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The<br />

VOLUME 56 PITTSBURGH, PA — JULY, 2001 NUMBER 1<br />

REMARKS<br />

Hon. Anthony J. Principi<br />

Secretary of Veterans Affairs<br />

American <strong>Defenders</strong> of Bataan and Corregidor<br />

Hampton, VA<br />

May 19, 2001<br />

**<br />

Good evening, everyone. Commander (Joseph) Alexander;<br />

Commander-elect (Joe) Ward; Organization Nurse (Madeline)<br />

Ulllom; my fellow veterans, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you,<br />

Mr. (Ed) Jackfort (Master of Ceremonies), for that kind introduction.<br />

And thank you all for that warm reception.<br />

Six days from today, on May 25, the movie “Pearl Harbor”<br />

will open in theaters across the nation. The stirring events of<br />

sixty years ago will be made vividly real for a new generation of<br />

Americans — at a cost of $135 million.<br />

A new generation will see the forces of the Imperial Japanese<br />

Navy and Air Force treacherously attack Pearl Harbor and Oahu,<br />

spreading death and destruction wherever their bombers and<br />

fighters struck. The battle will be restaged using all the technical<br />

wizardry today’s Hollywood directors have at their disposal.<br />

Those who attend the movie will see a bomb heading from a<br />

plane directly at the USS Arizona. The bomb will bore through<br />

the Arizona’s decks, and rest in a room full of ammunition, just<br />

as it actually happened — and then, again just as it happened,<br />

the ship will be blown in two. More than a thousand lives were<br />

lost from this explosion back in 1941.<br />

The movie’s audiences will learn anew of the heroism of<br />

Pearl’s defenders — especially Navy Ship’s Cook Third Class<br />

Dorie Miller. Dorie Miller left his station on the USS West<br />

Virginia, saved the life of his captain, found an unmanned<br />

anti-aircraft gun, and used it to fire at the enemy’s planes.<br />

And they will hear the tale of General Jimmy Doolittle and<br />

his men, and their courageous bombing raid on Tokyo in 1942,<br />

which brought the war home to the Japanese people for the first<br />

time.<br />

The stories of Pearl Harbor and Doolittle’s raid have great<br />

importance in our nation’s history. They need to be told to every<br />

new generation of Americans. But the members of this organization<br />

have other stories to tell. And your stories also need to be<br />

told.<br />

Americans will see this movie from the standpoint of 2001;<br />

not 1941. They know that within four years, our nation emerged<br />

triumphant from the disaster of Pearl Harbor. And they know we<br />

have remained triumphant among nations; a beacon of liberty,<br />

justice, and democracy.<br />

It is easy to celebrate the heroism of Dorie Miller, and<br />

Doolittle’s raiders, and those who took part in all of our great<br />

victories in the war in the Pacific.<br />

And it is easy to declare, with hindsight, that our victory<br />

resulted largely from our industrial might, our natural resources,<br />

and the size of our population compared to Japan’s. And it is<br />

even easy to debate the use of the atomic bomb to end that war,<br />

as if there was any other choice.<br />

The great historian David McCullough has written: “History<br />

is a guide to navigation in perilous times.” It is easy for<br />

today’s statesmen to chart an incorrect course by confusing a<br />

cinematic version of the war with the war’s true history.<br />

Hollywood would have it that an aroused nation, awakened to its<br />

peril, armed itself after Pearl Harbor and achieved victory after<br />

glorious victory, culminating in the Japanese surrender on the<br />

battleship Missouri.<br />

It is easy to tell the story of our involvement in World War II<br />

as a tale of inevitable victory. But that would result in a false<br />

understanding of history, because it would omit the contribution<br />

that men and women like you made at a time when our victory<br />

was far from certain. And your contribution is a story that needs<br />

to be told.<br />

Your story includes the heroism of the 31st infantry regiment,<br />

and the 4th Marines, and the 28th Bomb Group, and the sailors at<br />

Cavite, and the other brave American men and women stationed<br />

throughout the Western Pacific on December 7, 1941.<br />

All of these men and women woke up on December 8 cut off<br />

from their country and the world — without a realistic chance to<br />

defeat the enemy if they were not reinforced; without a realistic<br />

prospect of receiving that reinforcement; and even without a<br />

realistic chance to be evacuated.<br />

Every new generation needs to be told that Americans lived<br />

and fought in 1941 and 1942 with no chance of victory for<br />

themselves, but with only the hope of delaying the enemy while<br />

our nation woke up to the consequences of war.<br />

Every new generation needs to be told that three days after<br />

Pearl Harbor, the Japanese sent three cruisers, six destroyers,<br />

and four transport ships to attack the four hundred and<br />

forty-nine Marines on Wake Island. And that the attackers were<br />

driven off by those Marines, and only a second attack group with<br />

heavy cruisers, more destroyers, two aircraft carriers and<br />

thousands of Japanese Marines could defeat these men.<br />

(Continued on Page 3)


2 — THE QUAN<br />

The<br />

JOSEPH WARD OMAR L. MCGUIRE JOHN M. REAL<br />

Commander Sr. Vice Commander Secretary<br />

451 Gilbert Lane 2850 ALDER 9349 Vassar St.<br />

San Antonio, TX 78213 Eugene, OR 97405 Ventura, CA 93003<br />

BRYON KEARBEY MRS. JEAN PRUITT<br />

Sr. Vice Commander Merchandise Sales<br />

9976 S.W. 183rd Corce 1231 Sweetwater-Vonore Road<br />

Dunnellon, FL 34432 Sweetwater, TN 37874<br />

MEMBERS OF THE INVESTMENT BOARD<br />

Joseph T. Poster — Permanent Secretary<br />

One Year Term (Class C) Two Year Term (Class B) Three Year Term (Class A)<br />

PNC Edward Jackfert PNC Joseph L. Alexander PNC Joseph Ward<br />

PNC Frank Bigelow PNC Roy Gentry PNC Ralph Levenberg<br />

PNC Walter Lamm PNC Henry J. Wilayto PNC James Flaitz<br />

EXECUTIVE BOARD<br />

Arthur Akullian Walter Lamm<br />

Fontaine P. Brownel Pete Locarnini<br />

Henry Cornellisson Norman R. Matthews<br />

Charles Dragich Bernard P. Miller<br />

Neal Harrington John Oliver<br />

Charles B. Heffron Ben Vaitkus<br />

Agapito Silva Albert Felsen<br />

All Incumbent State Commanders<br />

NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS<br />

801 Huntington Avenue, #53<br />

Warren, IN 46792<br />

CIRCULATION<br />

The “<strong>Quan</strong>”, the official publication of<br />

the American <strong>Defenders</strong> of Bataan &<br />

Corregidor Inc. It is published and<br />

circulated 5 times per year by A.D.B.C., a<br />

non-profit organization. It is printed and<br />

postage paid, mailed at Pittsburgh, PA<br />

Post office. Its official address is 18<br />

Warbler Dr., McKees Rocks, PA 15136.<br />

The publication is mailed free to all life<br />

members and widows of deceased members.<br />

Associate members may subscribe at $8.00<br />

per year in the United States.<br />

Dedicated to those persons both living and dead who fought against<br />

overwhelming odds against the enemy at the outbreak of World War II.<br />

Official Publication of the<br />

AMERICAN DEFENDERS OF BATAAN & CORREGIDOR, INC.<br />

(INCLUDING ANY UNIT OF FORCE OF THE ASIATIC FLEET, PHILIPPINE ARCHIPELAGO,<br />

WAKE ISLAND, MARIANA ISLAND, AND DUTCH EAST INDIES)<br />

PUBLISHED 5 TIMES A YEAR<br />

HONORARY OFFICERS<br />

Kenneth Wheeler USN Ret. ....................................................Vice/Adm. (SC)<br />

Harold E. Feiner .................................................Honorary Vice Commanders<br />

