Services set for Ferndale war hero Joe Moser

Services have been scheduled for Joe Moser, the World War II fighter pilot who narrowly avoided death in a German concentration camp and whose story was later told in his memoir and a documentary. Moser died Wednesday, Dec. 2, at his Ferndale home. He was 94.

A public celebration of Moser’s life will be 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 12, at Pioneer Pavilion Community Center, 2007 Cherry St., Ferndale.

Prior to that, a rosary service will be 7 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 10, at Ferndale Moles, 2039 Main St., and Mass of Christian burial will be 11 a.m. to noon Friday, Dec. 11, at St. Joseph Catholic Church, 5781 Hendrickson Ave.

After barely surviving the shooting down of his plane over France, Moser and 167 other Allied airmen were sent to Buchenwald, rather than to a humane POW camp, as called for by the rules of war.

Decades later, Moser recounted his harrowing experience in his book, “A Fighter Pilot in Buchenwald,” co-written with Bellingham author and businessman Gerald Baron. Moser is also featured in the film “Lost Airmen of Buchenwald.”

The time for the Mass of Christian burial was corrected Dec. 4, 2015.

This story was originally published December 4, 2015 at 3:17 PM with the headline "Services set for Ferndale war hero Joe Moser."