H-AGOM-BElliott

    

Bruce is a CA neighbor and friend, we both grew up in KS. We met at an AGOM reunion in San Diego 1994.  There I met many who have become very special friends.  It’s been my honor to help document some of their unique experiences.

Preceding 1945 photo – a Quick Look

Bruce Elliott, grew up in SW Kansas and left home at age 16 to join the Navy, shortly after he moved to CA.  Bruce was part Indian and didn’t have a birth certificate, so he wrote home to one of his high school teachers to provide verification he was a citizen.  Bruce was taken prisoner on Corrigador and taken to Bilibad prison on Luzon. He was selected as able bodied and taken with other POWs to build an airfield on Palawan island. From there he escaped and made his way to Mindanao where he joined the AGOM. Eventually the AGOM got him on the submarine Narwhal and taken to Australia at the same time W. Williams 19th BG 93rd Sqd was taken out to receive hospital care.

How this story began

I received a call from Bruce, then AGOM (American Guerrillas of Mindanao) president. My wife and I had been invited, at the request of Leonard Merchant of the 19th BG , then AGOM historian, to attend the May 5-7 1994 AGOM reunion in San Diego. I had learned of the AGOM through Merchant and found that a large percent of the AGOM had been in the 19th BG. After the reunion I wrote a document, including photos, about the reunion and sent it to each of the AGOM members who had been there. This included recollections of what I recalled Bruce and others said. I mailed Bruce a copy for his review before issue. Bruce called back and we arranged to meet. Bruce and I are nearby neighbors living in Garden Grove CA  and it was then we learned that both of us had grown up in KS, he in SW and me in NW.

I was pleased to feel welcomed at the AGOM reunion, many of the 19th BG AGOM members had been airplane mechanics and though I’d never been to the Philippines they soon accepted me as if one of them, in part because I had also been an airplane mechanic.  Merchant had told them I was the new historian for the 19th BG association, and was looking forward to hearing what they had to say.  They spoke very openly of their experiences to each other, and to me -- but when asked to write what they had said, they would back off. The wives tried to encourage them, but for reasons only known to them, most would not write of what they would tell each other.

Those who became POWs or AGOMs were of mixed background and their experience made no distinction between Army, Navy or Marine origins -- they shared their unique struggle for survival in common.  All were highly influenced by the intervening events, and developed lasting bonds.

Philippine Islands

Those killed or lost in the early phase were spared the suffering endured by others. Malnutrition and sickness took a heavy toll, those who survived paid a heavy price just to stay alive and remain functional. The Japanese made no effort to provide for the needs of prisoners, they were exploited as labor and expected to eventually die. Of approximately 24,000 taken prisoner, only 24 escaped and survived, some merged with the AGOM. Bruce Elliott was perhaps the first, or one of the first to escape. It took Bruce a year to reach Mindanao from Palawan – other escapes had already made it to Australia, and thought to be the first.  Bruce had previously been asked to tell his story, and refused. He didn’t want to be exploited or to mix his reality with others fantasy. Thankfully Bruce chose to make his story known.

We meet about 8:00 am at The Butterfly, a bar on Beach Blvd.  At my request Bruce brought me a copy of the AGOM address list. I took him an upgrade to the AGOM 94 reunion story. I particularly wanted validation of what I’d written of things heard.

The afternoon of the last day of the ‘94 AGOM reunion, before time for dinner, I went to the reunion room and listened to conversations in progress. Bruce Elliott and Paul Marshall were conversing more or less in private but such that the few of us there could hear what was said -- they didn’t know I was behind them and listening.  Bruce asked, “Remember the time they had the fellows dig the ditch then lined them up and shot them?” Paul nodded he recalled the event. Bruce continued, “Remember that sergeant who spit in the Japs face before being shot, how he went down then got up and spit at him again before they shot him the second time?”  Paul nodded. Bruce added, “Now that was a brave man, a very brave man.”

There was a long pause as both men were obviously replaying that scene in their own minds. Bruce then commented, “Recall how when some were beheaded how sometimes their head would roll, how their eyes would still blink and mouths work....”

Both men remained silent until someone came in and broke the spell of that occasion. Some things they didn’t want to talk or write about....except now and then to share indelible memories with another who was there....

Seated at the bar I took notes as fast as possible then wrote it up in the form of Questions & Answers then sent the draft for Bruce to review. Bruce had prepared a map, for the reunion, with route, points & description of events as he’d made his way to Mindanao. I asked him for a copy.  Two days later we got together again, and put together Bruce’s story.

Bruce later retold his story in an interview with Roger Mansell, Palo Alto CA, Assoc Editor, Tameme Literary Magazine, elaborating on what was done before.

Monday Sept 13, 2004 Bruce and I met for breakfast and he showed me a large map of the Philippines he’d obtained at a the 2004 AGOM reunion – he asked if I could mark it up to show the places he’d been.  I said, let me borrow the map and scan segments which can be mark up, and redo your story.  So this is a merger of what was.

Manila Bay, Philippines

Q         You said you were on Corrigador when taken prisoner?

A         Yeah. On Dec 8th 1941 I was an 18 years old Seaman First Class at the Cavite Navy Yard. I was aboard the U.S.S. Bittern, a mine sweeper, moored outboard the U.S.S. Sea Lion & U.S.S. Sea Dragon submarines. >1<

For me, the war began about noon, Wednesday, 10 Dec 1941 [Other side of dateline from Pearl Harbor] I knew full well the war had started by seeing the bombing of Manila. I had only heard rumors of other Jap attacks and landings. High overhead, a flight of Jap bombers, coming from the direction of Manila, passed overhead toward the sea. A few minutes later, they wheeled around, headed toward Cavite Navy Yard... and me. Three waves of bombers with 57 planes in each wave, dropped stick after stick of bombs, plastering the entire base. With fighter escorts, the Japanese bombers never deviated from their course.

I had been on my way to the canteen to buy a beer, and was passing the baseball field near the main gate. I saw 4 large coils of wire, each about four feet high, sitting on the edge of the field. I believe this was wire for making anti-submarine nets to string in the harbor. Around the two foot core, the coiled wire was at least a foot thick. I jumped inside one of the coils. It was my dugout above ground with a perfect view of the attack.

Anti-aircraft flak burst harmlessly, thousands of feet below the Jap Betty Bombers and I saw no American fighters rise to stem the attack.  Small black objects, like tiny specs, began to tumble from the planes. “Sticks” of bombs were headed my way. I jumped inside one of the coils, my head below the top. Bombs dropped everywhere as more than 50 bombers disgorged their deadly cargo.