Paul Reuter<br />

Lt./Col. Madeline M. Ullom, ANC Ret.<br />

JOHN CRAGO PNC<br />

National Treasurer<br />

Convention Site Committee<br />

Membership Chairman<br />

United Methodist Memorial Home #53<br />

801 Huntington Ave.<br />

Warren, IN 46792<br />

219-375-2286<br />

JOSEPH A. VATER PNC<br />

Editor of <strong>Quan</strong><br />

Co-Chairman Site Committee<br />

18 Warbler Drive<br />

McKees Rocks, PA 15136<br />

412-771-3956<br />

ANDREW MILLER<br />

Historian<br />

1605 Cagua Drive N.E.<br />

Albuquerque, NM 87110<br />

REV. ROBERT W. PHILLIPS<br />

Chaplain<br />

200 Seneca Trail<br />

Maitland, FL 32751<br />

DR. WILLIAM R. BRENNER<br />

Surgeon<br />

1006 State St.<br />

Larned, KA 67550<br />

WINNERS<br />

The prize winners at the National<br />

Convention were:<br />

1. $400.00 50/50 winner<br />

John Chernitsky<br />

233 2nd St.<br />

Welburton, PA 17888<br />

2. 2 nights free lodging in San Antonio<br />

Genouieve Young<br />

6612 Northgate Parkway<br />

Clinton, MD 26735<br />

3. Cut glass logo<br />

Agnes Akullian<br />

2871 N. Ocean Blvd. D106<br />

Boca Raton, FL 33431<br />

Sincerely,<br />

John Crago<br />

Treasurer<br />

PAUL REUTER<br />

Adjutant & Legislative Officer<br />

516 Sandy Pl.<br />

Oxon Hill, MD 20745<br />

HAROLD E. FEINER<br />

Judge Advocate<br />

14565 S.E. 90th Ave.<br />

Summerfield, FL 34491<br />

TILLMAN J. RUTLEDGE<br />

VACS Representative<br />

9509 Coolbrook<br />

San Antonio, TX 78250-3440<br />

MARTIN S. CHRISTIE<br />

Necrology Committee Chrmn.<br />

23424 Mobile St.<br />

West Hills, CA 91307-3323<br />

JOSEPH L. ALEXANDER<br />

Past Commander<br />

9407 Fernglen<br />

San Antonio, TX 78240<br />

RALPH LEVENBERG, PNC<br />

Special Projects<br />

2716 Eastshore Dr.<br />

Reno, NV 89509<br />

PAST NATIONAL COMMANDERS<br />

Harold Spooner *John E. Le Clair *John R. Lyons<br />

*Rev. Albert D. Talbot *James K. Cavanaugh Ken Curley<br />

James McEvoy *Thomas A. Hackett Henry J. Wilayto<br />

*M/Gen. E.P. King Jr. *Bernard Grill *Charles Bloskis<br />

Simme Pickman Louis Scahwald Arthur Beale<br />

Albert Senna *Jerome A. McDavitt Andy Miller<br />

Maurice Mazer John M. Emerick *Joseph Matheny<br />

Joseph A. Vater Joseph T. Poster *George Wonneman<br />

*Lewis Goldstein *John Bennett Frank Bigelow<br />

*Albert C. Cimini *James D. Cantwell *Charles L. Pruitt<br />

*Samuel M. Bloom, M.D. Ralph Levenberg Melvin L. Routt<br />

*Kenneth J. Stull *Elmer F. Long, Jr. James R. Flaitz<br />

*Harry P. Menozzi *Philip Arslanian John Koot<br />

*John F. Ray John Rowland Roy Y. Gentry<br />

*Samuel B. Moody John Crago Edward Jackfert<br />

*Arthur A. Bressi Edward Jackfert Joseph L. Alexander<br />

2002<br />

THE CONVENTION<br />

WILL BE AT THE<br />

SAN ANTONIO<br />

OMNI HOTEL<br />

MAY 14 TO 19<br />

2002 —<br />

PLAN TO BE THERE


REMARKS (Continued from Page 1)<br />

At the beginning of the war, only you and your comrades stood<br />

between the enemy and victory. And you held the line, and did so<br />

magnificently, even at a terrible cost. As General Mac Arthur<br />

said: “The Bataan Garrison was destroyed due to its dreadful<br />

handicaps, but no Army in history more thoroughly<br />

accomplished its mission.”<br />

Without you, the sacrifices of the crew of the Arizona would<br />

have been in vain. The Doolittle raid would have been an empty<br />

gesture. And the name of Dorie Miller would have long been<br />

forgotten.<br />

I am reminded of the words of President John F. Kennedy. He<br />

said: “Without belittling the courage with which men have<br />

died, we should not forget those acts of courage with which<br />

men have lived. The courage of life is often a less dramatic<br />

spectacle than the courage of a final moment, but it is no<br />

less a magnificent mixture of triumph and tragedy.”<br />

Many men died at Pearl Harbor, at Wake Island, at Bataan<br />

and Corregidor, and throughout the Pacific theatre of war.<br />

Many who were taken captive along with you died in the<br />

course of their captivity.<br />

Next weekend, on Memorial Day, we will once again honor<br />

those who died alongside you, as we honor all our war dead. We<br />

honor them for their faithfulness to our nation, for their service<br />

and sacrifice, and for their unsurpassed courage.<br />

But we must also honor you, who fought so valiantly and<br />

endured so much in the name of freedom.<br />

Your story of steadfastness and loyalty again needs to be told.<br />

We must again tell the story of Bataan and Corregidor: of the<br />

10,000 Americans of Bataan who surrendered and were led on<br />

the Bataan death march, the thousand who died — and the 9,000<br />

who survived to face years of brutal and deadly captivity.<br />

We must again tell the story of the men of Corregidor, kept<br />

prisoner for three and one half years, and all who were held by<br />

the Japanese in conditions so horrible that more than 37% of all<br />

those imprisoned died in captivity.<br />

We must remind a new generation of the slave labor you were<br />

forced to endure, and the cruel and unusual punishments, and<br />

the medical experiments.<br />

Your story must be told because your courage — and your<br />

heroism — was what led us on to victory.<br />

Most Americans have no idea what it is like to be in combat.<br />

But you have all known combat — both the physical kind,<br />

and the special kind that a prisoner of war faces.<br />

In combat, the enemy is largely unseen. He is somewhere out<br />

there, until the moment the shooting begins, and even<br />

afterwards. And when the shooting stops, the battle stops. There<br />

are opportunities for a hot meal, for a furlough, even for reassignment<br />

once physical limits are reached.<br />

But to a prisoner of war, the enemy is everywhere. He controls<br />

your fate, your future, even your bodily functions. You are at war<br />

at every second. Your diet is always the same. You are never<br />

given leave. You can never leave the combat zone. Even today,<br />

more than fifty-five years after the end of your captivity, your<br />

lives are still shaped by your experiences.<br />

Your victory was measured in your survival, and in maintaining<br />

your faith and your loyalty to your country, when the reward for<br />

maintaining that loyalty was continued starvation — and death.<br />

Your strong heart, great spirit, and unyielding faith served as<br />

an inspiration to the rest of us. You placed honor before everything,<br />

even before having a whole self.<br />

You absorbed with your own bodies the blows that were<br />

intended by our enemies for our nation and its people, and you<br />

sacrificed your own freedom for the freedom of the world.<br />

And finally, you returned from your service, regained your<br />

rightful place in our society, and strengthened your families,<br />

your communities, and our nation through your example of<br />

courage, and loyalty and continued good citizenship.<br />

Your role in rebuilding America after the war is a story that<br />

also must be told.<br />

We at the Department of Veterans Affairs honor your service,<br />

and are grateful for your sacrifices.<br />

As former Prisoners of War, you are entitled to special<br />

benefits from our department. We recognize that the physical<br />

hardships and psychological stress you endured in your captivity<br />

has had a life-long effect on the health of many of you, and on<br />

your readjustment to society.<br />

We provide compensation for many disabilities that may have<br />

been brought on by your captivity — and are still looking for<br />

other linkages that may become manifest as you age.<br />

Our national outreach program works to educate all former<br />

prisoners of wars about VA benefits and services you may be<br />

entitled to.<br />

And it is my highest priority as Secretary to improve the<br />

timeliness and accuracy with which we process benefits claims,<br />

both yours and those of every other veteran.<br />

Some of you may know that it now takes nearly nine months<br />

for us to process the average claim for benefits. You have earned<br />

better service than that. And you will get it.<br />

Let me conclude with the words of television commentator Tom<br />

Brokaw. I’m sure most of you know his book, The Greatest<br />

Generation. It is about the men and women who, like you, came of<br />

age in the 1940’s. This generation heard first-hand of your ordeals;<br />

was inspired by your example, and rejoiced at your freedom.<br />

You are among the greatest of the greatest generation. This<br />

is what Brokaw wrote of you, and those who served with you:<br />

“At a time in their lives when their days and nights<br />

should have been filled with innocent adventure, love,<br />

and the lessons of the workday world, (American soldiers,<br />

sailors, airmen, Marines and Coastguardsmen) …<br />

answered the call to save the world from the two most<br />

powerful and ruthless military machines ever assembled,<br />

instruments of conquest in the hands of fascist maniacs.<br />

They faced great odds and a late start, but they did not<br />

protest. They succeeded on every front. They won the<br />

war; they saved the world.”<br />

So do not despair if you go to see the movie about Pearl<br />

Harbor, and you do not recognize yourself and your experiences<br />

in Hollywood’s depiction of your war.<br />

Remember that others know of your loyalty to our country,<br />

your contribution to our victory, and the many sacrifices you<br />

have offered for her freedom.<br />

And of the strength you showed in resisting the enemy despite<br />

hopeless odds, and in continuing to resist despite your captivity.<br />

When they were asked what they needed, they asked only<br />

one thing. “Send us more Japs,” the commanding officer said.<br />

“Send us more Japs.”<br />

And though these American troops knew that they faced<br />

certain captivity or death, they fought as bravely and as well as<br />

any man in the United States has ever sent into battle. Fifteen<br />

hundred Japanese were killed in the assault on Wake Island.<br />

Only forty-nine Marines and three sailors died.<br />

And every new generation needs to be told that fifteen days<br />

after Pearl Harbor, in Lingayen Bay, the Japanese fourteenth army<br />

invaded Luzon. And though desperately short of food, medicine and<br />

ammunition, the Battling Bastards of Bataan and the defenders of<br />

the Rock fought ferociously until the following May.<br />

Those who fought on Bataan and Corregidor did more than<br />

resist the enemy to the utmost of their ability. They stopped the<br />

Japanese in their tracks, and gave our nation precious time to<br />

recruit and train the men and women who would eventually win<br />

the war — and build the ships, planes and guns that were the<br />

tools we needed to win.<br />

And they rallied a nation made fearful by Pearl Harbor —<br />

and reminded our citizens that the American fighting man was<br />

the equal, or the superior, of any other fighting man on the face<br />

of the earth.<br />

The Japanese won great tactical victories at the beginning of<br />

the war. We were not ready for the preparations a totalitarian<br />

nation, shaped by leaders who glorified war, had made for conquest.<br />

(Continued on Page 4)<br />

JULY, 2001 — 3


REMARKS (Continued from Page 3)<br />

Remember, too, that our ultimate victory in World War II,<br />

and our continued prosperity today, rests in no small measure on<br />

your accomplishments during that war.<br />

And that the tales of your great heroism will be told, again<br />

and again, from generation to generation, for as long as our<br />

republic shall stand.<br />

You are but mortal men and women, but your steadfast courage<br />

and dedication gave you the strength to achieve immortal acts. And<br />

those acts must be acknowledged in perpetual stone.<br />

Your story, your service, and your sacrifice are irrefutable<br />

testimony that a memorial to the veterans of World War II must<br />

be built on the National Mall in Washington — now!<br />

May God bless all of you.<br />

THE CHAPLAIN’S CORNER<br />

“Remembering those who died for this Country”<br />

Again this year I was asked to give the Invocation at the Orlando area’s premier<br />

Memorial Day Service, done at Woodlawn Cemetery. The program is always well done and<br />

I feel it a privilege to participate.<br />

Being an active participant requires that I give prayerful consideration to the fullness<br />

of the sacrifices made by Americans in the defense of our country; it lifts me out of the war<br />

of our experiences and opens my eyes and heart to the greater sacrifices. I remember<br />

looking out over the graves of the half-million Russians who died while defending<br />

Stalingrad from the German armies. I think about the American Cemeteries abroad; for<br />

example at Luxembourg. The list is long.<br />

Those are humbling moments; they help me put “our war” into perspective.<br />

You and I cannot fully appreciate the price paid by our European Theater veterans;<br />

nor can they fully appreciate our own struggles. Distance and time dim our visions and our<br />

perspective. “Our war” was an important part of the American people’s commitment to<br />

bring tyranny to its knees. I am proud for my small part in that struggle. Emphasis on<br />

“small part”.<br />

Last week I received a message from the family of an aircrew member; it was entitled,<br />

“Do you remember Ben?” I omit the last name out of respect for the family. The family has<br />

written a web site in his honor. Ben was a crew member on a B-29 that was severely<br />

damaged on May 29, 1945 during a raid over the Tokyo area. The B-29 flew most of the<br />

way to Iwo Jima before crashing into the Pacific; there were no survivors.<br />

I never knew Ben to speak to him, but I saw a hundred Bens fly out over the bay. May<br />

29 was one of several such nights when I saw ten B-29s, crippled by Japanese anti-aircraft<br />

fire, often on fire, headed out to sea, hoping to rendezvous with a rescue ship or submarine.<br />

Many of them would simply disappear and their crews would be listed “Missing at sea”.<br />

I thanked Ben’s family for his fighting to bring Japan to its knees and for the new<br />

lease on life that I received from that victory. He left a widow and four small children. They<br />

all paid a price for that victory.<br />

The family’s devotion in writing the “Do you know Ben?” web site, touched me deeply.<br />

If you want to get to know Ben a little you may do so by logging onto this Web Site:<br />

http://hometown.aol.com/foxroam/yglesias.htm<br />

Jesus said, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his<br />

friends”. Ben might not have planned to lay down his life that night, but his obedience to<br />

duty put him on a collision course with being “Missing at Sea”.<br />

May God bless all those who laid down their lives in the name of Freedom; our<br />

Freedom.<br />

In His service,<br />

Fr. Bob Phillips+<br />

National Chaplain<br />

American <strong>Defenders</strong> of Bataan and Corregidor<br />

ADBC WEB SITE GROWS<br />

The ADBC Web Site continues to grow<br />

and now contains even more pages of helpful<br />

information. It now has a new Internet<br />

address; you can visit our Site by entering<br />

the following URL into your browser:<br />

.<br />

Please visit our Site and meet some old<br />

friends, make some new ones, send us<br />

your biographical sketch (digital photos<br />

welcome). Read about future conventions,<br />

4 — THE QUAN<br />

reunions and meetings; find out how you<br />

can find help with your VA claim; many<br />

more things. Go there for names and<br />

addresses of all of your elected and<br />

appointed officers. Send us your e-mail<br />

address, etc. so we can post your name on<br />

the Web Site.<br />

For more information e-mail me at:<br />

frphillips@sprintmail.com or other<br />

Committee members: Martin Christie:<br />

or Warren Jorgenson:<br />

<br />

GENERAL “TRAP”<br />

9000 Belvoir Woods Pky.<br />

Apt. 408<br />

Fort Belvoir, VA 22060<br />

12 April 2001<br />

Dear Sir,<br />

I have just seen my first copy of The<br />

<strong>Quan</strong>, sent to Lt. Gen. Thomas J.H.<br />

Trapnell, a resident in the Health Care<br />

Center of the retirement community<br />

where my wife and I live in Independent<br />

Living. Since I am assisting the General<br />

with his correspondence and some other<br />

matters I thought I should send you some<br />

information on him.<br />

Your publication lists a number of<br />

deceased American <strong>Defenders</strong> of Bataan<br />

and Corregidor. Perhaps you could include<br />

an article on General Trapnell while he<br />

lives as there are probably some who will<br />

have known him in the <strong>Philippine</strong>s or at<br />

one of the various Japanese Prisoner of<br />

War Camps. I believe General Trapnell is<br />

the highest ranking survivor of the death<br />

march and imprisonment for 3 1 ⁄2 years and<br />

may be the oldest survivor.<br />

General Trapnell, known to everyone as<br />

Trap, was a Major in the 26th Cavalry<br />

Regiment, <strong>Philippine</strong> Scouts when he was<br />

captured but not until he had earned a<br />

Distinguished Service Cross for his<br />

actions in delaying the Japanese attack.<br />

He survived the Death March and was<br />

first imprisoned in Camp O’Donnell. He<br />

was later imprisoned at Cabanatuan in<br />

the <strong>Philippine</strong>s. In December of 1944 he<br />

was on the unmarked Oryoku Maru which<br />

was sunk by Navy pilots. The Japanese<br />

picked him up out of the water and he was<br />

placed on the unmarked Enoura Maru<br />

which was soon sunk and put him in the<br />

water again. Eventually he was taken to<br />

Japan and shortly before the war ended<br />

was transferred to Manchuria where he<br />

was liberated in August 1945.<br />

Trap returned as a Lt. Col. I am not<br />

sure of all the units he served in when he<br />

returned to the states but they included<br />

the 187th Airborne RCT, 4th Armored<br />

Division, 82nd Airborne Division and then<br />

retired as CG of 3rd Army.<br />

Last year Trap was invited, by the<br />

White House protocol office, to attend the<br />

Memorial Day services at Arlington<br />

Cemetery where I was honored to introduce<br />

him to President Clinton, to three of<br />

the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Senator Dole and<br />

various other senior officers.<br />

We were taken to Arlington from Ft.<br />

Meyer, Virginia and Trap pointed out to me<br />

where he had played polo with Generals<br />

Wainwright and Patton in 1933-34.<br />

His health remains good. He still reads<br />

a daily paper without glasses. He has<br />

never complained about his imprisonment,<br />

in fact, he claims to have been one of the<br />

lucky ones. At 98 he remains a soldier and<br />

a gentleman.<br />

Sincerely,<br />

Gerald A. Clausing<br />

LTC (Ret)


BUSH HONORS VETS BY<br />

SIGNING BILL FOR<br />

WWII MONUMENT<br />

By TRACI WATSON<br />

USA Today<br />

WASHINGTON — President Bush used<br />

Memorial Day to sign a bill establishing a<br />

World War II memorial on the National<br />

Mall, settling a question over the monument’s<br />

location and design.<br />

Bush’s signature ensures that the $160<br />

million memorial, a series of pillars and<br />

arches, will be built between the<br />

Washington Monument and Lincoln<br />

Memorial. Critics contend it will ruin<br />

what is now an uninterrupted vista<br />

between the two structures.<br />

Meanwhile, many celebrated the holiday<br />

by seeing the World War II epic Pearl<br />

Harbor, which garnered an estimated $75<br />

million in ticket sales over the four-day<br />

weekend, and by attending ceremonies<br />

and parades around the nation.<br />

In New York City, sailors unfurled a<br />

100-foot-long American flag. Four cere -<br />

monial wreaths were dropped into the<br />

Hudson River as more than 1,200 guests<br />

and dignitaries observed from the flight<br />

deck of the USS Intrepid, a floating<br />

military museum.<br />

At Arlington National Cemetery in<br />

Virginia, a crowd that included former<br />

senator Bob Dole, a World War II veteran,<br />

gathered to watch Bush lay a wreath of<br />

red, white and blue flowers at the marble<br />

Tomb of the Unknowns.<br />

“Their losses can be marked, but not<br />

measured,” Bush said. “We can never<br />

measure the full value of what was gained<br />

in their sacrifice.”<br />

BY DUDLEY M. BROOKS — THE WASHINGTON POST<br />

Commander Joseph Alexander watches, as veterans and lawmakers look on,<br />

President Bush signs a bill ordering the building of the World War II Memorial<br />

on the Mall.<br />

In Washington, a solemn ceremony at<br />

the Vietnam Veterans Memorial drew<br />

thousands of people. It honored six men<br />

whose names were inscribed a few weeks<br />

ago on the memorial’s black granite walls.<br />

Some of the men died decades ago. One —<br />

Billy Smith — died in 1995 of war-related<br />

injuries.<br />

Michael Smith of Arlington, Texas,<br />

choked up and halted several times as he<br />

read the six names, including that of his<br />

brother, Billy.<br />

Billy Smith was a member of the Army<br />

Special Forces in Vietnam. In 1963, he<br />

was shot in the head and became a<br />

quadri plegic. His family cared for him<br />

until he died in October 1995. The Defense<br />

Department concluded that the wounds he<br />

had suffered in Vietnam caused his death.<br />

Seeing his brother’s name on the wall<br />

with 58,225 others, Michael Smith said,<br />

“means fulfillment. He’s with his friends<br />

now, all 58,000 of them.”<br />

Michelle Cressel of Leesburg, Va., came<br />

to see the name of her father, who died<br />

when she was a year old. She brought her<br />

son Sam, 5, in hopes that Memorial Day<br />

will never be “just another day” to him.<br />

“Those men and women made us who<br />

we are,” Cressel said, adding that children<br />

“should know that. My child will know<br />

that.”<br />

Others had no personal tie to the<br />

Vietnam War but came hoping to understand<br />

the intensity of the emotions<br />

surrounding it.<br />

“Being so far removed, I find it difficult,”<br />

said Evan Farber, a student at<br />

Pennsylvania State University. “As an<br />

American, though, you do have some<br />

feeling, even if you weren’t directly<br />

involved.”<br />

PHILIPPINES WWII-TODAY<br />

Steve Watson — in the <strong>Philippine</strong>s<br />

The Infamous Death March of WWII,<br />

today, is retraced by another group. Young<br />

Japanese Peach Cyclists from Japan are<br />

commemorating this suffering-stretch-ofroad<br />

from Bagac, Bataan to Capas, Tarlac,<br />

by touring their peace bikes. The event is<br />

a peace for cause affair involving twenty<br />

bikers condemning their forefather<br />

soldiers for WWII war crimes in the<br />

<strong>Philippine</strong>s. The pilgrimage will terminate<br />

at the recently erected WWII Memorial for<br />

the thousands of Allied troops<br />

interned/imprisoned there.<br />

This Camp O’Donnell Monument was<br />

established on 4-7-00 at Capas, Tarlac,<br />

and replaces the former memorial at<br />

Bamban, Capas, which is presently falling<br />

into ruins. Its demise was due primarily<br />

by the Mt. Pinatubo volcano eruption of<br />

June 23, 1990, and the 7.4 intensity<br />

Earthquake on July 16, 1991.<br />

The new monument, museum, and<br />

historical structures containing over 1600<br />

deceased POWs, is policed by the <strong>Philippine</strong><br />

Army in situ, and cared for by the Battling<br />

Bastards of Bataan of the ADBC.<br />

The Peace Cyclists from Japan are<br />

commemorating this movement annually<br />

in the <strong>Philippine</strong>s and in other Southeast<br />

Asian countries where the Japanese<br />

committed war crimes.<br />

CWO-4 Steve Watson, USCG RET/<br />

USCGA, is an ADBC member residing in<br />

the <strong>Philippine</strong>s, who renders voluntary<br />

community service to members of ADBC,<br />

promoting the best interests of the U.S.<br />

Coast Guard Auxiliary. He may be<br />

reached at: PSC 517, Box RCB, FPO AP<br />

96517-1000.<br />

————————<br />

SUPPLIES ADDRESS<br />

American <strong>Defenders</strong> of Bataan<br />

and Corregidor<br />

18 Warbler Drive<br />

McKees Rocks, PA 15136<br />

Gentlemen:<br />

I learned from my cousin that you were<br />

trying to find the address of some POWs,<br />

including my father, Irving Nile Akers.<br />

Dad died 2 years ago, and his last address<br />

was Box 233, Rural Retreat, VA. That is<br />

where he grew up and then lived out his<br />

life after the war.<br />

Dad was active in the North China<br />

Marines, having been an embassy guard<br />

in Peking when the war started and having<br />

been captured there.<br />

Please let me know if you need further<br />

information.<br />

Sincerely,<br />

Frank Akers<br />

1750 Crockett Lane<br />

Hillsborough, CA 94010<br />

JULY, 2001 — 5


Nurse Sally B. Millet, Mrs. Elizabeth Principi and Nurse Eunice C. Tyler at<br />

