed wire, causing it to fire.[3] The bullet entered his thigh, severing a major artery, and he died of blood loss.[3][4]
According to Private First Class David Kenyon Webster, a fellow soldier in the same platoon, Hoobler enthusiastically enjoyed the war.
Hoobler was buried at Manchester Cemetery next to his mother, Kathryn (Carrigan) Hoobler; who died at her daughter's home in Port Richey, Florida in 1976, aged 83. Donald's brother John served in the US Navy during the last months of the war. Afterwards he too moved to Port Richey, and died in July, 1997.[1]