The yard was flattened, buildings burning everywhere—the sounds of the wounded echoing across the base. Burning fuel tanks threw up flames, the plumes of black smoke tumbling across the yard toward Manila. It was a fire that was to last a week. I was safe, the coils having deflected any shrapnel. I ran to my ship, the USS Bittern, {USS Bittern (AM-36), Div 8, Mine Layer, Lt. T.G. Warfield, Commanding} burning alongside the pier. Men were wounded but still fighting the fires. In minutes, the fires were extinguished and the wounded bandaged, ready for evacuation. I clamored over the Sea Lion, jumped ashore with another Boson’s Mate, 2nd Class, and reported for duty aboard the other mine laying ship, the USS Tanager. {USS Tanager (AM-5), Div 9, Mine Layer, Lt. Cmdr. Griffrin, Commanding.}

Meanwhile, the submarine rescue vessel, the USS Pigeon, {USS Pigeon (ASR-6), Sub Sqd 20, Lt R.E. Hawes, Commanding}  towed the Bittern, towing her from the burning pier. Some of us used fire axes to cut our mooring lines that were tied to the Sea Lion. With the critical engine parts ashore being repaired now destroyed, the Bittern could not move on her own. As with the USS Canopus, she was towed up to Marveles Bay on Bataan, eventually being scuttled before the surrender of Bataan

Aboard the Tanager, the only duty was to go out at night, sweeping the channels for mines. During the day, they would tie up and leave the ship. Without air defense, the Tanager became an “LST” (Large Sitting Target) for the Jap planes, unmolested as they strafed and bombed at will. With the declaration of Manila as an “Open City,” the Tanager anchored at Corregidor, finally sinking on 4 May.

Not needing a full crew, I was released from the Tanager in late March with orders to report to an Army Captain on Corregidor. From Corregidor, I was taken to Marveles, loaded on a truck to Cabcaben Point  >2<  and instructed to be “a look out” for Japs. If I saw any, I was to report immediately. Food and water was to be brought to me twice a day. If available, the usual food by now was simply rice and some canned salmon. It was scary as hell— alone, just about to turn 19 — and Japs on the way.

Q         I understand you’d been on short rations for some time before the surrender.

A.        The big problem was water, we were down to a canteen of water every other day and in all that heat it just wasn’t enough. We were being fed canned salmon and rice – I don’t known where they got all that salmon – also large containers of canned-beef. But the main problem was water.

Some 29 days later, the Captain came back and said, ‘The Japs are coming this way. Want to go back to Marveles?” I knew that Bataan would be over run by the Japanese. I felt sure that I would be safe on Corregidor as the Japs could never take that fortress.

“No way!” I declared. That same afternoon I began swimming toward Corregidor. >3<  As the sun set, I was still swimming, the tides pushing me out to sea. After six hours of nonstop swimming, I felt sure I was going to drown any minute when a Navy launch picked me out of the sea. Dressed only in skivvies, I was taken to Queens Tunnel and given new clothes.

With nine other men, I was assigned to a machine gun nest at Monkey Point, facing away from Bataan. With the fall of Bataan on 9 April, the shelling & Bombing of Corregidor began in earnest. Dug in as we were, unless a shell or bomb hit you directly, one’s chances of survival were quite high.

5 May 1942

At 10:30 PM that night, the Japs started to land troops on Monkey Point, the side facing Bataan. We were dug in with our 50 cal. Machine Gun on the far side (defiladed) and did not fire in that action. The firing of guns, mortars, and grenades was intense and the Japs were driven off, probably most of them killed.

Around 2:30 in the morning, they came back again, landing 3 barges right in front of me. I held fire until their ramps started to drop... opening fire at less than 20 yards, sweeping into the interiors of each. With just the one gun, two boxes of ammunition, and six grenades, the slaughter in front of our position was almost total. The ten of us had Springfield rifles (30-06) and six hand grenades.

On the reverse side, however, the Japs landed two light tanks. We did not have a single anti-tank weapon so our fate was inevitable. By noon, the word had come that we were to surrender... destroy your weapons and stand down... and wait.

Wainwright Surrenders

Waiting in Queens Tunnel, we were surrendered at noon. The Jap Marines {The Japanese Naval Assault Units were specially selected and trained for assault tasks, not just as invasion forces. While termed “Japanese Marines” by the American soldiers, they remained part of the Japanese navy and did not function like the American marines.}  were big men, apparently selected for their size and strength. One single Jap soldier came into the tunnel, never said a word, and proceeded directly to the water spigot and filled his canteen.  He departed and shortly, another one of these Japs came into the tunnel and, with much screaming, shouting, bayonet prods, and sign languages, formed us into four ranks along the road, a cliff dropping about 100 feet to the rocky shore below. The Japs made it clear we were to strip naked, piling our clothes into separate piles of shoes, socks, pants, shirts, and hats. With sharpened bayonets, the Japs went down the rows, clipping off dog tags.

Naked as a jay birds, the first rank was told to move to the cliff’s edge, the Japs seemingly demanding they jump to their death. The Bushido Code of “death before the dishonor of surrender” was apparently to be imposed upon the American prisoners. The men froze in place. Being in the fourth rank, I was terrified.

Suddenly, two Jap officers came around the curve, screaming orders to the now subservient soldiers. Apparently, the Jap soldiers had not known of the surrender and were determined to rid themselves of these “vile Western cowards.” With alacrity, we grabbed whatever clothes we could, dressed to avoid the sun, and were placed on labor details on Middle Side, hauling captured guns to the wharf.

At the 92nd garage area, we were all forced to sit on the hot pavement, little food and almost no water. Other than being sent on work details, we all remained there for another 10 days. The worst detail was gathering up the dead. There was blood, bodies, and body parts everywhere. We dragged the Jap bodies, bloated from the heat, into huge piles, five to six feet high and twenty feet in diameter. Gasoline was poured on the bodies, they were set afire and cremated. The fires would burn for a few days, the fat of the bodies acting as fuel. When the fires stopped, a special group of Japs came by, gathering bits of bone and ash into small boxes, approximately 2" x 2" x 4". These were sent to the family of the dead, apparently symbolic of the sacrifice their children made for the Emperor.

At the 92nd Garage area, water was available from only one small line. To fill one cup meant waiting in line, often as long as 24 hours. The Assault marines departed the first day after surrender, being replaced by much less disciplined and vicious soldiers. One could easily discern the difference as these low class thugs took over guarding the prisoners.

At the 92nd, almost 12,000 of us were packed into an area not much larger than a football field. About 10,000 were Americans, the balance Filipino. No exact count could have been made as the Japanese disposed of bodies without counting. No official rosters were kept by American units on Corregidor.   There was no shelter from the boiling sun as we sat on the cement parking lot. I had managed to retain a tent shelter half and I shared it with three other sailors, including S1c Yoder. Yoder was what is called a “great dog robber;” able to get supplies, food and water for us. To put it simply, he was a great thief. I was unable to move too freely having 12 pieces of shrapnel in my foot. Yoder managed to get us water, large cans of corned beef and peaches plus cans of condensed milk. As the Japanese did not care if we ate at all, food was precious and water was life itself. By the time we left the 92nd garage area, we were extremely weak. What appears as callous treatment of the POWs was deliberate and served two purposes for the Japanese. First, it placed pressure on other troops to surrender. The Japanese told Wainwright the prisoners, now hostages, would be executed if the other forces on the Philippines did not surrender. Second, as shown on Guam and Wake, the Japanese deliberately starved the men for a period to weaken them before and transport. This assured that a minimum number of guards were needed for the docile prisoners.

