Career
His longest confirmed kill was reported at 1,100 meters (1,200 yards). The Knight"s Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. After spending most of 1943 in basic training, Hetzenauer trained as a sniper during March - July 1944 at the Truppenübungsplatz Seetaler-Alpe in Steiermark, before being assigned as Gefreiter to the 3rd Gebirgsjäger Division.
He utilised both a Karabiner 98k sniper variant with 6x telescopic sight and a Gewehr 43 with ZF4 4x telescopic sight.
He saw action against Soviet forces in the Carpathians, Hungary and Slovakia. On 6 November 1944 he suffered head trauma from artillery fire, and was awarded the Verwundeten-Abzeichen three days later.
This recommendation was approved by General der Gebirgstruppe Karl von Le Suire and General der Panzertruppe Walter Nehring. Hetzenauer was captured by Soviet troops the following month, and served 5 years in routinely appalling conditions in a Soviet prison camp.
He died on 3 October 2004 after several years of deteriorating health.
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