National Convention.<br />

BATAAN SURVIVORS MEET<br />

IN VENTURA<br />

They look like tourists, these 30 or so<br />

elderly men who have come to Ventura for<br />

a reunion of sorts.<br />

For the most part, their attire is<br />

comfortable slacks, colorful sport shirts<br />

and, on the occasional bald or graying<br />

head, baseball or military-type caps that<br />

identify their past.<br />

The men are survivors, once warriors<br />

who had the misfortune to be in the wrong<br />

place at the wrong time, who witnessed<br />

and endured man’s inhumanity to man.<br />

Fifty-nine years after their country<br />

could neither help nor rescue them, they<br />

still call themselves the Battling Bastards<br />

of Bataan.<br />

“No mama, no poppa, no Uncle Sam —<br />

and nobody gives a damn!”<br />

It was Peter Locarnini of San Leandro<br />

who spoke the way he and his starving,<br />

disease-ridden comrades felt in The<br />

<strong>Philippine</strong>s in April 1942. They were little<br />

more than frustrated, frightened teenagers<br />

feeling the awful dread of having to<br />

put down their weapons and give their<br />

lives to people who hated them.<br />

It was such a long time ago.<br />

But the memories burn within; there is<br />

no forgetting.<br />

Today, these survivors are members of<br />

the Western States Chapter of the<br />

American <strong>Defenders</strong> of Bataan and<br />

Corregidor. They have chosen Ventura to<br />

be the site of this year’s annual three-day<br />

meeting, where they will choose a new<br />

commander and officers for their organization,<br />

which is steadily losing members to<br />

the vagaries of old age.<br />

6 — THE QUAN<br />

PLEASE HELP<br />

Mr. PHB Tripp<br />

14 Tencreek Avenue<br />

Penzance<br />

Cornwall<br />

U.K. TR18 2QB<br />

TEL: 01736 365223<br />

Dear Sir:<br />

Please could you publish the following<br />

details with my address above in your<br />

publication ASAP.<br />

I obtained your address from Gleneth<br />

Berry, of 167 South Wheeling Circle,<br />

Aurora, CO 80012-5358.<br />

My father was Cyril Tripp, a signalman<br />

from the British cruiser, HMS Exeter sunk<br />

in the Java Sea, March 1, 1942. He was a<br />

POW for approximately six months at<br />

Makassar, Celebes, Indonesia and after<br />

which was transported to Japan to<br />

Nagasaki, Fukuoka camp 2. He worked as<br />

a riveter for three years, up until the<br />

A-bomb dropped. He was injured in the dry<br />

dock there and broke his arm and ribs and<br />

spent a long time in the sick bay at the<br />

camp. He was taken out of Nagasaki by the<br />

carrier USS CHENANGO. Is there anyone<br />

who knew him or can give me any details of<br />

the camp or what happened while there, or<br />

any little bit of information, no matter how<br />

small. At the time he was 20 years old<br />

when captured, he died in 1974 aged only<br />

51. Dad did not talk about his time there<br />

but I am trying to piece together some sort<br />

of picture to write a book about him. Also I<br />

would be delighted to contact children of<br />

US POW’s from that battle.<br />

Please write to me at the address or even<br />

better e-mail me at Tripcony@aol.com.<br />

Yours sincerely,<br />

Phil Tripp<br />

PHILIPPINES WWII-TODAY<br />

Steve Watson<br />

in the <strong>Philippine</strong>s<br />

Bilibid Prison of WWII at Mantinlupa<br />

in south Manila, has been occupied by 300<br />

makeshift squatter family shacks in its<br />

sprawling compound. Prison inmates of<br />

the over 500 hectares New Bilibid Prison<br />

are being used to dismantle several such<br />

squatter colonies inside of the <strong>Philippine</strong><br />

National Penitentiary. Mantinlupa City,<br />

today, has over one half million population,<br />

and is located between Laguna Lake<br />

and Manila Bay, in a geographic area<br />

known today as the National Capitol<br />

Region.<br />

Bilibid Prison contains a collapsible<br />

lethal death chamber that tells a story of<br />

heartbreaking executions. There is a<br />

pending bill to abolish executions in the<br />

<strong>Philippine</strong>s.<br />

The inmates habitually bury hand<br />

weapons in the sprawling grounds of the<br />

penitentiary. In the past year, over 200<br />

buried weapons have been uncovered,<br />

among which were live grenades, homemade<br />

hand guns, and a shotgun. Drug<br />

smuggling is also a problem.<br />

Present prison population stands at<br />

about 15,000, none of whom remember the<br />

original Bilibid POW Prison of WWII<br />

American and Filipino Allied Armed<br />

Forces. These were liberated by the Allied<br />

Forces in 1944 from their Japanese<br />

Occupation Forces. There is still a handful<br />

of WWII Filipino Veterans around the<br />

<strong>Philippine</strong>s who were POWs at Bilibid.<br />

These veterans, in their 70’s and 80’s,<br />

belong to the Veterans Federation of the<br />

<strong>Philippine</strong>s. The writer’s father in law,<br />

Romy P. Ladia, is one of these veterans<br />

Ilicano Guerrilla Fighter from the<br />

boondocks of San Quintin, Pangasinan<br />

who was a POW at Sison, Pangasinan.<br />

CWO Steve Watson, USCG RET,<br />

USCGA, resides in the <strong>Philippine</strong>s, and<br />

renders voluntary community service to<br />

members of ADRC, which serves the best<br />

interests of the U.S. Coast Guard<br />

Auxiliary. He may be reached at his<br />

military address: PSC 517, Box RCB, FPO<br />

AP 96517-1000.<br />

————————<br />

FONTONA VILLAGE<br />

The 38th Annual Reunion of Survivors<br />

of Bataan & Corregidor and other former<br />

Prisoners of the Far East will be held in<br />

Fontona Village Aug. 25 to 28, 2001.<br />

Guests are welcome.<br />

For information call Wayne Carringer,<br />

828-479-6203. For reservations,<br />

800-849-2258.


THE NATIONAL D-DAY MUSEUM<br />

Dedication of Pacific Wing<br />

Dear Mr. Vater:<br />

On Friday, December 7, 2001, the<br />

National D-Day Museum will dedicate its<br />

Pacific Wing to honor the Veterans of the<br />

Pacific invasion forces, their families and<br />

the Home Front Workers. Sixty years<br />

after the Japanese launched the attack,<br />

the Museum will open this Wing to commemorate<br />

the valor of the men and<br />

women who fought in the Pacific and<br />

those that supported their efforts on the<br />

Home Front.<br />

I am writing to extend an invitation to<br />

you and your membership to attend and<br />

participate in the events that have been<br />

planned to commemorate this dedication<br />

which will take place December 5-8, 2001.<br />

I have enclosed a schedule of the planned<br />

events for your review.<br />

The National D-Day Museum is the<br />

only museum in America dedicated to the<br />

remembrance of all of the amphibious<br />

invasions of World War II, in both the<br />

European and Pacific Theaters. The<br />

Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of<br />

Veterans Affairs, the Service Secretaries<br />

and Service Chiefs, and many other dignitaries<br />

are expected to attend.<br />

One of the highlights of the Opening<br />

last June, and again this year, will be a<br />

major military parade. We will again feature<br />

veterans of the “greatest generation”<br />

riding in military vehicles in the parade.<br />

We would urge your organization to nominate<br />

20-25 veterans, particularly of the<br />

Pacific Theater, to ride in the parade.<br />

Further, we extend a special invitation<br />

to the head of your organization at that<br />

time to be a special guest of the Museum<br />

during this celebration. For now, please<br />

pencil-in these events on your calendar.<br />

More details, including news releases and<br />

other information, will follow in the next<br />

several months. Your assistance in<br />

making these plans available to your<br />

membership, through your publication,<br />

would be gratefully appreciated. Also, it<br />

would be helpful if you could advise us of<br />

any specific efforts to publicize these<br />

important events.<br />

I am requesting Bill Detweiler, a Past<br />

National Commander of The American<br />

Legion and our Veterans Liaison Officer,<br />

to provide you with information on a<br />

regular basis for your use in properly<br />

informing your membership of the development<br />

of our dedication events and their<br />

participation in these events. Commander<br />

Detweiler is available to answer any<br />

questions about the planned events, the<br />

Museum and its mission.<br />

Looking forward to extending a warm<br />

welcome to your membership and extending<br />

to them the honor they deserve, I<br />

remain,<br />

Very truly yours,<br />

Dr. Gordon H. “Nick” Mueller<br />

Chairman<br />

cc: Mr. Donald T. “Boysie” Bollinger<br />

Mr. William M. Detweiler<br />

110 Veterans Memorial Blvd.,<br />

Ste. 106A<br />

Metairie, Louisiana 70005<br />

(504) 834-1700<br />

(504) 834-1720 (fax)<br />

PNCWMD@aol.com<br />

————————<br />

INQUIRY<br />

Dear Mr. Vater,<br />

I am writing you to inquire about survivors<br />

of Bataan and Corregidor. I got<br />

your address from the VFW national<br />

headquarters.<br />

My great-grandfather, a Warrant<br />

Officer in the U.S. Army, in WWI &<br />

WWII, was on Bataan at its fall. He was a<br />

prisoner of war for the rest of the war.<br />

That is all that my grandfather will tell<br />

me. My great-grandfather, Ralph Edwin<br />

Ellis (Sr.), passed on several years before I<br />

was born.<br />

I would like to know if there are any<br />

survivors in your organization, whom<br />

would be willing to correspond with me<br />

about WWII, Bataan and their experiences<br />

as a P.O.W.<br />

If this is possible, and someone is<br />

willing to wrote to me, please let me know.<br />

My address is:<br />

Rhianna Schoonover<br />

6603A W. Columbine Dr.<br />

USAF Academy, CO 80840<br />

My e-mail address is:<br />

rmschoon@yahoo.com<br />

Many thanks for all your help and time.<br />

Sincerely<br />

Rhianna M. Schoonover<br />

————————<br />

AREA STUDENTS PARTICIPATE<br />

Dear Joe:<br />

About a month before the ADBC<br />

Western States Chapter met in Ventura<br />

(April 3-4-5) I contacted the history<br />

department heads in our three high<br />

schools and left messages they were free<br />

to borrow our History Channel video “The<br />

Bataan Death March” and briefly told<br />

them about the ADBC Convention coming<br />

to our city. Only one teacher returned the<br />

calls and the results of our cooperative<br />

efforts is enclosed.<br />

The “Welcome” banner was put up in<br />

our hospitality room and was really appreciated<br />

by the men. It seemed there was<br />

always someone in front of it reading the<br />

notes from the students. I had the notes<br />

typed and a booklet for each P.O.W.<br />

survivor was handed out at the banquet.<br />

I would like to encourage other chapters<br />

to include the students to help keep the<br />

P.O.W. stories alive. It is sad that there is<br />

so little if any, in their history books<br />

written about Bataan and Corregidor.<br />

Yours truly,<br />

Trudy Real<br />

(805) 642-5142<br />

A friend sent me this and I am sending<br />

it on to a few of you that I think might be<br />

interested in this. Please pass it on to anyone<br />

you think might find it helpful.<br />

Thanks.<br />

—Susan<br />

HOW TO SURVIVE A HEART<br />

ATTACK WHEN ALONE<br />

You’re driving home alone after a<br />

stressful day at the office. Suddenly, you<br />

start experiencing severe pain in your<br />

chest that starts to radiate out into your<br />

arm and up into your jaw. You are only<br />

about five miles from the hospital nearest<br />

your home, but you don’t know if you’ll be<br />

able to make it that far. What can you do?<br />

You’ve been trained in CPR but the guy<br />

who organized the course neglected to tell<br />

you how to perform it on yourself. Many<br />

people are alone when they suffer a heart<br />

attack, so what can you do?<br />

Without help, a person whose heart<br />

stops beating properly begins to feel faint<br />

and has only about 10 seconds left before<br />

losing consciousness. However, these<br />

victims can help themselves by coughing<br />

repeatedly and very vigorously. A deep<br />

breath should be taken before each cough,<br />

and the cough must be deep and<br />

prolonged, as when producing sputum<br />

from deep inside the chest.<br />

A breath and a cough must be repeated<br />

about every two seconds without let up<br />

until help arrives, or until the heart is felt<br />

to be beating normally. Deep breaths get<br />

oxygen into the lungs and coughing<br />

movements squeeze the heart and keep<br />

the blood circulating. The squeezing<br />

pressure on the heart also helps it regain<br />

normal rhythm. In this way, heart attack<br />

victims can get to a phone and, between<br />

breaths, call for help.<br />

You’ll be giving yourself CPR with this<br />

technique. I figure if this saves one life it’s<br />

worth passing on.<br />

The above was taken from Health<br />

Cares, Rochester General Hospital via<br />

Chapter 240’s newsletter AND THE<br />

BEAT GOES ON …<br />

————————<br />

www.justiceforveterans.org<br />

This website should be up and<br />

running by Memorial Day. Look for it!<br />

It will keep you informed about<br />

significant developments in the POW<br />

litigation against Japanese companies.<br />

The website will also assist you in<br />

communicating with members of Congress<br />

concerning THE JUSTICE FOR POWs<br />

ACT OF 2001, which will remove obstacles<br />

to the POW litigation.<br />

HERMAN, MATHIS, CASEY &<br />

KITCHENS, LLP<br />

Attorneys at Law<br />

Atlanta and Savannah, Georgia;<br />

New Orleans, Louisiana; Jackson,<br />

Mississippi; San Diego, California<br />

JULY, 2001 — 7


James Hildebrand<br />

Catherine Hildebrand<br />

John Cherhisky<br />

Frances Lype<br />

Merle Lype<br />

Betty Edsall<br />

Glenda Elliott<br />

John Crago<br />

Florence Crago<br />

Georgia Jordon<br />

Hellen Vater<br />

Joe Vater<br />

Warren Jorgenson<br />

Ruth Jorgenson<br />

Ruth Wright<br />

James Wright<br />

Brocky Wright<br />

Ann Kreyssig<br />

Bill Kreyssig<br />

Ben Steele<br />

Shirley Steele<br />

Leora Schermenhorn<br />

Jim Schermenhorn<br />

Bess Hoskins<br />

Col. Stuart Hoskins<br />

Walter Lamm<br />

Henrietta Jackfert<br />

Edward Jackfert<br />

Shirley Graham<br />

Charles Graham<br />

Mary Leonard<br />

Sarah Leonard<br />

Oscar Leonard<br />

Audry Hamilton<br />

Weldon Hamilton<br />

Gerry Cantwell<br />

Pat Jakson<br />

Norma Alexander<br />

Joseph Alexander<br />

Dorothy Mosher<br />

Francis Mosher<br />

Harry Rosenberry<br />

Nancy Rosenberry<br />

Robert Phillips<br />

Audry Phillips<br />

Carl Roy<br />

Anna Roy<br />

Mary Jaggers<br />

Mary Edwards<br />

Randall Edwards<br />

Neal Harrington<br />

John Real<br />

Trudy Real<br />

Paige Code<br />

Frank Bigelow<br />

Genevieve Young<br />

Milton Young<br />

Charles Balaza<br />

Marie Balaza<br />

Margaret Palmer<br />

Joseph Poster<br />

Eileen Kneafsey<br />

Jim Kneafsey<br />

Wilma Trout<br />

George Purvis<br />

Minnie Purvis<br />

Bob Martindale<br />

Henry Cornellisson<br />

Genie Cornellisson<br />

8 — THE QUAN<br />

ATTENDANCE AT HAMPTON, VA 2001<br />

Helen Troy<br />

Janice Riley<br />

Jeanne Riley<br />

Chester Kazmerczak<br />

Vivian Kazmerczak<br />

Joseph Ward<br />

Alice Ward<br />

Dorothy Felsen<br />

Albert Felsen<br />

Audrey Brill<br />

Ira Wofford<br />

Everett Reamer<br />

Bernice Reamer<br />

Rusty Slocumb<br />

Sally Millett<br />

Lillian Carrarini<br />

Harry Carrarini<br />

Kay Sandor<br />

Kathy Sandor<br />

Robert Brown<br />

Frank Smith<br />

Jessie Smith<br />

Quentin Sabatta<br />

Phyllis Sabatta<br />

Laeko Saramoto<br />

Nori Nagasawa<br />

Marvella Provost<br />

Ted Provost<br />

Jenness Workman<br />

Jean Pruitt<br />

Beverly McKendree<br />

Alan McKendree<br />

Bishop McKendree<br />

Cecelia Ayres<br />

Dorothy Dermont<br />

Wanda Woodall<br />

Paul Reuter<br />

Niki Reuter<br />

Mary Kay Schmeusser<br />

Louis Lachman<br />

Malcolm Amos<br />

Raymond Pelkey<br />

Linda Pelkey<br />

David Beauvais<br />

Carlos Montoya<br />

Betty Montoya<br />

Harold Spooner<br />

Ruth Ruth<br />

Donnie Russell Mathis<br />

Rose Bridges<br />

Mona Ventrusa<br />

Lee Koth<br />

Jill Koth<br />

John Oliver<br />

Dawn Oliver<br />

Mildred Arslanian<br />

Mary Bosce<br />

Margaret Zorzanello<br />

Baselio Zorzanello<br />

Oleda Alvey<br />

Ben Vaitkus<br />

John B. Lewis<br />

John L. Lewis<br />

Richard Roper<br />

John Tuggle<br />

Evelyn Merritt<br />

Hugh Merritt<br />

Garden Merritt<br />

Alice Merritt<br />

Dorothy Patrizio<br />

Arthur Akullian<br />

Agnes Akullian<br />

Melvin Routt<br />

James Brown<br />

Pauline Brown<br />

Vicki Wright<br />

Rebecca Moulden<br />

Eugene Bleil<br />

James Downey Jr.<br />

Frances Downey<br />

Gary Downey<br />

Angie Downey<br />

Tina Downey<br />

Michelle Downey<br />

Mel Downey<br />

Gloria D. Pait<br />

Clif Pact<br />

Joseph W. Soloman Jr.<br />

Taryn Soloman<br />

Agapito Silva<br />

Socorro Silva<br />

Erlinda Silva<br />

Fred Fullerton<br />

Louise Fullerton<br />

Rose Griffith<br />

Louis Molero<br />

Charles Dragich<br />

Emilia Scales<br />

Ann Dragick<br />

Harold Feiner<br />

Martin Feiner<br />

Laurice Taylor<br />

Rebecca Taylor<br />

Brenda Feiner<br />

Lee Brandenburg<br />

William Brenner<br />

W.R. Brenner, Jr.<br />

JoAnn Brenner<br />

Linda McCaffrey<br />

Aaron McCaffrey<br />

Leo Padilla<br />

Solomon Padilla, Jr.<br />

Mary Jean Long<br />

Cecil Farinash<br />

Reginald Leighton<br />

Elizabeth Leighton<br />

Nick Hionedes<br />

Ann Hionedes<br />

Maurice Chartoff<br />

Earl Williams<br />

Dorothy Williams<br />

Lauriel Giantonio<br />

Daniel Giantonio<br />

Eunice Tyler<br />

Charlie Tyler<br />

Gloria Tyler<br />

Patti Tyler<br />

Samuel Ring<br />

Edith Ring<br />

Michael Norman<br />

Elizabeth Norman<br />

John Oleksa<br />

Mary Oleksa<br />

Tom Motosko<br />

Jay Merkle<br />

Michele Merkle<br />

Robert Renfro<br />

Eloise Renfro<br />

Frenie Minier<br />

Julie Brittan<br />

Lamdys McClamma<br />

Steve McClamma<br />

Stephany McClamma<br />

Glenn Frazier<br />

Roy Hays<br />

Vera Hays<br />

Fred Brewer<br />

Sam Martinez<br />

Adrienne Der Soll<br />

Marlene Ford<br />

Kris Dahlstrom<br />

Arthur Campbell<br />

Frances Campbell<br />

Robert Rosendahl<br />

Bettie Rosendahl<br />

Bill Overmier<br />

Ann Overmier<br />

Joseph Giardina<br />

Angie Giardina<br />

Lora Cummins<br />

Omar McGuire<br />

John Moseley<br />

Mary Parwall<br />

Kenneth Parwall<br />

Jamie Moseley<br />

David Tapping<br />

Margie Tapping<br />

Jake Austin<br />

Vernie Austin<br />

Fred Fullerton<br />

Jane Fredrickson<br />

Lisa Arend<br />

Jim Arend<br />

Richard Beck<br />

Jeromne Perlman<br />

Corinne Perlman<br />

Andrew Miller<br />

Audry Klein<br />

Hank Walayto<br />

Helen Wilayto<br />

William Bower<br />

Isaiah Huffman<br />

Rosa Lee Huffman<br />

Phillip Coon<br />

Helen Coon<br />

Robert Coffey<br />

Charlie Mills<br />

Greg Rodriquez<br />

Doris Lynn<br />

Delbert Lynn<br />

Nancy Lynn<br />

Raymond Lynn<br />

Kathryn Lynn<br />

Elizabeth Lynn<br />

Nita Sturges<br />

Jane Severn<br />

Natalie Nuttall<br />

Susanne Nuttall<br />

Maurice Chartoff<br />

Betty McMullen<br />

Joseph Paradis<br />

Thomas Craigg<br />

Fred Keegan<br />

Harold Berghower<br />

Chester Fast<br />

Dale Frantz<br />

Peg Frantz<br />

Irene Wonneman<br />

Judith Heisinger<br />

Duane Heisinger<br />

George Folett<br />

Michael Long<br />

Charlotte Long<br />

Jean Long<br />

Roberta Erdwin<br />

Robert Erdwin<br />

Rosa Calderone<br />

Donna Calderone<br />

Karl Calderone<br />

Thomas Calderone<br />

Jann Thbompson<br />

Lorraine Onufry<br />

Bill Onufry<br />

Dale Minger<br />

Elliott Olson<br />

Murray Glusman<br />

Louise Glusman<br />

Gerald Kruth<br />

Pat Huffman Miller<br />

Rick Miller<br />

Drew Miller<br />

Ian Miller<br />

Robert Ping<br />

Elaine Ping<br />

Clifford Vase<br />

Dolores Vase<br />

Mary Jane Blane<br />

Susannah Bookwater<br />

DO YOU OWE “UNCLE”<br />

The Treasury Department has begun<br />

sending letters to about 243,000 veterans<br />

to remind them that they owe the federal<br />

government and that money can be taken<br />

from other federal checks to settle their<br />

debts.<br />

For the first time, portions of a monthly<br />

Social Security check can be withheld by<br />

the Treasury to settle debts that veterans<br />

owe to the U.S. Department of Veterans<br />

Affairs (VA).<br />

Federal law says that when veterans<br />

owe more than $25 to the VA and the<br />

debts are more than 180 days overdue, VA<br />

officials must report the debts to the U.S.<br />

Treasury Department. The VA has<br />

referred approximately 243,000 names of<br />

veterans to the Treasury Department,<br />

with debts valued at more than $75<br />

million, which averages to about $300 a<br />

veteran.<br />

Veterans affected by the withholding<br />

will always receive the first $750 of each<br />

month’s Social Security payment. Only 15<br />

percent of the amount greater than $750<br />

can be withheld. Veterans can avoid any<br />

loss of Social Security or other federal<br />

payments by voluntarily settling their<br />

debts with VA.<br />

Deductions will begin this spring. The<br />

Treasury Department will notify veterans<br />

twice (at 60-day and 30-day intervals) in<br />

writing about the anticipated deductions.<br />

The letters will include the name of the<br />

VA agency that is owed money and a point<br />

of contact who will answer questions<br />

regarding the delinquent debt.


CAN ANYONE HELP?<br />

Robert H. Cowan<br />

P.O. Box 2060<br />

Granite Bay, CA 95746-2060<br />

Dear Mr. Vater:<br />

I would appreciate it very much if you<br />

would put the following message in the<br />

next issue of the <strong>Quan</strong>.<br />

Upon hearing news that I could obtain<br />

my father’s ribbons and medals from the<br />

U.S. Government I sent my request to the<br />

appropriate place. My father, James Henry<br />

“Hank” Cowan, was in the 19th<br />

Bombardment Group, Headquarters Unit,<br />

based at Clark AFB, <strong>Philippine</strong>s on Dec. 8,<br />

1941. He survived the attack at Clark and<br />

after being left behind when the B-17’s<br />

were transferred to Mindanao he was put<br />

in the 200th Coast Artillery Unit from<br />

New Mexico. He contracted a tropical rash,<br />

was sent to a field hospital on Bataan, was<br />

released and rejoined an Army Air Corps<br />

outfit based at Cacaben Field on Bataan.<br />

He surrendered, as ordered, went to<br />

Mariveles Point and was then sent on the<br />

Bataan Death March. He survived the<br />

horrors of the March, Camp O’Donnell,<br />

Cabanatuan, Nichols Field, Bilibid Prison,<br />

and was finally rescued by the 6th Rangers<br />

on Jan. 31, 1945 from Cabanatuan Prison<br />

Camp. He was born Sept. 26, 1920 in<br />

Arkansas and entered final rest on Nov.<br />

29, 1988 at Sacramento, California.<br />

The government replied to my request<br />

and said they would send the ribbons as<br />

requested but all records had been<br />

destroyed in a fire at the National<br />

Personnel Records Center. They said they<br />

had reconstructed his records from other<br />

sources and said those unnamed sources<br />

said that he was POW beginning May 7,<br />

1942, the date that Corregidor surrendered.<br />

They said that if the records were<br />

to be changed I had to supply proof that<br />

he was on the Bataan Death March and<br />

then they would change the records.<br />

Apparently, his VA records plus his<br />

written account, “Barbed Wire and Rice,”<br />

of the Bataan Death March are not<br />

enough for the government.<br />

Is there anyone that is still alive and well<br />

at this late date that can verify that my<br />

father was indeed on the Death March? I<br />

know that this is a long shot but I would<br />

really appreciate hearing from anyone that<br />

could verify that James Henry “Hank”<br />

Cowan was on the Bataan Death March.<br />

His best friends were Howard Gunn,<br />

Gordon Smith, and Amon Blair (Little Tex).<br />

My telephone number is 916-791-2666.<br />

Preferably a written statement, however<br />

short, would be appreciated so that I can<br />

show the government bureaucracy that he<br />

was indeed on the Death March. I have no<br />

idea why his VA records and written story<br />

are not enough.<br />

As a point of principle, the U.S.<br />

Government probably owes him the $1.00<br />

a day plus a later $1.50 per day for each<br />

day of imprisonment for the extra time of<br />

April 9-May 7. Although a pittance, this is<br />

a matter of high principle with me and he<br />

should receive his due. He gave his all for<br />

his country and I would not be here today<br />

if he hadn’t. For anyone who answers this<br />

appeal you have my eternal gratitude in<br />

setting his record straight.<br />

Sincerely,<br />

Robert H. Cowan<br />

————————<br />

INFORMATION SOUGHT<br />

To Whom It May Concern —<br />

I recently found out that my grand -<br />

father was a POW in Del Monte. I am in<br />

the process of looking for any information<br />

about him or the prison. He is not a man<br />

that I knew in my life and feel this may be<br />

the way to help my family understand him<br />

better.<br />

I have been interested in WWII for<br />

some time and had a grandfather in each<br />

theatre. My hope is to start some museum<br />

or memorial here in the Northwest to<br />

honor all that sacrificed in so many ways.<br />

The more I find out about that generation<br />

the more I am inspired and amazed.<br />

My grandfather’s name was John S.<br />

Wareham. He was a ship’s cook 3rd class<br />

in the Navy. I have been able to get his<br />

serial # 924-31-68 and SS# 165-24-7306<br />

but have had no luck on which ship he was<br />

on just yet. He escaped from Del Monte<br />

with three other men and out of the four of<br />

them three made it through enemy lines.<br />

Any information would be of great help<br />

to me as well as my family. I have already<br />

contacted Fr. Bob Phillips and it was his<br />

suggestion to become an associate member.<br />

I have therefore enclosed a check for the<br />

dues. Thank you very much.<br />

Sincerely,<br />

Michelle Hoover<br />

Home: 4344 NE 41st Avenue<br />

Portland, OR 97211<br />

503-493-0694<br />

mitch_shell@lycos.com<br />

————————<br />

JUSTICE<br />

To All U.S. Senators and<br />

Members of Congress<br />

We American Prisoners of War who<br />

were captured by the Japanese and forced<br />

into slave labor by the Japanese military<br />

at the request of the industrialists of<br />

Japan, worked side-by-side with the<br />

British and other P.O.W.’s.<br />

We need justice — preferably from the<br />

Japanese industrialist — but if not, then<br />

the U.S. government should remedy our<br />

cause in a similar manner as the British<br />

and others have chosen.<br />

YOUR HELP IS APPRECIATED.<br />

IN THE HANDS OF THE ENEMY<br />

Running time: 65 minutes<br />

Narration by Brian Dennehy<br />

Just two hours after the Japanese attack<br />

on Pearl Harbor in 1941 the American<br />

troops in the <strong>Philippine</strong>s suffered a surprise<br />

attack with devastating consequences. As in<br />

Hawaii, all aircraft on the ground were<br />

destroyed.<br />

After a brutal four-month battle 25,000<br />

Americans were outgunned, outmanned,<br />

and on the brink of starvation. They were<br />

ordered to surrender by the American<br />

command. It would become the largest<br />

surrender in U.S. history.<br />

As savage as the battle was, things<br />

would get much worse. First came the<br />

Bataan Death March, in famous for its<br />

vicious cruelty. Then came the prison<br />

camps with continued starvation and<br />

every imaginable tropical disease. One<br />

camp lost over 100 men a day. Finally,<br />

there were the “Hell Ships” where<br />

thousands died while being transported to<br />

Japan for use as slave labor.<br />

This is the story of the bravery,<br />

determination, and faith that empowered<br />

men to survive and triumph under horrific<br />

conditions. The story is told from the<br />

perspective of a small Midwestern town<br />

that suddenly lost all contact with 99 of its<br />

boys and young men (the youngest was<br />

just 16 years old). Their only news from<br />

the War Department: “Presumed to be in<br />

the hands of the enemy.” The community’s<br />

plaintive response: “Wherever they are,<br />

may God be with them.”<br />

The video includes interviews with the<br />

few remaining survivors of Company A<br />

and Headquarters, part of the 192nd Tank<br />

Battalion, which lost two thirds of its men<br />

to the war. Some are telling their story for<br />

the first time in more than 50 years. Shot<br />

on location in the Midwest and the<br />

<strong>Philippine</strong>s, the video includes actual<br />

battle footage from Clark Air Field and<br />

captured Japanese footage from the Death<br />

March and the prison camps. Brian<br />

Dennehy, star of more than forty feature<br />

films, television and Broadway narrates<br />

the program as World War Ii veterans<br />

relive and celebrate their survival and the<br />

triumph of faith, family and freedom … In<br />

the Hands of the Enemy.<br />

For more information, contact:<br />

James F. Fitzgerald, Jr.,<br />

Executive Producer<br />

Tralita Alderman, Assistant<br />

PO Box 1749<br />

Monument, CO 80132<br />

(719) 488-0102<br />

fitzjfx@aol.com<br />

www.enemyhands.com<br />

JULY, 2001 — 9


John M. Adams<br />

William J. Allen<br />

Julian Amando<br />

Alfeo Antang<br />

Ellis Arkus<br />

Dorothy S. Armold<br />

Robert Augur<br />

Edwin H. Bahr<br />

Zennon R. Bardowski<br />

James W. Beck<br />

Edward Bell<br />

James P. Bennett<br />

Burton E. Berger<br />

Paul O. Bishop, Sr.<br />

Paul Boback<br />

Charles C. Branum<br />

Julian Brown<br />

Marvin Brown<br />

Charles W. Burris<br />

Sonito Castillo<br />

Sam Castrianni<br />

Glenn E. Cave<br />

John S. Coleman<br />

Joseph L. Colvin<br />

Simplicio Contaplay<br />

Richard Cooley<br />

Herbert W. Coone, M.D.<br />

Earl F. Craig<br />

Joseph Crea<br />

Frank Cutrupe<br />

Lawrence W. Dague<br />

Antonio Dattorro<br />

10 — THE QUAN<br />

Noah G. Davis<br />

Victor Dengelegi<br />

John H. Eatherington<br />

Lewis Elliott<br />

James W. Emanual<br />

Ernest J. Erwin<br />

Thomas G. Essaff<br />

Oscar S. Fargie<br />

Charles Fetterman<br />

James T. Fite<br />

William T. Forney<br />

Roy A. Forsberg<br />

Charles P. Fowler<br />

Thomas Gage<br />

Thomas R. Gagnet<br />

Gilbert Gainey<br />

William H. Gentry<br />

Dominick F. Giantonio<br />

Arthur H. Gilcrease<br />

Travis L. Goss<br />

Walter K. Guzzy<br />

Allen W. Hancock<br />

Ernie C. Harvison<br />

John A. Hancock<br />

Ernie C. Harvison<br />

John A. Hassler<br />

Edward D. Hawley<br />

George Hendrick<br />

Mark G. Herbst<br />

Ralph E. Hibbs<br />

Joe B. Hill<br />

Forest G. Hogg<br />

PRISONER OF WAR BOOK<br />

The powerful true story of what really happened<br />

to American Prisoners of War in the Japanese<br />

Death Camps in the <strong>Philippine</strong>s during World<br />

War II and of one man’s struggle to survive his<br />

captivity and the sinking of the SHINYO MARU.<br />

To obtain a ‘SIGNED’ copy of POW- 83, send<br />

$20.00 to the following address:<br />

THE GRAYRIDER PUBLISHING CO.<br />

143 Longview Drive, Chatham, NY 12037<br />

The book can also be ordered by credit card by<br />

calling (518) 392-7062 or over the internet at<br />

the following website:<br />

www.prisonerofwar.net<br />

MEMORIALS LIST<br />

at ADBC Convention<br />

May 2001<br />

Dallas Hogue<br />

Edna M. Hood<br />

Frank A. James<br />

Lyle N. Jenkins<br />

Ralph R. Johnson<br />

Keith E. Johnson<br />

Herbert F. Johnson<br />

Otis T. Jones<br />

Lucy Jopling<br />

Frederick E. Julien, M.S.<br />

Harry G. Keath<br />

Lennie D. Kincheloe<br />

John Kowalchuck<br />

Louis Kristich<br />

William A. La Plant<br />

Arthur Langlier<br />

Fred W. Lantz<br />

Edward J. Larson<br />

Joe T. Latham<br />

Harold R. Lawrence<br />

Corwin D. Leonhardt<br />

Edward F. Lingo<br />

Robert O. Lucero<br />

Thomas R. Lynds<br />

Wilber M. Maars<br />

J.P. Mabry<br />

Martin A. Manson<br />

Rosenaldo Martinez<br />

Homero Martinez<br />

John McCambridge, Sr.<br />

Simon McCloud<br />

John J. McCorts<br />

Clyde McKee<br />

Donald E. Meyer<br />

Everett W. Miller<br />

Guilford R. Montgomery<br />

Joseph W. Moore<br />

Robert S. Newsom<br />

Fausto Noce<br />

William A. Norfolk<br />

James P. Norris<br />

Thomas Northcott<br />

Cliff Omvedt<br />

J.T. Patterson<br />

David Peace<br />

Ambrocia Pendon<br />

Richard Peterson<br />

Lester A. Petrowski<br />

William W. Phebus<br />

Lawrence H. Phillips<br />

George Pickering<br />

Robert M. Pribbernow<br />

Joseph O. Quintero<br />

SUBSCRIPTION<br />

Eliodoro Quitoriano<br />

Raymond E. Rau<br />

Boyd C. Ringo<br />

John Ritchy<br />

Joseph M. Romanelli<br />

David Rudlin<br />

Jackson J. Rupe<br />

John A. Ryan<br />

Victor F. Sanchez<br />

John J. Schmitt<br />

Walter E. Scott<br />

Joseph A. Segura<br />

Floyd Singer<br />

Allen N. Sly<br />

Raymond E. Smith<br />

Charles F. Snyder<br />

Richard W. Steele<br />

John B. Stefanek<br />

George R. Steiner<br />

Harry J. Stempin<br />

Shedric Stephens<br />

Julius B. Summers, Jr.<br />

Ben Super<br />

Leon Swindell<br />

Vivian S. Thompson<br />

George B. Thornton<br />

George B. Thornton<br />

Charles H. Thornton<br />

Philip D. Toland<br />

Kemp Tolley<br />

Paul Trujillo<br />

Harry L. Turner<br />

Anton F. Urban<br />

Celestio Valdez<br />

Ralph Vest<br />

Sam Vigil<br />

Ricardo Villarina<br />

Louis J. Voros<br />

Gerald Wade<br />

John D. Waldrep<br />

Joseph L. Walker<br />

Hall C. Walling<br />

Daniel Weitzner<br />

Avery E. Wilber<br />

Winfred J. Williams<br />

Wilson E. Willie<br />

Lloyd C. Willoughby<br />

Henry P. Wilton<br />

John E. Woodfin<br />

Thomas B. Woody<br />

Roscoe C. Word<br />

Sam Young<br />

Rudolph E. Zagar<br />

Dear Mr. Crago,<br />

I am ordering a subscription in memory of my Uncle<br />

Herschel Adkins who died in WWII. I have hopes of finding<br />

someone who may have been with him there.<br />

I am so glad to learn of this magazine! Mrs. Rose Marie<br />

Eagle of Florida helped me with a few people to contact. I am<br />

so looking forward to receiving this magazine.<br />

Judy Adkins


JOHN ALDRICH<br />

John Aldrich, 81, of Valrico, passed<br />

away Saturday, April 7, 2001. Survivors<br />

include his wife of 52 years, Minnie Lee<br />

Aldrich; son, John P. Aldrich and his wife<br />

Theresa of Valrico and two grandsons,<br />

Tyler and Andrew Aldrich. Mr. Aldrich<br />

was born in New Brunswick, N.J. He was<br />

a U.S. Air Force Veteran of World War II<br />

and was a POW in the Bataan Corregidor<br />

Death March. Graveside services were<br />

held Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. at Florida<br />

National Cemetery. The family received<br />

friends Tuesday evening from 6-8:00 p.m.<br />

at the funeral home, Blount Curry & Roel,<br />

Garden of Memories Chapel, (813)<br />

626-3161.<br />

————————<br />

EDWIN H. BAHR<br />

Edwin Henry Bahr, 80, of Roseburg,<br />

Oregon died Saturday, February 3, 2001,<br />

at McKenzie-Willamette Hospital,<br />

Springfield, Oregon.<br />

Born in Miller, Hand County, South<br />

Dakota on September 19, 1920, he honorably<br />

served his country for 23 years in the<br />

U.S. Navy. Soon after the Pearl Harbor<br />

attack, the War Department reported him<br />

missing in action. Mr. Bahr remained<br />

missing in action for more than 15<br />

months, before the Japanese forwarded a<br />

pre-printed typewritten card signed by<br />

Mr. Bahr. He was captured on Corregidor<br />

Island May 6, 1942 by the Japanese and<br />

released from a Japanese POW camp<br />

September 9, 1945.<br />

After retiring from the Navy, he resided<br />

in Astoria, OR. He moved back to Miller<br />

where he worked as a Rural Mail Carrier<br />

before transferring to Mitchell, SD, where<br />

he retired from Civil Service.<br />

He was preceded in death by a daughter,<br />

Vicki Lynn Bahr; his parents Heinie<br />

Henry Bahr & Golda (Mohr) Bahr; two<br />

great aunts, Sylvia Bertha Mohr and Viva<br />

Mohr.<br />

Survivors include his wife, Gertrude<br />

“Trudy” Muhlhan Bahr; a sister, Della<br />

Wilson; a brother, Orlin Bahr; a great<br />

aunt, Evelyn Goudie; two sons, David<br />

Bahr and Duane “Bob” Bahr of SD; a<br />

daughter Sylvia Bandy; and three stepsons,<br />

Robert Kenny; Timothy Kenny;<br />

Charles Kenny; and ten grandchildren.<br />

————————<br />

JAMES W. BECK<br />

Martin S. Christie<br />

23424 Mobile Street<br />

West Hills, CA 91307-3323<br />

Dear Mr. Christie,<br />

I regret to inform you of the death of my<br />

father, a member of ADBC. Pertinent<br />

information is below:<br />

Member’s full name: James W. Beck<br />

Next of kin’s full name: Vida Beck<br />

Next of kin’s street address or P.O. Box:<br />

285 Hwy. 777, Jena, LA 71342<br />