On Saturday. 23 May, we were packed aboard a small freighter, jammed in so tight that no one could sit down. After an all night wait, we cast off for Manila. >4< As we approached Manila, the ship stopped just offshore from the Santa Anna Racetrack. Barges were brought alongside and we climbed down. As we grounded, the men were forced to jump into the water, swimming and struggling to get ashore.  I was up to my chin and Paul Marshall, a bit shorter, said he had to swim. Some of the short guys would have drowned if not held up by their buddies.  Filthy, sweaty and wet, we were lined up in groups of 100 men, columns of four, and were marched down Dewey Blvd, in part to show off us defeated Americans as we marched through the city to Bilibid Prison Manila  The Japs intended to humiliate us in front of the Filipinos but you could see they were sympathetic to our suffering.

Bilibid Prison, Manila

Paul Marshall  photo cropped from AGOM reunion photo 1994

We were at Bilibad Prison for about two weeks then marched to the train station and jammed into railway freight cars. Small, dirty, rusting metal walls, they were ovens in the sun. Again, the Japs crammed us in with standing room only. Despite shoving by the guards, I managed to stand near the door and was able to get some fresh air. Some of the men in the corners were suffocating and passing out from the heat.

Camp 3, Cabanatuan, Central Luzon

After a few hours waiting in the sun, the train began to move. For hours, we rattled on north, arriving at the railhead in Cabanatuan that evening. Marched a short distance, we waited overnight in the local schoolyard. I managed to get space under the school house and dropped off to sleep. At dawn, we were roused, counted again and again and began an all day march to Camp #3. With no food for breakfast, the sun beat down on us as we headed northeast. Each time we stopped, we were forced to remain in the sun rather than in shaded areas. The tropical sun, flies and dust took a deadly toll on the men, the column spreading out and men falling by the wayside.

We passed Cabanatuan # 1, another empty camp (Cabantuan #2), finally arriving at our camp in the mid afternoon, 26 May 1942.

I witnessed the murder by the Japanese of four men charged with “escaping.” For a few days, they were forced to straddle a large pole, their hands drawn down and tied underneath. Day and night, they were kept there as the sun burned their exposed skin, mosquitoes and flies swarming everywhere. On the third or fourth day, much of the entire camp watched as the men were cut loose and forced to dig a trench. It was obvious as the men stood in the trench that a firing squad was about to execute them.

The Japs announced that the men had tried to escape and were now to be executed. One of the intended victims spit on the officer who was Lt Col Shigeji Mori the camp commander.   The firing squad shot them down. The man who spat struggled back up but was shot again, crumpling into the ditch. An officer stepped forward and put a bullet into the head of each man.

The Japs, to thwart further escapes, announced that the men would be placed in groups of ten. If one escaped, the others would be executed. It was an effective method. In the entire war, fewer than 25 men made escapes to freedom.

At Cabanatuan #3, I lived with 135 men in an Atap (bamboo) barracks, fed a cup of watery soup and a small hand full of rice, three times a day. I told the Japs that I was a Yeoman, hoping to get a detail where I could get some extra food.

The Jap Dr’s, inspected us POWs to pick out the most fit. The most fit were marched back to Cabanatuan city, loaded back in box cars and shipped to Bilibid Prison, I was one of them.

Bilibid Prison, Manila

In July they had about 300 of us load a Jap freighter by hand; salt, sugar, rice, shovels, picks, wheel borrows, etc.

About the middle of July, the Japs selected 300 of the “fittest men,” sending us again in boxcars back to Bilibid. The next day, we began loading a freighter at Pier 6 with salt, rice, wheelbarrows, pickaxes and other tools for three to four days. We 300 were the last “cargo” to be loaded.

North Palawan

Leper Colony, Palawan

Approaching Palawan, the ship dropped anchor at the island of Culion, >6< an island north of Palawan. I had found a twenty foot length of rope in the hold and coiled it around my body, beneath my shirt. I thought I could slip over the side and escape during this stay. We began unloading supplies and I realized the island was the site of Culion, a leper colony. I canceled my escape plans.

Palawan Island

Puerto Princess

At Puerto Princesa, >7< it was obvious they were starting to build an airstrip. One first jobs were to pull weeds, gather them in piles, load wheelbarrows and dump the weeds over the cliff.  A wheelbarrow “slipped” from my hand, plummeting over the edge. The Japs beat the living hell out of me for that stunt.

Yoder spotted some peppers growing where we were pulling weeds. He knew that variety was extremely hot, too hot to eat as they would literally burn your mouth. Spotting a guard looking at him, he picked some of the peppers, faked lifting them into his mouth, pretending they were delicious. The grinning Jap guard shoved Yoda aside, grabbed a hand full and shoved them into his own mouth. With eyes bulging, he screamed for water as we rapidly disappeared..

Our barracks were formerly used by the island’s constabulary. I noted that the local impressed laborers had a twelve foot pole to scale the wall, apparently for sneaking out at night to spend time with their families. That evening, in a very heavy rain, I used the pole to climb to the top, pulled the pole up after myself and lowered myself down the other side. Fleeing into the church, I located the local priest and said I was escaping.

The priest gave me a small map of the Philippines, a compass and an alarm clock. I climbed back into the barracks, asking others to join me. A young Lieutenant said, “No way you’ll make it!” Chief Fox said, “I’m too old to try.”  {Apparently, Fox was returned to Luzon when the Puerto Princesa detail was reduced by 150 men, later in the war. His name is not among the massacred.}  At first, seven said yes, but when it came time to flee, only five men agreed to come with me. At 10:30 P.M., 10 August 1942, we went over the wall, three sailors and three marines.

Running to the beach, we took a small banca, some lumber to use as paddles and headed out of the harbor. We learned the boat had been left behind by a Filipino as un-seaworthy when he fled south. With an offshore breeze, we could head north or south. Our twelve foot boat had a tattered sail and a fairly large outrigger. We turned south, toward Australia. The boat, leaking like a sieve, required constant bailing, coconut shells serving as a bucket.  One manned the tiller, one bailed and four men paddled – rotating the exhaustive task of paddling – it was a long night. Just outside the bay, we turned into a swamp before dawn, hiding ourselves and the boat beneath foliage.

The six men who escaped were:

Davis, C.D., Pfc, USMC, 4th Marines (*)

Elliott, B.G., S1c, USN, USS Bittern (**)

Henderson, B., Pvt., USMC, 4th Marines

Hodges, K.M., S1c, USNR, USS Genessee

Kelland, R.W., S1c, USN, 16th Naval District

Wright, S.T., Pvt, USMC, 4th Marines

(*) listed as Pvt in records (**) Listed as D. Elliott, Y3c in records

Brooke’s Point

In the morning, a Jap launch came out, searched for a while, then returned to port. For the next three days and nights, we headed south, staying close to the shore, paddling most of three days and nights. By dawn of the third night, we arrived at Brooke’s Point, over 160 kilometers south of the prison camp. Friendly natives made us welcome and a native Filipino, Ben Aroose, took us nine miles uphill to the house of Mr. Edwards, a retired schoolmaster who lived in splendid style.

A month after our arrival, we met up with “Rocky Gause, a pilot who escaped from Bataan on a small boat, evading the Japs for months. I don’t remember much as I was down with malaria. In his diary, he mentions he left some rifles with us. There was no way we could all get in his boat so we decided to remain, the six of us sticking together. I typed up a letter to my folks on Edward’s typewriter and  managed to get it home to my family within the year. {P 124, Gause, Damon “Rocky”, The War Journal of Major Damon “Rocky” Gause; The Firsthand Account of One of the Greatest Escapes of World War II, Hyperion, New York, 1999. Gause states before he left, three of the escapees were on the beach with him. He offered to take one as that is all his boat could handle. “With typical American spirit, all three of them refused…‘We’ve stuck together through so much that we’ll stick together until the end.’”}

We remained relatively safe from the Japs. However, the jungle was an inherently dangerous place. Being on the run from people intent upon killing you, definitely heightens your senses. Walking on a jungle path, I noticed a branch waving on the trail ahead of me. My sixth sense said something was wrong as there was no wind. A closer look revealed a Cobra snake in front of me. My shotgun ended his dance.

Suffering from a severe attack of malaria, I lay sick, flat on my back. Schoolmaster Edwards took good care of us, giving me quinine to quell the malaria, plus ample food and drink. We acquired rifles and a BAR (Browning Automatic Rifle) from weapons hidden by the local constabulary. After three weeks, he suggested we head south to meet up with some Moros who could help us get home.

We slipped out past Brooke’s Point at dusk, and again, headed south. Now about 70 miles south of Brooks Point, on the southern edge of San Antonio Bay, we entered a small river, sailing upstream for about a mile. The “jungle telegraph” had alerted them to our coming and we were introduced to Datu Jo Kiple, the head Moro for the area. Datu was a Muslim who hated the Japanese. His huge home, a mile upstream on the Tarusan River, housed his twenty seven wives. He was intent on becoming the Sultan of Jolo Island when the war ended.

The Moslems, Moros, in reality pirates, hated the Japanese with a vengeance. On the third day, a lookout came running into the camp screaming, “a banca with two men aboard was coming up the river!”

Aboard was a Jap Major and a local Mestizo collaborator.  We killed the Jap, tossing his body in the river for the crocodiles. In the pocket of the captured collaborator we found a map showing the location of Datu’s hideout. Unfortunately, the Jap’s body wasn’t tasty enough for the crocodiles and it drifted into a fish trap downstream. The Japs, intent upon our capture, placed a large price on the Datu’s and our heads.

At sundown, the Datu returned, beckoned for us and announced he was giving us two of his best men, Hamja and Lahoud, with instructions to get us to safety. Datu Jo Kipli spoke excellent English. His sense of humor, flashing grin, and sincerity impressed us all. “You,” he said pointing to me, “are the youngest…and you have the longest intestines.” It struck me as the funniest description I’d ever heard.

Hamja and Lahoud, stood before us, teeth filed flat and blackened with beetle nut juice. I’m sure they thought our white teeth were ugly. Armed with guns and knives, they were told simply, “get them through safely or don’t come back.” That night, a launch came to the river, its searchlight seeking the Major’s boat. At dark, we took the banca, paddled downstream and slipped past the Jap launch, raised the sail and headed north, back to Brook’s Point.

Three men at Brooks Point

October 1942: At Brook’s Point, runners were sent to round up the constabulary that had not surrendered. With the 2 Moros, 15 constabulary and four of us (2 were sick at Edward’s house).  The collaborator told us that 30 Japs were at the school house, across an open field from the lighthouse.  We decided to attack the Japs at an open area, 50 yards wide by 100 yards long, that lay between the school and the lighthouse. The schoolhouse had two guard huts, three feet by four feet, a sloped Atap roof with partial side cover, completely open on one side. Inside each hut, safely ensconced from the rain, sat a guard. One shed was on the north side of the school, the other on the south.

Our men were brought together at 4:00 a.m., the attack being planned for dawn. The second Jap launch, with a machine gun on the bow, had returned at midnight. Sid Wright, carrying the BAR, was assigned the task of taking out their machine gun. Hamja and I were to take out the guards.

Just before first light, Hamja and I snuck up behind the huts. I could see the guard’s feet below his seat. I tossed a coconut shell off to his right front, saw his feet move to the right, rushed around the left side, reached in and slit his throat. Hamja obviously had similar success.

The plan was to wait, my signal to attack being the sound of a Bob White whistle. As dawn broke, the Japs filed out of the school, stacked their rifles and started to form ranks. (Probably for mandatory morning exercises) I whistled the signal and we attacked. One group of six or seven Japs fled toward the lighthouse. We could not chase them over the open ground. They grabbing a launch, they fled for their lives to Puerto Princesa. The second launch we destroyed by riddling its engine with bullets. It was a very successful night—we had killed the collaborator and over 20 Jap soldiers.

At Puerto Princesa, the Japs who escaped bragged how they had killed all of us in a battle. The remaining POWS, discounting the Jap braggadocio, knew at last that we had successfully escaped. Knowing the Japs would not return, we decided to stay at Brooke’s Point another two or three weeks. Against my advice, Henderson and Wright went off to a nearby village. During the night, a collaborator killed Henderson and Wright shot the collaborator. When Wright returned, I chewed his butt, but Henderson was dead.  Kelland had remained at Edward’s house.

Balabac Island Palawan – Kudat Island Borneo

September 1942:

The four of us, Wright, Davis, Hodges, and myself decided to leave for Balabac, >9< an island 100 miles south of Brooke’s Point. Kelland remained behind with malaria. Joining us were Hamja and Lahoud, my Moro “Guardians.”

I had contacted Malaria real bad, lost all my hair including my eyebrows.  I had Beriberi real bad, my feet wouldn’t come down, I could only get about with help of canes. If I’d had to run from the Japs I’d have been dead. I’d bury my feet in the sand, then swim. They’d catch fish and cook them, and slowly, with better nutrition I was able to walk again.

There we remained for a few weeks before I sent Hamja south across the Balabac Straits to Kudat, >10< the northern most point of Borneo. We urgently needed supplies, especially quinine. A Chinese merchant gave us money but did not want a receipt.

In a square stern 30 foot boat with a rectangular sail, Hamja and his four Moro volunteer crew sailed south to Kudat on the northern tip of Boreneo.  A few days later, he returned bearing the precious quinine; iron,  sulfadiazine, food, Chinese Gin (orange colored and very potent), whisky and 24 sticks of dynamite with fuses and detonators!  With the dynamite came the news that there were 30 Japs in Kudat, guarding two large oil storage tanks.

I decided we should attack the tanks. In mid October, the four of us and the 2 Moros, sailed across the open sea to Kudat, arriving before dawn a few days later. Pulling into a swamp, we covered the boat and waited until nightfall.

