Optimax Patriots

Fergus Hegan, an 18-year-old Irish immigrant, joined the US Army in 1942 as a member of the 102nd Cavalry Reconnaissance Mechanized. A Technical Corporal of vehicle maintenance, he and his unit were sent to England in 1943 to prepare for the D-Day build-up. On June 6th, 1944, Hegan’s unit boarded a ship in the English Channel, arriving at their destination two days later. He continued to experience the front-lines of war. His was the first American unit to reach Paris with the mission to clear out pockets of resistance and snipers. They were later involved in the northern flank of the Battle of the Bulge and held their ground against the Germans in December 1944. The 102nd fought their way into Czechoslovakia and to the town of Pilsen. To this day Pilsen has an annual celebration honoring the American forces that liberated them. Hegan married Irene, a radar specialist in the British Royal Air Force. Fergus Hegan is among the veterans honored in Optimax’s “Honoring our American Warfighters” ad. Hegan is standing in the cockpit of a German Stuka, JU-87g, an update of a d model dive bomber built in the late 1930’s. These planes were remodeled into anti-tank planes for use against the newer Soviet tanks being used on the Eastern front. The plane pictured was assigned to the Western front to use against the US tanks. Hegan’s unit captured the airfield after the German’s retreat.

Thank you for your service.