Date of death: February 8, 2001<br />

Next of kin’s city, state, and zip: Jena,<br />

LA 71342<br />

Military Unit or Branch of Service, etc.:<br />

200th Coast Artillery, USAR (NG)<br />

Please place his name with the fallen in<br />

an appropriate issue of the <strong>Quan</strong>.<br />

Very sincerely,<br />

James C. Beck<br />

Lt. Col., USMC (Retired)<br />

5106 Captains Walk<br />

Suffolk, VA 23435<br />

————————<br />

ED BELL<br />

Dear Mr. Vater<br />

I’m very sorry I’ve never notified the<br />

<strong>Quan</strong> earlier of my husband’s, Ed Bell,<br />

death, due to the death and my stay in the<br />

hospital with pneumonia, I’m behind on<br />

everything.<br />

He did enjoy reading the magazine so<br />

much.<br />

He had a bad stroke Nov. 14, 1999. I<br />

called 911 to take him to the hospital. He<br />

wasn’t ever able to come home. They had a<br />

speech therapist that was able to massage<br />

his mouth, tongue, face. She was able off<br />

and on to get him to swallow pureed food.<br />

He couldn’t take liquids because it would<br />

go into his lungs and cause pneumonia.<br />

He just got weaker every day. He was<br />

completely bedfast and slept a lot.<br />

He had a lot of things wrong with him. I<br />

think it was a mini stroke he had a year<br />

ago Feb. 28. He had chills and very weak.<br />

I called our son at 10:30 p.m. to help get<br />

him to bed. He didn’t want to go to the<br />

hospital although our son called the emergency<br />

room to talk to a doctor, as Ed’s<br />

pulse was rushing and his temperature<br />

was 101. He was told to give his dad 2<br />

Tylenol and take his temperature after an<br />

hour which it was done. Since then my son<br />

and daughters took turns coming in every<br />

morning and night to help me with him.<br />

We took very good care of him till he<br />

finally had to go to the hospital.<br />

Our youngest daughter and granddaughter,<br />

and myself were with him when<br />

his breathing got very shallow, a frown<br />

came on his face and he was gone.<br />

He has had two heart attacks (ischemic<br />

heart disease). Five years ago, he had<br />

congestive heart failure and again two<br />

years later another attack. He has fallen<br />

so many times as he had disarticulation of<br />

the left leg and muscle injury to the right<br />

calf of his leg. He never complained too<br />

much.<br />

He has been a good husband of fifty<br />

years; he was also a good worker and a<br />

good father.<br />

I liked the poem in the <strong>Quan</strong>, “Miss me<br />

but let me go.”<br />

We all know he is finally at rest.<br />

Mrs. Helen Bell<br />

WILLIAM M. BURROLA<br />

William M. Burrola, 79, of Gallup New<br />

Mexico, died of pneumonia on April 30,<br />

2001. He suffered from emphysema for<br />

about 5 years.<br />

In June 1940, “Willie” joined the Nat’l.<br />

Guard 200th CA AA Btry D, in Gallup.<br />

The 200th CA AA left for El Paso, TX on<br />

January 16, 1941. They were stationed at<br />

Logan Heights, west of Fort Bliss. In<br />

August of 1941 they left for San Francisco,<br />

and after a week, on August 28, were sent<br />

to the <strong>Philippine</strong>s. On Sept. 16, 1941 they<br />

arrived in Manila, where they were<br />

stationed for three months at Ft.<br />

Stotsengerg.<br />

They were protecting Clarks Field<br />

airbase when the Japs bombed Pearl<br />

Harbor at 12:30 p.m. Dec. 1941. These<br />

men had lived on very little food before<br />

being captured, and while walking the<br />

infamous “Bataan Death March” were<br />

given no food or water, if they stumbled<br />

and fell, they were bayoneted or shot and<br />

left on the road. Corregidor fell a month<br />

later. After about a week in Camp<br />

O’Donnell, he was encouraged to volunteer<br />

for any duty outside of the prison camp to<br />

stay alive. He went with the Japs on a<br />

mountain detail north of Luzon, from<br />

Lingyan Gulf, thru Bagio to Bontos and<br />

further north. His brother Joe stayed in<br />

the prison camp. There was about six of<br />

them on the detail, and given all the rice<br />

they could eat, so Willie was very tanned,<br />

gained weight and was very muscular.<br />

Before they returned they stayed in Bagio<br />

a week to recuperate. He became ill and<br />

was brought back to the prison camp, a<br />

new camp called Cabanatuan, where the<br />

other prisoners had been moved from<br />

Camp O’Donnell. He stayed there until<br />

Sept. 1942, approximately 3 months.<br />

In October many prisoners were taken<br />

in a convoy of ships to China and Japan.<br />

Many ships were bombed by American<br />

ships because they were not identified as<br />

POW ships. His group of prisoners arrived<br />

in Korea and put on a train to Mukden,<br />

Manchuria. In Mukden, he and his<br />

brother Joe spent the first winter together<br />

at the main camp. They worked at a KK<br />

factory cleaning old American tools and<br />

machinery. The following summer about<br />

100 of them were moved to a camp next to<br />

a tanning factory where Willie worked<br />

about 1 1 ⁄2 years and didn’t see his brother<br />

again until they were liberated. The<br />

winters were so cold, the vapor of their<br />

breath froze while walking to and from<br />

work. If anyone stole anything, they were<br />

all made to stand outside in the freezing<br />

cold until someone confessed.<br />

They were liberated by the Russians, on<br />

Aug. 15, 1945, and stayed in Mukden for<br />

about 2 more weeks. Then taken to Fusan,<br />

China by train and after about 3 days<br />

were boarded on a ship to Okinawa, from<br />

Okinawa to Clarks field, <strong>Philippine</strong>s.<br />

(Continued on Page 12)<br />

JULY, 2001 — 11


WILLIAM M. BURROLA<br />

(Continued from Page 11)<br />

From the <strong>Philippine</strong>s they went to R&R in<br />

San Francisco, CA. His parents met him<br />

there, but waited for his brother Joe.<br />

Willie left for Gallup, that same night. Joe<br />

docked in Seattle, Wa.<br />

Willie worked at Fort Wingate Ordinance<br />

Depot, east of Gallup from 1947 until his<br />

retirement on June 1973. Willie is survived<br />

by his wife of 54 years, Sally Lopez Burrola,<br />

daughters Rosemary, Virginia and Lisa,<br />

sons Tony and Arthur, 24 grandchildren<br />

and 31 great grandchildren.<br />

He was a member of American X-POW’s;<br />

BVO Bataan Veterans Organ iza tion;<br />

ADBC American <strong>Defenders</strong> of Bataan &<br />

Corregidor; DAV Disabled American<br />

Veterans; VFW Veterans of Foreign Wars;<br />

AM-VETS American Veterans; American<br />

Legion; Knights of Columbus and a<br />

member of Sacred Heart Cathedral Parish,<br />

Gallup.<br />

————————<br />

ELRA DEAN CLOUSE<br />

Elra Dean Clouse, 81, passed away<br />

April 17, 2001 in the Oklahoma City<br />

Veteran’s Administration Medical Center.<br />

A Tech. Sgt. in the Army Air Corps in<br />

World War II, he was a defender of<br />

Bataan and Corregidor. He survived the<br />

Bataan death march. He was imprisoned<br />

for 3 1 ⁄2 years at Cabanatuan #1 and #3 and<br />

Bilibid Prison. He returned to the U.S.<br />

weighing less than 100 lbs.<br />

Dean married Adelle Pralle (who also<br />

served in WWII as an Army Nurse in<br />

Europe) in Garber, Oklahoma and moved<br />

to California in 1946. For the next 38<br />

years he was employed by Mobil Oil Corp.<br />

Retiring in 1984, Dean and Adelle<br />

eventually moved to Las Vegas, Nevada<br />

and then home to Oklahoma where they<br />

settled in Muskogee.<br />

He was preceded in death by two<br />

brothers, Vern and Howard. Surviving are<br />

his loving wife Adelle, daughter Jeanne,<br />

granddaughter Kristin, and a brother,<br />

James.<br />

————————<br />

DR. HERB WILLIAM COONE<br />

Dr. Herb William Coone of Gainesville<br />

died recently. He was 89.<br />

Dr. Coone was born in LaMont, Wash.,<br />

and moved to Gainesville in 1979 from<br />

Manassas, Va. He was a retired physician,<br />

author of “Sequential Soldier,” and a<br />

World War II prisoner of war in Bataan<br />

and Corregidor. Dr. Coone graduated<br />

magna cum laude from Brown University<br />

in 1934, was a graduate of Harvard<br />

Medical School in 1938 and earned a<br />

master’s degree in public health from<br />

Johns Hopkins in 1968.<br />

Dr. Coone was a consultant in internal<br />

medicine to the Air Force surgeon general<br />

and an alternate governor of the American<br />

College of Physicians. He was listed in<br />

12 — THE QUAN<br />

Who’s Who in the South and Southwest<br />

and in the Dictionary of International<br />

Biography.<br />

Survivors include three daughters, Lucy<br />

Coone; Leah Anne H. Kram; and Camillus<br />

Sue Tullis; a sister, Lt. Col. Margaret<br />

Coone; seven grandchildren; and two<br />

great-grandchildren.<br />

————————<br />

BERNARDO C. DALERE<br />

Bernardo Curameng Dalere, 81, who<br />

retired from the uniformed division of the<br />

U.S. Secret Service in 1980 after a 35-year<br />

career with the agency, died May 22 at<br />

Mariner Health of Silver Spring after a<br />

stroke.<br />

Mr. Dalere, who had lived in the<br />

Washington area since the early 1950s<br />

and been a resident of Hyattsville since<br />

1964, was born in Vintar, Ilocos Norte, the<br />

<strong>Philippine</strong>s.<br />

During World War II, he was a guerrilla<br />

scout taken prisoner by Japanese forces in<br />

the fall of Bataan in 1942. He survived the<br />

Bataan Death March and became a corporal<br />

in the U.S. Army.<br />

He went on to serve in the U.S. merchant<br />

marine and graduate from Rizal Memorial<br />

College in Davao, <strong>Philippine</strong>s, and Hartnell<br />

College in Salinas, Calif.<br />

He volunteered at Veterans Hospital in<br />

Washington and the Hyattsville public<br />

library. He was a member of the Veterans<br />

of Foreign Wars, Prisoners of War,<br />

Disabled American Veterans and the<br />

Fraternal Order of Police.<br />

Survivors include his wife of 45 years,<br />

Maria Dalere; four children, Bernard<br />

Dalere Jr., Raymond Dalere, Miguel<br />

Dalere and Eduardo Dalere; a brother;<br />

two sisters; and four grandchildren.<br />

————————<br />

VICTOR DENGELEGI<br />

In 1940, on the eve of World War II, the<br />

United States held its first peacetime<br />

draft. Trion Dengelegi’s name came up to<br />

go, but his younger brother, Victor, offered<br />

to take his place.<br />

To his brothers and sister, it was just<br />

another example of Victor Dengelegi’s love<br />

for his family.<br />

Victor Dengelegi was 17 years old when<br />

he left his South River home and joined<br />

the Army because he felt his older brother<br />

could support their family better than he<br />

could.<br />

Mr. Dengelegi ended up in the<br />

<strong>Philippine</strong>s, where he was stationed when<br />

Pearl Harbor was bombed on Dec. 7, 1941,<br />

launching America into the war. The<br />

Japanese attacked the <strong>Philippine</strong>s on the<br />

same day and Dengelegi and the other<br />

American military personnel there became<br />

prisoners of war.<br />

During his 3 1 ⁄2 years in Japanese captivity,<br />

he survived the Bataan Death March<br />

that claimed the lives of 2,500 American<br />

soldiers. Memories of that remained with<br />

him throughout his life, his family<br />

recalled.<br />

Mr. Dengelegi died recently in Lakewood.<br />

He was 83.<br />

“He never really complained about his<br />

time as a prisoner,” said his son-in-law,<br />

Walter Ruszczyk of Howell Township. “He<br />

didn’t have any animosity toward the<br />

Japanese people. He was quite a guy.”<br />

Louis Dengelegi remembered many of<br />

the stories his older brother told him<br />

about the war.<br />

“It was forced slavery,” he said. “Victor<br />

had to work in coal mines and steel mills<br />

that the Japanese people didn’t want to<br />

work in because they were dirty and<br />

unsafe. So, that’s where the Americans<br />

worked. When the war was over and he<br />

finally came home, he weighed 78 pounds.”<br />

When he returned to South River,<br />

Victor Dengelegi got a job at the E&B Mill<br />

Supplies plant in Perth Amboy and got<br />

married.<br />

To Regina Thompson, her brother was<br />

always her hero. “He was my husband’s<br />

best man in our wedding and he walked me<br />

down the aisle,” Thompson remembered.<br />

“We were Romanian and we were<br />

supposed to marry Romanian. But, Victor<br />

stood up for me with my father because<br />

my husband was Danish. He convinced<br />

my father to give his permission,” his<br />

sister said.<br />

Mr. Dengelegi remained active with the<br />

American <strong>Defenders</strong> of Bataan and<br />

Corregidor, the South River VFW Post<br />

1451, the American Ex-Prisoners of War<br />

and the Disabled American Veterans until<br />

he became ill last year. He was also an<br />

active member of the South River Moose<br />

Lodge 165, serving as an officer at various<br />

times.<br />

Victor Dengelegi was predeceased by his<br />

parents, Louis and Julie Dengelegi; his<br />

wife, Rose Cregledi Dengelegi; and two<br />

brothers, Steve and Gabriel Dengelegi.<br />

Surviving are a daughter and son-in-law,<br />

Linda and Walter Ruszczyk of Howell; two<br />

brothers, Louis of Freehold and Trion; a<br />

sister, Regina Thompson; a sister-in-law,<br />

Frances Dengelegi; two grandchildren and<br />

several nieces and nephews.<br />

————————<br />

DONALD WARREN DURHAM<br />

Donald Warren Durham, 78, of MWC,<br />

passed away March 9, 2001. He wa born<br />

April 6, 1922 to Fred & Bessie Durham in<br />

Augusta, KS. He married Marjorie Woods,<br />

June 1, 1947 in Urbana, IL. He was a WWII<br />

Veteran & POW. He was in the USAF for<br />

26 years & retired as a Chief Master<br />

Sergeant. Don was in the hospital for four<br />

and a half months before he died. His heart<br />

just got weaker and weaker. Then the<br />

diabetes got worse. His kidneys failed and<br />

he was unconscious the last 3 days. He<br />

always looked forward to getting the <strong>Quan</strong>.<br />

He is survived by his wife, Marg at the<br />

home; 2 sons: Philip Durham & wife,<br />

Sharon & Dana Durham and wife, Kathy,<br />

5 grandchildren: Amy, Emily, Elizabeth,


Katheryn & Samantha. Services were held<br />

10:00 a.m., Monday, March 12, 2001 at<br />

the Community Church of the Nazarene<br />

with interment at Arlington Memory<br />

Gardens Cemetery.<br />

Bill Eisenhour Northeast, 8805 N.E. 23,<br />

769-3362.<br />

————————<br />

GILBERT GAINEY<br />

Gilbert Gainey passed from this life on<br />

January 3, 2001. He was 79 years old.<br />

Gilbert was with the 4th Marine<br />

Regiment, in Shanghai, China. As with so<br />

many other brave men, he fought against<br />

overwhelming odds, on the Bataan<br />

Peninsula. He was with scout & patrol, on<br />

Bataan, but after its surrender in April of<br />

’42, he escaped the death march and found<br />

his way to Corregidor. He spent 40<br />

months at slave labor, for the Japanese.<br />

He was medically discharged from the<br />

Marine Corps, in Feb. ’46, due to a head<br />

injury incurred on Corregidor.<br />

Gilbert was a life member of A.D.B.C.<br />

and A.X.P.O.W. He was an active member<br />

of American Legion Post #303, in High<br />

Fails, Georgia.<br />

He is survived by one son, Bill, who was<br />

also a marine. Bill served two tours of<br />

duty, in Vietnam. Also survived by Bill’s<br />

wife, Patti, and their three sons. He died<br />

on January 3. His first great-grandson<br />

was born on January 6.<br />

His wife, of 53 years, predeceased him<br />

in May of 1999.<br />

He is missed greatly by his family and<br />

friends.<br />

————————<br />

ERNIE CARROL HARVISON<br />

Ernie C. Harvison passed away January<br />

30, 2001 at Mannford, OK. He was 82<br />

years old.<br />

He served with “E” Battery 60th CAC<br />

and Battery Way, 12” mortars, the last big<br />

guns to fire from Corregidor. He is<br />

survived by his wife Zoca.<br />

————————<br />

LYLE NUN JENKINS<br />

Lyle Nun Jenkins of Panorama City, CA<br />

died April 5, 2001. Born in December 6,<br />

1912 in Wymore, Nebraska, he had made<br />

his home in California since 1955.<br />

A member of 92nd Coast Artillery he<br />

was surrendered on Corregidor May 6,<br />

1942 and held prisoner for 31 ⁄2 years in the<br />

<strong>Philippine</strong>s and Japan. Lyle was a life<br />

member of ADBC, American Legion and<br />

an active member of San Fernando Valley<br />

Chapter AX-POW.<br />

In 2000 he was presented with his<br />

Prisoner of War Medal at a surprise party<br />

by friends at the Sand Trap in Panorama<br />

City.<br />

A Memorial Service was held for his<br />

friends at the American Legion Hall in<br />

Panorama City on April 16, 2001. He will<br />

be missed by all who knew him.<br />

Lyle was predeceased by sisters Mary<br />

Almond and Maxine Johnson. He is<br />

survived by nieces Roberta Collins and<br />

Mary Gaylor. He was interred in Spokane,<br />

WA.<br />

————————<br />

LAFAYETTE E. HALL<br />

Lafayette E. Hall went home to be with<br />

the Lord and fallen comrades, on Mon., May<br />

7, 2001; loving husband of Lora Jean Hall<br />

(nee Dixon); dear father of Cheri (Ray)<br />

Frame, Michelle (Darron) Dillon, Brian<br />

(Dianne) Bass, James (Dianne) Bass,<br />

William (Laura) Bass and Jim Hall; dearest<br />

grandfather of Rachel, Ashley, Donald,<br />

Kevin, Stephanie, Nicole, Lindsay and<br />

Eryn; our dear brother, brother-in-law,<br />

uncle, cousin and friend.<br />

Mr. Hall was a decorated WWII hero, a<br />

former prisoner of war and survivor of the<br />

Bataan Death March.<br />

The funeral was held Friday, May 11, at<br />

10 a.m. at Alexander Funeral Home,<br />

11101 St. Charles Rock Rd. at Lindbergh.<br />

Interment with full military honors<br />

followed at Jefferson Barracks National<br />

Cemetery.<br />

————————<br />

URBAN WILLIAM LEMBECK<br />

CASPER — Funeral Liturgy for Urban<br />

William Lembeck, 81, was celebrated at<br />

10 a.m. Tuesday at St. Anthony’s Catholic<br />

Church, with Fr. Michael Carr officiating.<br />

Interment followed in Highland Cemetery,<br />

with military rites accorded by United<br />

Veterans Council of Natrona County.<br />

Vigil for the deceased was at 6 p.m.<br />

Monday at Bustard’s Funeral Home and<br />

Crematory.<br />

He died April 5, 2001. He was born Oct.<br />

3, 1919, in Spring Hill, Minn., the son of<br />

Henry and Emma (Utecht) Lembeck. He<br />

attended schools in Minnesota.<br />

On Aug. 23, 1939, he entered the Navy.<br />

His first tour of duty was on the USS Pope<br />

DD 225, assigned to the Asiatic fleet to<br />

prepare for the invasion of Japan. The ship<br />

was sunk March 1, 1942, in the Java Sea.<br />

After spending three days in the water, he<br />

was captured by the Japanese and taken<br />

to a prison camp, where he worked for the<br />

Japanese war effort for 3 1 ⁄2 years.<br />

He continued in the military until his<br />

retirement on June 22, 1959. He also<br />

served in the Korean War. He was awarded<br />

the Prisoner of War medal, Purple Heart,<br />

<strong>Philippine</strong> Defense medal with three silver<br />

battle stars and the Presidential Unit<br />

Citation.<br />

On June 12, 1947, he married Frances<br />

Sweeney at St. Anthony’s Catholic Church.<br />

Returning to Casper after his military<br />

retirement, he was employed by the<br />

Jourgensen Paint Co. until he retired in<br />

1982.<br />

Survivors include his wife; three<br />

daughters, Linda Lembeck, Patricia Walker<br />

and her husband, and Mary Margaret<br />

Burgess and her husband; three grandsons;<br />

two granddaughters; three sisters, Irene<br />

Free, Vicky Allen and Esther Huckleberry;<br />

and numerous nieces and nephews.<br />

He was preceded in death by his<br />

parents, two sisters and four brothers.<br />

————————<br />

EDWARD F. LINGO<br />

Lt. Col. Edward F. Lingo (Ed) died<br />

February 23 just 10 days before his 89th<br />

birthday at the VA Medical Center. Ed<br />

was a Bataan Death March survivor and a<br />

Japanese prisoner of war during World<br />

War II. He was preceded in death by his<br />

wife, Grace Campbell Lingo, his daughter,<br />

Grace Marie Lingo Seamans, and his<br />

sister, Clara Intemann. He is survived by<br />

nephew and niece, John and Connie on his<br />

wife’s side and Fran, Cathy, and Ed on his<br />

sister’s side. He is also survived by many<br />

grandnieces and grandnephews. He is also<br />

survived by his beloved friend of many<br />

years, Pat Magee. He moved to<br />

Albuquerque with his family in 1922 and<br />

has lived here ever since except for his<br />

army service. He was a man of honor who<br />

has shown great courage and dignity<br />

through the many difficult times he has<br />

faced in his life. All those whom he has<br />

touched will miss him. A Funeral Mass<br />

was offered Thursday, March 1 at 10:30<br />

a.m. at Our Lady of Fatima Catholic<br />

Church and a burial at the Veteran<br />

Memorial Cemetery in Santa Fe followed<br />

at 2:30 p.m. Ed had many charities to<br />

which he donated so in lieu of flowers,<br />

donations may be made to the Bataan<br />

Memorial Military Museum, 1050 Pecos<br />

Trail, Santa Fe, NM 87501; the St.<br />

Joseph’s Foundation, 7850 Jefferson,<br />

Albuquerque, NM 87109 or any other<br />

charity of your choice.<br />

————————<br />

ROBERT O. “BOB” LUCERO<br />

Robert O. “Bob” Lucero passed away<br />

Sunday, February 4, 2001. He is survived<br />

by his wife of 40 years, Anna; brother, Max<br />

Lucero and wife, Virginia; sisters, Antonia<br />

Mares and husband, Jenaro, and Clorinda<br />

Lucero; stepsons, Bill Mataya and wife,<br />

Doreen, and Phillip Mataya and wife, Pat;<br />

stepdaughters, Betty Chepin and husband,<br />

Joe, and Paula Spitale and husband, Guy;<br />

and several grandchildren, greatgrandchildren,<br />

nieces, nephews and other<br />

relatives. Preceded in death by his<br />

parents, David and Aurelia, Lucero,<br />

brothers, David, Arthur and Isaac Lucero.<br />

Bob was born on May 6, 1916 and was<br />

reared in Dawson, NM. He served in<br />

Battery F, 200th Coast Artillery,<br />

Anti-Aircraft during WW II. He served in<br />

the <strong>Philippine</strong>s, was captured by the<br />

Japanese on April 9, 1942 and was on the<br />

Bataan Death March. Bob was a prisoner<br />

for 3 1 ⁄2 years. He was a life member of<br />

American <strong>Defenders</strong> of Bataan and<br />

Corregidor Organization, American<br />

(Continued on Page 14)<br />

JULY, 2001 — 13


ROBERT O. “BOB” LUCERO<br />

(Continued from Page 13)<br />

Ex-Prisoners of War, Disabled American<br />

Veterans, and Elks Club. Bob belonged to<br />

Albuquerque Chapter No. 1, American Ex-<br />

POWs and Bataan Veterans Organization.<br />

Services were held Thursday, January 8,<br />

2001 at French Mortuary, 10500 Lomas<br />

Blvd. NE, at 11:00 a.m. with Pastor Don<br />

Wilson officiating. Interment followed at<br />

Santa Fe National Cemetery, Santa Fe,<br />

NM. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions<br />

may be made to Albuquerque<br />

Chapter No. 1, American Ex-POWs, c/o<br />

Mary Montoya, 6932 Vivian Dr. NE,<br />

Albuquerque, NM 87109 or to Bataan<br />

Veterans Organization, c/o Agapita Silva,<br />

1820 La Poblana Rd. NW, Albuquerque,<br />

NM 87104. Arrangements by French<br />

Mortuary, 10500 Lomas Blvd. NE.<br />

————————<br />

WILLIAM M. MURRELL<br />

William M. Murrell died June 7, 1999.<br />

He is survived by his wife, Lois B.<br />

Murrell.<br />

————————<br />

TED C. ODOM SR.<br />

KINDER — Funeral services for Ted C.<br />

Odom Sr., 81, were at 2 p.m., May 21,<br />

from St. Philip Neri Catholic Church.<br />

Mr. Odom died at 8 a.m. Saturday, May<br />

19, 2001, in his residence.<br />

A native of Eunice, he was a longtime<br />

resident of Kinder. He was a veteran of<br />

the U.S. Army, serving in World War II.<br />

He survived the Bataan Death March and<br />

was a prisoner of war for three years. He<br />

earned two Bronze Stars and a Purple<br />

Heart. He was a member of the VFW and<br />

Defender of Corregidor and Bataan. He<br />

was a former member of the Knights of<br />

Columbus. He was a farmer.<br />

Survivors include one son, Ted C. Odom<br />

Jr.; three daughters, Claudia Hidalgo,<br />

Toni Wyble Odom and Mrs. Roger (Claire)<br />

Fontenot; two brothers, R.L. Odom and<br />

Ray Bert Odom; 11 grandchildren; and<br />

eight great-grandchildren.<br />

————————<br />

SAM MILTON PALASOTA<br />

Sam Milton Palasota was born August<br />

15, 1913 in Bryan, Texas and died<br />

January 7, 1999 at the V.A. Hospital in<br />

Temple, Texas. He was buried in Marlin,<br />

Texas where he and his wife Frances<br />

Roppolo Palasota raised their family.<br />

Inducted into the Army April 4, 1941, he<br />

was sent to the <strong>Philippine</strong> Islands with<br />

the 200th Coast Artillery Medical<br />

Detachment in September 1941. He<br />

served on the Island of Luzon during the<br />

Battle of the <strong>Philippine</strong>s and surrendered<br />

to Japanese forces on Bataan April 9,<br />

1942. He participated in the Death March<br />

for 10 days and 90 miles (reported 6 days<br />

with no food or water) and was imprisoned<br />

at Military Camp #1 near Cabanatuan,<br />

P.I. as Chief Clerk of American Medical<br />

14 — THE QUAN<br />

Headquarters. He was then moved to<br />

Bilibid Hospital Military Prison Camp #2<br />

until February 10, 1945. Sam was<br />

liberated by U.S. commandos on February<br />

4, 1945. He is survived by his wife Frances<br />

Roppolo Palasota, children Milton, Peter,<br />

Jim, and Rose, and many grandchildren<br />

and great grandchildren.<br />

————————<br />

BOYD RINGO<br />

Boyd Ringo of Mulino, Oregon passed<br />

away January 2, 2001. Boyd was a<br />

member of the American <strong>Defenders</strong> of<br />

Bataan and Corregidor and was a POW<br />

for three and one-half years of the<br />

Japanese. He was in the Army Signal<br />

Corps. He was in several camps in the<br />

<strong>Philippine</strong>s and ended up in Japan. On<br />

Feb. 17, 1947 he married Mary Howell. He<br />

is survived by his wife, a son Arlen Ringo<br />

and daughter Luann Nelzen. Boyd was<br />

the Commander of the Northwest Chapter<br />

of ADBC at the time of this death.<br />

————————<br />

CAPT. JOHN F. RYDER<br />

John French Ryder, 87, a retired Navy<br />

captain who survived Japanese prisonerof-war<br />

camps during World War II and<br />

later became an authority on mine<br />

warfare, died March 26 at Walter Reed<br />

Army Medical Center after a stroke.<br />

Capt. Ryder, an Arlington resident, was<br />

a native of Portland, Ore., and a 1936<br />

graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy in<br />

Annapolis.<br />

At the outset of World War II, he sailed<br />

from Manila aboard the submarine Perch,<br />

which was damaged by a depth charge<br />

and scuttled in the Java Sea. He was<br />

recovered by Japanese troops and interrogated<br />

in Ofuna, Japan, for five months. He<br />

then spent three years in prisoner-of-war<br />

camps before being released in 1945.<br />

Later in his 30-year career in the Navy,<br />

he taught mine warfare at the Naval War<br />

College and served as a staff officer for the<br />

Joint Chiefs of Staff. He was a defense<br />

contracts administrator at the Defense<br />

Supply Agency in Cameron Station when<br />

he retired from active duty in 1966.<br />

His military decorations included the<br />

Purple Heart.<br />

His wife, Kathleen E. Ryder, died in<br />

1995.<br />

Survivors include two children, Lee K.<br />

Ryder of Falls Church and John E. Ryder<br />

of Evans, W.Va.; a sister; and a grandson.<br />

————————<br />

VICTOR F. SANCHEZ<br />

Victor F. Sanchez died April 10, 2001 at<br />

the age of 86. Mr. Sanchez is preceded in<br />

death by his wife, Jesusita (Susie) S.<br />

Sanchez. Mr. Sanchez was a member of the<br />

Holy Family Church and the DAV. He was<br />

also awarded the Purple Heart, was a<br />

Prisoner of War for three and a half years<br />

and was a survivor of the Bataan Death<br />

March. Mr. Sanchez is survived by his sons,<br />

Chris Sanchez and wife, Rose, Gilbert L.<br />

Sanchez and wife, Ruth; and Greg Taylor;<br />

daughters, Diana Pino and husband,<br />

Johnny, Liz Montoya and Elaine Lopez and<br />

husband, Anthony; brothers, Henry<br />

Sanchez and Tony Sanchez; sisters, Emma<br />

Padilla and Nieves Maldonado; 24<br />

grandchildren; and 17 great grand-children.<br />

Funeral Services for Mr. Sanchez were<br />

held on Monday at Holy Family Catholic<br />

Church where the Mass was celebrated at<br />

9:00 a.m. Burial took place at the Santa<br />

Fe National Cemetery at 12:00 p.m.<br />

————————<br />

CHARLES F. SNYDER<br />

Mass of Christian Burial was said at 10<br />

a.m. Friday at St. Joseph’s Catholic<br />

Church in Gilbert. The Rev. Frank F.<br />

Perkovich and the Rev. Kenneth R. Tamte<br />

officiated. Visitation was from 6 to 8 p.m.<br />

Thursday at the Range Funeral Home in<br />

Virginia and resumed Friday for one hour<br />

before the service at the church. Burial<br />

was at the Gilbert Cemetery. Military<br />

honors were accorded by George and Mark<br />

Klobuchar, VFW Post 4456 of Gilbert.<br />

Charles F. “Charlie” Snyder, 80, of<br />

Virginia died on Monday, March 26, 2001,<br />

at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in<br />

Minneapolis.<br />

He was born on Sept. 15, 1920, in<br />

Riverton, Minn., to Joseph and Lucy<br />

(Spolar) Snyder. He grew up and attended<br />

school in Gilbert, graduating from Gilbert<br />

High School class of 1939. He had served<br />

in the Civilian Conservation Corps prior<br />

to enlisting in the Marine Corps.<br />

He served in the Fourth Regiment in<br />

Shanghai, China, 19 months prior to the<br />

start of World War II. During the war<br />

Charles served on Bataan and Corregidor<br />

in the <strong>Philippine</strong>s. During the fall of<br />

Corregidor he was wounded and became a<br />

prisoner of war for three years, four<br />

months and nine days. He was awarded<br />

the Bronze Star and Purple Heart.<br />

Following his discharge he attended<br />

Virginia Junior College and graduated<br />

from the University of Minnesota<br />

Department of Mortuary Science in<br />

Minneapolis. On Oct. 14, 1948, Charles<br />

was united in marriage to Joyce Lundeen<br />

in Virginia. In 1950 Charles became affiliated<br />

with Range Funeral Home. He had<br />

worked as funeral director, manager,<br />

adviser and consultant. He was honored<br />

with an award for being with the company<br />

more than 50 years.<br />

He is survived by his wife, Joyce; two<br />

daughters, Susan Gleason and Patricia<br />

Snyder; four grandsons, Derek Hallow,<br />

Marc Gleason, Michael Gleason and Dean<br />

Snyder; five great-grandchildren, Brett,<br />

Brooke and Joel Hallow, Baelin Snyder<br />

Kernodle and Trevor Gleason; a brother,<br />

Victor Snyder, of Roanoke, Va.; and<br />

numerous nieces and nephews.<br />

He was preceded in death by his<br />

brothers, Andrew and John Snyder; a sister,<br />

Julia; and his parents.