Two tanks, 30 feet in diameter, stood 20 feet high, were filled with fuel. Hamja and I killed the sentries, slashing their throats before they could give an alarm. Dragging the bodies to the tanks, we lay them aside as we prepared the dynamite and fuses. When all was set, we weighted the dynamite down with the bodies, lit the fuses and ran for the boat. The tanks exploded with a roar as we slipped out of the harbor. The Japs, believing aircraft had bombed the tanks, flashed searchlights across the sky, desperately searching for the planes. We sailed back to Balabac, delighted with our success.

We remained on Balabac for about a months, often hearing submarines passing in the night. We were reluctant to make contact as we were not sure they were American. In early 1943, Kelland came down from Brooke’s Point to meet us, bringing with him an Army Captain, Harris, and his launch.

Via the “Jungle Telegraph,” we heard of an American outpost with a radio on the island of Tawi-Tawi that was in contact with MacArthur in Australia.  In August, 1943, our small band of six sailed southeast, using dead reckoning with only the compass and small map for guidance. The alarm clock served as a perfect timer for tacking into the wind. Setting the alarm, we would sail for a fixed time, the alarm would sound, and we tacked back an equal time the other direction.

We stopped at a Moro fishing village on Cagayan Island. >11< Landing at night, local Moros informed us there were seven Japs in a small house on stilts. The Moros went in, knives slashing, while we fired at anyone leaving. None survived. Hamja was credited with at least three of the dead.

We moved on south-east to the Turtle Islands >12< and collected lots of turtle eggs for food. These are shallow islands, some are even underwater at high tide, which are frequented by hundreds of turtles.  We planned to never run out of food. We had stuffed the ballast with coconuts, giving us a good supplement to rain water. On small scattered islands, Hamja and Lahoud would probe the sands, pulling up hundreds of turtle eggs, We used a five gallon can for boiling the eggs. I was surprised to find the white part never hardened... but they tasted just fine. Fish were equally plentiful.

TawiTawi Island

On the morning of 10 August, 1943 — after 10 days in the open sea and exactly one year after our escape, we spotted Bongao Mountain, rising above the island of Tawi-Tawi. >13< A mere spec in the ocean Tawi-Tawi, was only 9 by 20 miles. My rudimentary seamanship was sufficient... and lucky.

On Tawi-Tawi, we met Captain Hamner, 7 Australians and an American officer, Lt. Cane, a.k.a., “Sugar Cane.” Captain Hamner was in touch with MacArthur’s headquarters in Australia via radio. We took turns riding a bicycle that drove the generator. Messages had been received that the Australians and the four of us were to go to Mindanao.  We faced another long voyage across open seas.  By this time, one of the Aussies, Rex Butler, had been killed by a local Moro.  We released our faithful Moros, Himja and Latoud, to return to their home on Palawan.  Around 2 Nov 1943 the Japs landed about 150 soldiers on the island.

Harris had also escaped from either Bataan or Corregidor. Davis and Hodges decided it was time to move on and sail for Australia. Taking a well stocked boat, they departed, disappearing and never to be heard of again.

Just two of our band of escapees remained, Wright and myself, and we plus 7 Australians set sail for Mindanao.

Siocan Bay, Zamboanga, Mindanao

The first boat leaked so badly, we had to return. Wright, myself, and the Aussies loaded another boat and headed northeast, past Jolo Island, skirting along the western tip of Zamboanga Province toward Dipolog. For seven days, the seas were calm and we rowed continuously, each taking turns at the tiller. Aussie Major Steele, deciding rowing was beneath his station as an officer, refused to row. A pistol to his head, a warning “Row or swim,” changed his mind.

In the middle of the night, I was manning the tiller and fell dead asleep. A sudden lurch from a wave startled me alert. We were smack in the middle of a blacked out Jap convoy, three ships in front of us and two behind. No native boats, anywhere in the Philippines, were allowed out at night. The high pucker factor eased as the convoy slipped by, steaming out of sight.

Our first landfall was near the town of Siocon >14 <on the western coast of Zamboanga peninsula. A fresh water stream was a welcomed relief as we washed away the dried sweat, dirt, and salt of the voyage. I got back into the boat just before a crocodile attacked a local horse. We shot the crocodile but remained out of the water.

Dipolog Mindanao

Back on the boat, we continued to row, arriving at Dipolog >15< where a Filipino Major greeted us. The “Jungle Telegraph” worked perfectly. The town had electricity and the major maintained a radio. A native Corpsman served as his assistant. We received orders to report to Colonel Bowler.  In his book Escape From Hell, The Sandakan Story, Walter Wallace gives a detailed narrative of this segment of the escape.  The Major advised us to go over the mountain to Panquil Bay. Joined by the Major, his wife, and his children, we set out over Mount Malindang, a 2500 foot climb through a steaming, tangled jungle. Five days later, skin raw from mosquitoes and leeches, we arrived at Misanis on the northern shore of Panquil Bay. >16<

January 1944:

In the small village, runners came to say the Japs were coming. The wind was howling but we had to flee. We climbed aboard a 70 foot boat with two mast, the outriggers being two foot diameter logs with boards covering the gap. The skipper refused, but the four of us, Sid Wright, the Aussies Walter Wallace and Jock McClone and myself, made him set sail.

Shortly after weighing anchor in the morning, the wind flipped this huge boat over on its back. Native boats came out to rescue us, taking us to a village on the south shore. Upon landing, we learned a Jap patrol was headed our way so we fled northward. Fortunately, we had tied our weapons down but we had lost most of our much needed supplies.

Colonel Furtig, head of the guerillas on Mindanao, had placed Colonel Bowler in charge of this area. We set out to find Bowler. We encountered a few stray Jap soldiers and managed to kill them. Unfortunately, after we passed through Kolambugon, we lost Charlie Wagner, who had gone ahead of us, killed by a Jap patrol near Iligan City.

North East  Mindanao

With the aid of Zapata, a local Mestizo, we took a small motor launch across the northern coast of Mindanao, arriving at the northeast corner port of Surigao providence. We relayed our story of escape and evasion. All the guerillas were men who decided never to surrender. None had been POWs. Sid Wright and two Aussie, Rex Blow and Miles Gillon, decided to join the guerillas, Sid receiving a field commission from Furtig.

USS Narwahal

About 3 March 1944

A few nights later, DeVries, Rook, Benny Lacoto, and I were taken out to the submarine, the USS Narwhal.  I was taken below and fed my first real American food in 2 years, showered and settled in for a voyage home. Our first stop would be Tawi-Tawi where we picked up a Bill Swift, another marine who had escaped from Palawan. {Corp William Dewey Swift, USMC, escaped on 2 Feb 1943, along with MM1c Roy Sherman Pryor, USN, Pvt. Richard Charles Hanson, USA, and Pfc Don Thomson Schloat, USA. Hanson and Schloat were captured and sent to Manila for trial. Fate unknown. Pryor, according to Swift, was killed after the escape.}  Captain Hammer and Lt. Cane came out with us on the Narwhal.

As we were off loading ammunition, radar spotted 4 Jap Destroyers and 2 Cruisers bearing down on us. To the blaring ah-ooga of a horn, hatches were sealed and a crash dive commenced. One Filipino worker was trapped below and was now part of the crew. Settling on the bottom, the crew waited in silence. The depth charges started to rain down. Over 200 depth charges blew up around us, blowing fuses, lights and chips of paint falling like snow.

I began to think I had made a big mistake! One charge, failing to explode, hit the deck and rolled off onto the ocean floor. After what seemed like hours, sonar declared the Jap ships were gone. On the two week voyage to Darwin, we sank two freighters with torpedoes and, with the two deck guns, put another Jap freighter on the bottom.

As we approached Darwin, the skipper, Captain Latta, said, “I heard you’re going to put in for sub duty.”

“Sir!” I said, “Either you’re crazy or someone is lying to you!”

Arriving in Australia, I was placed in a hospital under the care of wonderful nurse. The first one I saw had a nose like a banana... until I realized it was rather small and cute, unlike the flat noses of natives, I had grown so accustomed to seeing every day.

Asked if I wanted anything, I said, “Yes! A cold beer!”

She smiled, left and returned in a few moments with a tall bottle of cold Australian beer. “Here you go Yank” I was one happy man as I quaffed that brew.

From Darwin, I was flown to Brisbane aboard a C-47, the military version of the venerable DC-3. We stopped at a small station along the way, refueling bodies and the plane. It was not my favorite meal, mutton and curry but I swilled down the tea with milk. That evening, we arrived in Brisbane and put up at Mobile Hospital #9. Having spent almost two years fleeing the Japs, I could not sleep well on the bunk. It was too soft. I rolled to the deck (floor) and drifted off to sleep. We had a briefing every morning and afternoon and were free to go wherever we wanted.

Swift and I were given some Aussie currency and started to explore the area. Behind the hospital, we found a few horse to rent and headed away from the hospital. As luck would have it, a found a most delightful pub with a picnic table in back. Unbeknownst to us, orders had been issued for us to leave for the states and the military police, MPs and SPs, were searching the countryside. They found us, the MPS taking the horses while the Navy boys took us by Jeep back to the hospital.

From Brisbane to Pearl Harbor, we traveled in the luxurious comfort of the Pan Am China Clipper, a Boeing B-314 Flying Boat, complete with beds for sleeping. Landing at Palmyra, south of Pearl, I noticed a young fellow up on the wing doing some maintenance. I turned to my friend and said, “That looks like my brother!” There was no time to investigate as we were ready to taxi and in moments, were airborne. When I finally did get home, I learned it was him!

Arriving in late afternoon at Pearl, we were hustled off and segregated in a gymnasium. The next morning, we departed aboard a 4 engine Mars for Alameda. As we boarded in front of a number of high ranking officers, we were told, “Talk to no one. Say nothing.”

An officer, somewhat put out by our treatment, asked, “What’s your rank?”

“Sir. I can’t tell you.”

He was told to shut up, “We are not to talk to anyone.”

With a one day layover in San Francisco, we proceeded direct to Washington, DC and reported into the Navy Department. At the Federal Building in San Francisco, I saw a Navy women for the first time. Told they were “Waves,” I assumed they were simply employees, working for the Navy and that they were given some sort of uniform. When told, I thought, “I must have seemed stupid!” Given $500 spending money, Swift and I went AWOL for three days. When we returned, we were taken to Admiral Watson, who asked where we were and why we came back. We answered simply, “We were celebrating and we came back when we ran out of money.”

Although we were treated in many ways as heroes, never once was consideration given for an award of medals. Officers who had escaped after we did, not facing a fraction of the dangers we endured, nor attack and kill Japanese, were awarded Silver Stars, Navy Crosses and the Medal of Honor.

Of the 25,000 prisoners of the Japanese, only 24 managed to ever escape.

After debriefing, we were given money and told to fly back home to California. Having flown enough... and thinking my luck may not continue, I asked, “If it’s alright with you, I rather take a train. It’s a bit safer.”

I finally went home by train.

+ + + + + ++ + ++ +

On the sub were Rook, DeVries and Bernie Lacotta - They were on the PT Boats that evacuated MacArthur from Corregidor. Each of these men were given the Silver Star

***O***

Original letter from Coxswain Bruce Elliott, US Navy, September 6, 1942

The letter was typed on an old, manual typewriter at the home of Mr. Edwards, a schoolmaster living near Brooke's Point on Palawan Island.  Letter was mentioned in The War Journal of Major Damon "Rocky" Gause

September 6, 1942

Palawan P.I.

Dearest Mother, Dad, Mary, Bernice, Richard, Ray, George, and Uncle Ray.

I am free once again. I was captured on Corregidor on May 7, escaed [sic] on August 10. I stand no chance of being captured again as I am in the mountains and being guarded by the natives. I saw Mrs. Loving around the last of May. We were marched down the street and she was standing in the window, she never saw me though because there was [deleted] of us. I am Coxswain now which is a third class petty officer. I was rated through Meritorious conduct in action. I was not injured in any way. I am having the time of my life here in the mountains. riding [sic] buffalo the people I am with are americans [sic] and are treating me swell.

I sure will be glad when I can get home again. I have 10,000 dollars worth of insurance so I don't think you will get to spend it now though I was very doubtful at times. Mother what ever you do don't let Ray get into this mess because it is no game here either live or die there is no halfway to it. I go hunting for wild hogs at night and there is lots of them here also water buffalo. I guess I might as well close as I can't think of any more to say except to tell Dad happy birthday and a Merry Christmas to all of you also tell Uncle E. and Aunt E. Hello. Tell Walter and Alex hello to if they aren't out here somewhere fighting. I will be home for my birthday anyway I hope.

Lots of love,

/s/ Bruce

P.S. I went to church here this morning.

 

Epilogue

Post story visit with Bruce:

Bruce was given a POW medal, but feels those who escaped have not been properly treated.

We felt it was our duty to try to escape if we could. Of approximately 24,000 taken POW in the Philippines, but only about 24 escaped and survived to get back.

I’ve been asked, “when did you surrender?” I told them, “I never did surrender, Wainwright surrendered. I was taken prisoner.”

There have been attempts to improve the government’s treatment of escapees and the AGOM, but it didn’t even get out of committee when presented in ‘57. We had been officially surrendered, thus we didn’t officially exist.

Those that got back to Australia, claiming they were the first to escape when they were not – I removed their names. Their dead now, nothings gained by naming names....

In 1946 Bruce was sent to Deep Sea Diving School and made Chief Boat-swains Mate, back dated, for purposes of seniority, to Feb 1944.  Bruce stayed in the Navy and retired in Oct 1959.

General Electric

After retirement Bruce went to Long Beach City College and obtained a AA degree in mechanical engineering.   After graduation went to work for General Electric in their mechanical-nuclear division assigned to the installation and service engineering for land and sea based power plants.

