near Bastogne. After the Allies launched Operation Overlord, the invasion of Normandy on 6 June, Luftflotte Reich sent additional units to the invasion front. By 8 June, Jagdgeschwader 1, Jagdgeschwader 3, Jagdgeschwader 11 and III. Gruppe of JG 54 had arrived in France and were subordinated to Fliegerkorps II. III. Gruppe of JG 26 was based at Villacoublay Airfield and flew missions to Le Havre that day. In the early morning hours, Mietusch claimed the destruction of two Republic P-47 Thunderbolt fighters from the USAAF 371st Fighter Group. The P-47s had been attacking ground targets east of Le Havre. On 17 July, Mietusch shot down a No. 602 Squadron Spitfire southwest of Caen. Shortly after, he ignored the warning of his wingman Unteroffizier Heinz Gehrke and was shot down in his Bf 109 G-6/U4 (Werknummer 440640) near Argentan-Alençon by another Spitfire from the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) No. 411 Squadron. Mietusch bailed out and was wounded, returning to his unit the next day. Mietusch was killed in action on 17 September 1944 during the first day of Operation Market Garden, the operation to secure a bridgehead over the River Rhine. In an attempt to defend against Allied airborne landings in the Netherlands, Mietusch led a flight of 15 Bf 109s to the Allied landing zones. Near the German border to the Netherlands, Mietusch flight intercepted a squadron of North American P-51 Mustang fighters. In the resulting aerial combat, Mietusch shot down one of the P-51 fighters north of Mönchengladbach before he came under attack by another P-51, piloted by Lieutenant William Beyer from the 376th Fighter Squadron, assigned to the 361st Fighter Group. Mietusch was shot down in his Bf 109 G-6/U4 (Werknummer 441646) by Beyer, crashing near Aldekerk. Posthumously, Mietusch was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves () on 18 November 1944. He was the 653rd member of the German armed forces to be so honored. Mietusch was buried in the honor section of the Düsseldorf Northern Cemetery (Field 112-Section 0-Grave 117). Caldwell characterized Mietusch as a very nervous man with limited social skills. According to Caldwell's account, Mietusch never interacted with non-commissioned officers, overcoming his lack of self-confidence by an act of will. Summary of career Aerial victory claims According to Heaton, Lewis, Olds and Schulze, Mietusch was credited with 76 aerial victories. Mathews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies