Rare News Desk
Longtime Austin resident and World War II veteran John Tschirhart died Tuesday, after living a life he thought — and others agreed — was worthy of a movie. He was 95.
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Although Tschirhart was born in San Antonio, he and his family moved to France when he was only 5 years old. He lived there until he was 20, when he was forced to return to the United States after the Germans invaded France in June 1940. He left to avoid being captured by the Nazis, who likely would have killed him or placed him in a forced labor camp.
But Tschirhart was reluctant to leave a woman he loved, a young French girl named Malou, and he promised to return to her. He enlisted in the Army soon after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor in December 1941.
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“His main reason for joining was driven by his desire to get back together with her,” said his daughter Lucy Sheffield. From the stories he told her, “it was an innocent, wide-open heart kind of love,” she said.
“The French American” is an ongoing film project based on Tschirhart’s life that hasn’t yet been completed. Darla Rae, a Denver film producer and director, said she still intends to finish the movie.
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“I believe it is important to tell this story because, as the veterans of World War II age and pass away, their stories are passing with them,” Rae wrote on the film’s fundraising page.
Tschirhart flew 35 combat missions over Nazi-occupied Europe as a B-17 bombardier. Soon after the war ended, Tschirhart learned the devastating news: Malou had died in the war.
“His heart was broken,” Sheffield said.
Tschirhart returned to the States and married another woman. The couple, who ultimately divorced, had Sheffield years later, and Tschirhart raised her in Austin.
In 2014, Tschirhart received the Legion of Honor medal from France, the country’s highest military distinction.
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Tschirhart remained active and engaged as the historian for VFW Post 4443 in Southwest Austin up until last year, friends said. The post has decided to dedicate the main hall to him, Sheffield said.
His friend Darrell Delong said Tschirhart was a character and a storyteller.
“Even today, 95 years later, he had a French accent that was so thick you had to work to listen to him,” Delong said. “I just enjoyed being around him.”
Tschirhart died of congenital heart failure at the Austin senior living community Brookdale Beckett Meadows, Sheffield said.
Tschirhart is survived by his daughter Sheffield, her husband and their son, Brooks; his son John Paul Tschirhart; six brothers and sisters; and a second grandchild.
Tschirhart’s funeral will be held Nov. 13 at VFW Post 4443, 7614 Thomas Springs Road. He will be interred at the Cook-Walden/Forest Oaks Funeral Home and Memorial Park.