AGOM Association

Bruce made contact with fellow AGOM personnel and became a staunch supporter and leader, serving as president, sustaining contacts and arranging meetings – his family being very supportive of his efforts.

 

Tribute to the Filipino People

I want to thank the Filipino people for the kindness extended to me – I would not have survived had it not been for their selfless, generous, support in my time of need – I owe them my life.

 

Japanese Massacre 168 American POW’s at Puerto Princessa, Palawan

Just as the Americans arrived at Puerto Princessa in 1944, the Japanese had the POW’s dig a trench, filled it with gasoline, set it afire and shoved 168 the POWs into it. Some managed to grab a Japs and take them with them.  Joe Little, a cook, managed to survive by jumping off a cliff. He broke his leg and arm but was later able to attract a navy ship who came and got him. I saw him in Washington DC after the war.  To cover up this crime, the Japanese murdered all the civilians in the area.

List of the those Massacred

This list is the culmination to date of exhaustive research done with documents from the National

Archives. It appears that a final resolution of all victims was never made. The survivors of the massacre provided invaluable information to the fullest extent possible. It is known that Japanese captors murdered 139 prisoners of war on Dec. 14, 1944 in the city of Puerta Princessa on the island of Palawan.

The first list is the name, rank (where possible), branch of service, and hometown (where possible) of 133 victims. The documentary evidence for these men is overwhelming. The second list of eight men are those where the evidence is contradictory. As late as 1952, attempts were being made to account for all the victims.

NAME           RANK            BRANCH      HOMETOWN

ADAMS, Jewett Franklin T/Sgt  USMC            Canton, Georgia

ADKINS, Robert Arthur   Corp   USMC            Enterprise, Oregon

ANDERSON, Robert Sterling      Pvt      Army  Harper, Washington

ARAUJO, Henry H.            Sgt      Army  Denver, Colorado

ARISPE, Heraclio               Pfc      Army  Corpus Christi, Texas

BAILEY, Homer R.            Pfc      Army  Ardmore, Oklahoma

BANCROFT, Everett Richard     Pfc      Army  Canon City, Colorado

BARNES, Carl Ellis           WT 2c            Navy  Bakersfield, California

BARNES, Darrell Leroy   AOM 3c         Navy  Bayonne, New Jersey

BARTLE, Charles Warren           Sgt      Army  Coffeyville, Kansas

BEASON, Benjamin Franklin     T/Sgt  Army  Canyon, Texas

BLACKBURN, Wilbur Burdett  TM 2c Navy  Wichita, Kansas

BOUCHEY, Mason J.        Pvt      Army  Saginaw, Michigan

BROWN, William Theodore         Pfc      Army  Antioch, California

BRUNI, Fred Tobias          Capt (CO)      Army  Janesville, Wisconsin

BUCHANAN, Vernon Edward    MM 3c            Navy Turner, Kansas

BURNETT, Douglas          Corp   Army  LeGrande, Oregon

CALDWELL, Sammy Lee            Pfc      USMC San Angelo, Texas

CARTER, Casey                 Pvt      Army  Paris, Texas

CHILDERS, Roy R.            Pvt      Army  New Berlin, Illinois

CHOATE, James Louis     Pvt      Army  Madisonville, Kentucky

COOK, Harry                       Aerog 1c        Navy  Detroit, Michigan

CRANDELL, Earl Jesse   Pvt      Army  Scipio, Oklahoma

CRAVENS, William Thomas       Pvt      Army  Port Royal, Kentucky

CULLINS, Franklin Ashley         Pvt      Army  Black Oak, Arkansas

CZAJKOWSKI, John         Pfc      Army  Nichols, Wisconsin

DIAZ, John F.                      Pfc      Army  Osage, Iowa

DUTTON, Glen Albert       Pfc      Army  Reno, Nevada

ELIX, Clayton Emmett     Pfc      Army  Pueblo, Colorado

EVANS, Erving August    Corp   Army  Huron, South Dakota

EYRE, George Robert        Pfc      Army  Marion, Ohio

FLETCHER, Houston Everett    Pfc      Army  Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

FRYAR, William Ferson   Pfc      USMC            Apollo, Pennsylvania

GEE               , Jessie Roy   Corp   Army  Yuba City, California

GIUFFREDA, Mike Paul  Pvt      Army  San Jose, California

GILLESPIE, Bill Edmond            S 1c     Navy  Dallas, Texas

GLACKEN, Joseph Charles Jr.   Pfc      USMC St. Louis, Missouri

GLOVER, Sammy              Pfc      Army  Daisetta, Texas

GOODYKOONTZ, Richard Eugene        Pvt      Army Marion, Indiana

GRAHNERT, James Dewey         Corp   USMC Vancouver, Washington or                         Rapid City, So. Dakota

HALE, Waldo Stedem        S 1c     Navy  Saybrook, Illinois

HAMMOCK, William Lester Jr.  Sgt      USMC Boyle, Mississippi

HAMRIC, Dane Hampton            Corp   Army  Widen. West Virginia

HANSEN, Kenneth Russell         Pfc      USMC Morro Bay, California

HARBIN, Lenton Roger    S/Sgt  Army  West Palm Beach, Florida

HARRIS, John Solomon    TM 2c Navy  Monticello, Georgia

HAWKINS, Douglas Forrest        Pvt      Army  Coeburn, Virginia

HENDERSON, Clifford Marlin   Pfc      USMC Levi, West Virginia

HENDERSON, Joseph Patrick    Pvt      Army  Los Angeles, California

HICKS, Roy Joseph            S/Sgt  Army  Crestview, Florida

HINCKLE, Miner Columbus       Pvt      Army  Ada, Oklahoma

HUBBARD, Hugh Boyd    Pvt      Army  Yarnell, Arizona

HUBBARD, Robert Lee(brothers            Corp   Army Yarnell, Arizona

HUGHES, John F. Jr.        P1Sgt USMC            Waynesboro, Virginia

HUSTON, Tom Virgil        Pvt      Army  Modesto, California

HUTCHINSON, Fred Wallace    Pfc      Army  Los Angeles, California

JACOBSON, Charles Donald      Pfc      Army  Denver, Colorado

JOHNSON, Aubrey Peyton          Pfc      USMC Winnsboro, Louisiana

JOYNER, Earl Esell          Pfc      USMC            Goshen Springs, Mississippi

KAZLAUSKAS, Joseph Richard Pvt      Army  Lowell, Massachusetts

KERNES, Richard Wilfred           Pfc      USMC Woodward, Iowa

KING, Harold Wayne        Pvt      Army  Great Bend, Kansas

KNIGHT, Henry Carlisle  Lt. Comm      Navy  Portland, Oregon (?)

KOERNER, Richard Aloysis        S/Sgt  Army  Ellis, Kansas

KOZUCH, Stephen Thaddeus      Pfc      USMC Chicago, Illinois

LAMOUNTAIN, Arthur Lawrence         S1c      Navy Mineral Falls. Massachusetts

LAMPSHIRE, Leo Nick    Sgt      Army  Lansdown, Pennsylvania

LEWIS, Kenneth Leaman            Pfc      Army  Taunton, Massachusetts

LINDSEY, Kenneth Clyde           Pfc      USMC Gillette, Wyoming

LINDSAY, Forest Edison  Pfc      Army  Vale, North Carolina

LYONS, John Aloysis        Pvt      Army  Staples, Minnesota

MCANANY, Richard Emmett     Tec 4  Army  Conemaugh, Pennsylvania

MCELVEEN, William Muton     Pvt      Army  New Orleans, Louisiana

MCNALLY, Theodore        CMM(AA)     Navy  Kansas City, Missouri

MANGO, Carl Louis           1st Lt. (MD)   Army  Erie, Pennsylvania

MANZI, George Vincente S/Sgt  Army  Bridgeport, Connecticut

MARTYN, Donald Joseph Pfc      USMC            New York, New York

MASCARENAS, Jose E. T.          Pvt      Army  Penasco, Taos, New Mexico

MILLION, Joe Baxter       S/Sgt  Army  Harrodsburg, Kentucky

MOFFATT, Fred Vincent Pvt      Army  Moline,  Illinois

MOORE, Roger Garland   Sgt      Army  Monroe, Louisiana

MORRIS, E. C.                    Pfc      USMC            Jacksboro, Texas

MORRIS, Orland Otis        Corp   USMC            Boise, Idaho

NEWELL, Frank Robert  Pvt      Army  North Tonawanda, New York

NOEL, Harry                       Pvt      Army  Chicago, Illinois

NOVAK, Ernest Julian     Pvt      Army  Watsonville, California

OTERO, Trinidad Fidel     Pvt      Army  Wilard, New Mexico

PITTS, James A.                 Pfc      Army  Winter Garden, Florida

PRICE, Dillard                    Pfc      USMC            Magnolia, Arkansas

RANKIN, Homer Franklin           Corp   Army  Freeport, Kansas

RAY               , Daniel Woodrow    Pfc      USMC Travis County, Texas

RECTOR, Vernon William           Pfc      Army  Phoenix, Arizona

RIGAS, Peter Tom              Pfc      USMC            Chicago, Illinois       (born in Greece)

RHOADES, Arthur Wayne          Pvt      Army  Fort Wayne, Indiana

ROE               , James Howard       S1c      Navy  Strand, Oklahoma

RUDD, James Rollie          Pvt      Army  Cutuno, Kentucky

SAIZ, Santiago Sannedra Pvt      Army  Peralta, New Mexico

SANCHEZ, John                Pfc      Army  Kansas City, Missouri

SCALLY, Henry Fredrick 1/Sgt   Army  Silver City, New Mexico

SCHUBERT, Charles Augustus T/Sgt  Army  Albuquerque, New Mexico

SCHULTZ, Edward Joseph          Corp   USMC Brighton, Wisconsin

SEAGRAVES, Raymond Lewis   Pfc      USMC Little Elm. Texas

SIERRA, Gabriel Jr.          Pvt      Army  Randsburg, California

SIMPSON, Jesse Herschel            Pfc      USMC Dunning, Nebraska

SIRFUS, Charlie                Pfc      Army  Des Moines, Iowa

SKAGGS, Owen Neil          Pfc      USMC            Holdenville, Oklahoma

SKIDMORE, George McClelland            Pfc      USMC            Pennington Gap, Virginia

SMITH, Charles Carlyle   SM 2c Navy  Guntersville, Alabama

SMITH, Julio Forest          MM 2c            Navy  Indianapolis, Indiana

SMITH, Kenneth Otto       Pfc      Army  Hoisington, Kansas

SPINDLER, Carrol Frank            Sgt      Army  Edwardsville, Illinois

STANLEY, Dervert Eugene         Pvt      Army  Dallas, Texas

STANLEY, John Marvin  Pvt      Army  Lakeview, Texas

STEVENSON, Robert Louis        Pvt      Army  Muskegon, Michigan

STIDHAM, James Houston          Sgt      Army  Hardshell, Kentucky

STREET, Charles Hiram  Corp   Army  Santa Cruz, California

STUTTS, Harding Elwood            Pfc      Army  Pinetta, Florida

SWEANY, Leslie Irwin      Pfc      Army  Hamilton, Missouri

SWINNEY, Homer Everett          Pfc      Army  Hawk Point, Missouri

TEEL, Glen Eugene           Pfc      Army  Columbus Junction, Iowa

TERRY, Jolly E.                  Pvt      Army  Cache, Oklahoma

THOMAS, Delbert Raymond       Pfc      Army  Wellington, Kansas

TURNER, Glenn C.            WO/JG           Navy  San Antonio, Texas

UBALLE, Joseph John     S/Sgt  Army  Boone, Iowa

VITATOE, Ted Edgar       Pvt      Army  Rockwood, Tennessee

WADDELL, George McClelland Pfc      USMC Versailles, Missouri

WALKER, Carl M.             S/Sgt  Army  Elizabeth City, North Carolina

WALKER, George Murray           Corp   USMC Columbia, South Carolina

WARREN, John Otis         Pfc      USMC            Dekalb, Mississippi

WHITECOTTON, Horace Pvt      Army  Mesa, Arizona

WILLIAMS, John Grant   Pfc      USMC            Eldorado, Kansas

WILLIAMS, Maurice Scott Jr.    Sgt      USMC Omaha, Nebraska

YEAST, Willard Rue          Pvt      Army  Harrodsburg, Kentucky

****O****

       This list of eight men is those whose documentary evidence is in some degree of doubt. Anyone who can lend further information about any of these men, please contact Lorna Nielsen Murray at 801-280-6037 or 4047 W. 9580 So.               E-mail: murrayfam@utah-inter.net     So. Jordan UT 84095

 

ARNOLDY, Arthur Anton                        Corp               USMC            Tipton, Kansas

This man’s serial number belonged to BAKER, Herbert. Baker’s next of kin notified.

BAKER, Herbert                                         Army

No death certificate was issued  to my knowledge but his name does appear on the headstone of the mass grave in St. Louis MO.

BAKER, John L.                                         Army

A death certificate was found with the others, but a list from 1952 states that he was evacuated to the U. S. 12 Sept. 1945, then killed in an auto accident 3 Dec. 1945.

MULLINS, Levi D, Jr.                               Army

This man appears on many lists but a letter written in 1948 states that he was returned to military control.

RAY or REA, Harry Francis                                            Army

Same as Mullins

SHALLEY (SEALLEY?), Charles Earl Army

This man appears on every list but there is no death certificate and his name is not on the headstone. (Many names are not on the headstone because some of the families requested remains to be interred in family burial plots.)

SNYDER, Cecil J.                                       Army

I have not found a death certificate but his name is on the headstone and some of the lists.

SNYDER, Robert Q.                                   Army

Same as Mullins

WILLIAMS, Bill                                         USMC

There is some evidence that this is a nickname for one of the other Williams that is on the first list.