ANTON F. “TONY” URBAN<br />

Anton F. “Tony” Urban, age 83, of Coon<br />

Rapids. He was a World War II Veteran,<br />

serving in the Pacific Theatre of<br />

Operation. He survived the Bataan Death<br />

March and was a POW for 3 years, 9<br />

months. He was preceded in death by his<br />

wife, Marie, daughter, Shirley, grandson,<br />

Matthew, brothers, Edmond and Frank.<br />

He is survived by children, Melanie<br />

Jensen, Betty Urban, Tony Jr., Julie<br />

Christ (Bill); grandchildren, Kara Mabee,<br />

Kimberley Mueller, Bruce Jensen, Kristi<br />

Glewwe, Tonja Hovanick, Corey Christ,<br />

Jeremiah Urban and Stina Urban; 10<br />

great grandchildren, brothers, Kasimier<br />

(Almina), Julius (Gerda), Joseph (Nancy),<br />

Henry (Audrey); sisters-in-law, Josie and<br />

Ellen. Funeral service was at 12 noon<br />

Wednesday at Oak Park Community<br />

Church, 12025 Hwy. 65 NE, Blaine.<br />

Interment was in Morningside Memorial<br />

Garden.<br />

————————<br />

WILSON “GENE” WILLIE<br />

Wilson “Gene” Willie, 85, an Albuquerque<br />

resident since 1958, died Saturday, March<br />

24, 2001. He is survived by his sons, Dennis<br />

Willie and James Willie; daughter, Jeanette<br />

Kaesberg; step-son, Larry Plunket;<br />

step-daughter, Pat Beebe; sisters, Dora<br />

Oakley, Cora Barnard, Margie Mitchell,<br />

Luella Willie, Laura Downey, Bernice<br />

Maloch and Betty Martin; brothers, Richard<br />

Willie, Robert Willie and Billy Willie;<br />

numerous other relatives and friends. Mr.<br />

Willie was a US Army veteran of WWII<br />

where he served in Bataan. Service was<br />

held at 10:00 a.m., Thursday, March 29,<br />

2001 at French Mortuary, 10500 Lomas<br />

Blvd., NE with Pastor Neil Ortiz, officiating.<br />

Interment will follow at 1:00 p.m. at<br />

Santa Fe National Cemetery.<br />

————————<br />

JOHN WINTERHOLLER<br />

John Winterholler, 85, a three-sport<br />

Hall of Fame athlete at the University of<br />

Wyoming and survivor of the Bataan<br />

Death March, May 10 at his home in<br />

Lafayette, Calif. Mr. Winterholler starred<br />

in baseball, basketball and football from<br />

1936-39 at Wyoming. Upon graduation in<br />

1940, he accepted a commission as a<br />

lieutenant in the Marines rather than<br />

play professional baseball. He served with<br />

the 4th Marine Regiment on Bataan and<br />

Corregidor in the <strong>Philippine</strong>s and suffered<br />

brutal treatment as a Japanese prisoner<br />

during World War II. He was paralyzed<br />

from the waist down and near death from<br />

malnutrition. He earned two battlefield<br />

decorations, the Silver Star and the<br />

Bronze Star with “V” for valor, before<br />

Corregidor fell, and he subsequently<br />

received the Purple Heart and 26 other<br />

medals and awards for his Marine Corps<br />

service.<br />

JESSE LOUIS MILLER<br />

LAKEWOOD, Colo. — Graveside services<br />

for Jesse Louis Miller, 80, were held at 2<br />

p.m. Wednesday at Fort Logan National<br />

Cemetery in Denver.<br />

A memorial service was held at 10 a.m.<br />

Saturday at First Baptist Church of<br />

Lakewood.<br />

He died Feb. 22, 2001, at Swedish<br />

Medical Center in Englewood.<br />

He was born May 16, 1920, in Gillette.<br />

He was a graduate of the Biola (Bible<br />

Institute of Los Angeles).<br />

Jesse was at Clark Field the fall of 1941<br />

and there on Dec. 8, 1941. He was in the<br />

24th Pursuit as a Crew Chief on a P40.<br />

He married Nettie Dyk on April 12,<br />

1950 in Tokyo, Japan.<br />

He devoted 50 years of missionary<br />

service to military personnel.<br />

Survivors include his wife; two sons,<br />

James Miller and his wife, and John<br />

Miller and his wife; a daughter, Judith<br />

Miller Raines; six grandchildren, and<br />

sisters, Dorothy Prior and Rosemae Taylor<br />

and their families.<br />

————————<br />

INFORMATION<br />

A note from Glenn E. Lyons said his wife,<br />

Alta, passed away November 29, 2000.<br />

————————<br />

PLEASE NOTE<br />

Roy H. Brantley died in the Arkansas<br />

V.A. Hospital in Little Rock, Ark. on April<br />

12, 2001.<br />

————————<br />

DECEASED<br />

NO DETAILS<br />

Irving Akers, USMC Allen N. Sly<br />

Gregory A. Swick Philip D. Toland<br />

Bruce D. Broxson Thurlan E. Hampton<br />

Wilbur Heinsohn Wilson R. Mouser<br />

Frank Cutrupi — Died Jan. 7, 2001<br />

Robert S. Newsom — Died Sept. 9, 2000<br />

James P. Morris — Died Feb. 14, 2001<br />

Cor. Sylvester North, Ret.<br />

Albert C. Senter<br />

————————<br />

APPLIES FOR MEMBERSHIP<br />

American <strong>Defenders</strong> of<br />

Bataan & Corregidor Inc.<br />

I have sent in an application for associate<br />

life membership. I am a former U.S. Marine<br />

who served near Subic Bay, P.I. from Oct. ’59<br />

to April ’61.<br />

I met one of your members, Arnie Bocksel,<br />

at a Marine Corps dinner. He gave me the<br />

application, also a copy of his book “Rice<br />

Men & Barbed Wire.”<br />

One of the most moving books I ever read<br />

was written by a soldier who was captured on<br />

Bataan in April ’42. His name was Sidney<br />

Stewart and his book was “Give Us This Day.”<br />

I first read it more than thirty years ago and<br />

have re-read it many times since. I understand<br />

he died in ’97. I would appreciate any<br />

information you could give me about him,<br />

where did he live? What kind of work did he<br />

do? Did he have a fam ily? Was he decorated<br />

by the U.S. Army, etc.<br />

I returned to the <strong>Philippine</strong>s in ’99 with<br />

two of my sons and we visited Corregidor,<br />

Subic Bay and Bataan. We retraced the<br />

Death March from north to south — Camp<br />

O’Donnell to Mariveles.<br />

Thank you<br />

John Daly, USMC<br />

45 Park Dr.<br />

Cortlandt Manor, N.Y. 10567<br />

9147377496<br />

————————<br />

MEMORIAL PLAQUE<br />

Dear Joe,<br />

I just returned from Albuquerque where I<br />

had a pleasant visit with Andy Miller and<br />

Mrs. Francis Garman, the daughter of my old<br />

CO, BG W.E. Brougher, when he was CO,<br />

57th Infantry (PS). Both were doing fine.<br />

In mid January I went to the <strong>Philippine</strong>s<br />

where I, as Chairman of a <strong>Philippine</strong> Scouts<br />

Heritage Society (PSHS) Committee, together<br />

with Mr. Freerico Foz, formerly 45th Infantry<br />

(PS), called on several officials of the<br />

<strong>Philippine</strong> Government concerning the placing<br />

of a plaque in memory of the <strong>Philippine</strong><br />

Scouts who died in Camp O’Donnell.<br />

We obtained the approval we sought and<br />

were very warmly received by those with<br />

whom we talked. The result is that on April<br />

9, 2001 the PSHS will have the satisfaction<br />

of unveiling the plaque. The service will be<br />

in conjunction with the Annual Bataan<br />

Memorial Ceremony. We will send you<br />

pictures for the QUAN.<br />

In the meantime, we would appreciate<br />

your staff spreading the word as broadly as<br />

possible. Anyone having questions is urged<br />

to contact me at (210) 821-6017 or e-mail<br />

(JOTOE@webtv.com).<br />

We cordially invite anyone of ADBC who<br />

wishes to come to contact me. This is<br />

especially true for any who may have lost<br />

someone in O’D. The PSHS will be repre -<br />

sented by two of our society officials. Also, ask<br />

anyone to send me any information on all<br />

<strong>Philippine</strong> Scouts whom they know who died<br />

there. I have rosters of all the PS who died<br />

there and DOD, except those PS who were<br />

assigned to the Post, Camp and Station<br />

Services-Hospital, Commissary, QM,<br />

Ordnance, Signal, MPs and Engineers.<br />

I will be away from 30 March until 18<br />

April, so queries should go to President Jose<br />

Aquino, PSHS when I am away.<br />

We are very pleased about this as it will,<br />

hopefully, spread the word to many that the<br />

<strong>Philippine</strong> Scouts were members of the<br />

Regular United States Army, NOT the<br />

<strong>Philippine</strong> Army.<br />

Last point, I have noticed you get letters<br />

about the 803rd Engineers (AVN). I have a<br />

complete roster of this organization if it will<br />

be of help to you. Do you have e-mail? If so,<br />

mine is JOTOE@webtv.net.<br />

Warmest regards,<br />

John E. Olson<br />

1 Towers, #510 Park Lane<br />

San Antonio, TX 78209<br />

JULY, 2001 — 15


16 — THE QUAN<br />

In the Shadow of the Rising Sun<br />

“Yvonne and Davis walk the razor’s edge in<br />

telling this amazing account of survival … a<br />

brutal story, probably under the most difficult<br />

conditions anyone has been subjected to.<br />

Yvonne has a rare sense of duty, and I am<br />

glad that she wrote this book. Her medi cal<br />

descriptions of the rampant highly<br />

contagious diseases and those brought on by<br />

dietary deficiencies caught my eye in particular.<br />

I have taught anatomy and physiology<br />

for over 36 years and her descrip tions were<br />

perfect. I don’t believe I have ever seen summaries<br />

as neat as those she slipped between<br />

the pages. Such a wrenching piece that I read the book in one day. It was<br />

like watching a mystery story on TV. I knew Davis was going to survive, but<br />

how close he came to dying in the day to day struggle has haunted me.” J.<br />

Hill Haman, Frankfort, KYOrder from author: Yvonne Boisclaire, P.O.<br />

Box 196, Bella Vista, CA 96008 $10.50<br />

Dear Mukden Survivors and Friends:<br />

The date has finally been set and a hotel chosen for the 2001 Mukden Reunion. The<br />

date is the last weekend in September, the 27th to the 30th. We are very excited about<br />

having the reunion in Washington, D.C. There is so much to see and do.<br />

The hotel we have chosen is the Washington Court Hotel, 525 New Jersey Avenue<br />

N.W. The rate will be $99.00 a night. When you call ask for the Mukden Survivors<br />

Group. This hotel is just 3 blocks from the capitol and very convenient.<br />

If you will be flying in, Reagan International is just 8 miles from the hotel, so cab<br />

fare is under $15.00. If you fly into Dulles Airport the cab ride is about $40.00.<br />

If you are driving in there is a fee for parking with is $12.00 per day at the hotel.<br />

We will be sending follow up notices about the sight seeing plans as they develop.<br />

Of course we would appreciate early registration. Please encourage your families to<br />

join you for the fun.<br />

Love to all, Shelda<br />

...................................................................................................................................................<br />

REGISTRATION<br />

$50.00 Per Person<br />

Name .......................................................................................................... [ __________ ]<br />

Pick one for dinner [Chicken] [Beef]<br />

Spouse......................................................................................................... [ __________ ]<br />

PLEASE MAKE CHECKS PAYABLE TO SHELDA UPSHAW, [1801 Fairway Bend,<br />

Haslet, Texas 76052]. If you have questions, my number is 817-439-3773.<br />

Please include the name of your U.S. Congressman.<br />

BACK PAY FOR WWII POWS<br />

Public Law 106-398, section 667 of October 30, 2000. This law is part of the<br />

National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2001.<br />

SEC. 667. (Provides in part): Back pay for members of the Navy and Marine Corps<br />

selected for promotion while interned as Prisoners of War during World War II.<br />

(a) Entitlement of former Prisoners of War.<br />

Upon receipt of a claim made in accordance with this section, the Secretary of the<br />

Navy shall pay, from any appropriation currently available to the Secretary, back pay to<br />

any person who, by reason of being interned as a prisoner of war while serving as a<br />

member of the Navy or the Marine Corps during World War II, was not available to<br />

accept a promotion for which the person had been selected.<br />

Clarification: Individuals that were recommended for promotion before becoming<br />

POWs are the ones eligible to the back pay. If it can be proven that they missed out of<br />

normal promotions because they were out of sight and out of mind, those individuals can<br />

petition the Board for Correction of Naval Records (BCNR) to change their record. If<br />

BCNR agrees that the record should be changed, then they can be paid the back pay.<br />

SEARCHING FOR INFORMATION<br />

Concerning a former POW<br />

of the Japanese,<br />

John Llewellyn Lewis<br />

Maj. John L. Lewis arrived in the<br />

<strong>Philippine</strong> Islands on October 23, 1941.<br />

He was assigned to the 61st Field<br />

Artillery Regiment (PA) and was moved to<br />

a camp near Iloilo on the Island of Panay<br />

on November 19, 1941, to begin organizing<br />

that unit. On January 8, 1942, the 61st<br />

was moved to Cagayan, Oriental,<br />

Misamis, Mindanao and was assigned to<br />

beach defense. On January 29, 1942, he<br />

was promoted to Lt. Col. On May 9, 1942,<br />

he was wounded in action in the vicinity of<br />

Dalirig, Mindanao while serving as<br />

Executive Officer of the 61st FA.<br />

Following the surrender on May 10, 1942,<br />

he was held as a POW at Camp Casisang<br />

near Malaybalay until that camp was<br />

closed and the prisoners were moved to<br />

DAPECOL. He was in the main group of<br />

prisoners that was moved from DAPECOL<br />

beginning on June 6, 1944, on the Yashu<br />

Maru to Cebu and then on to Manila.<br />

After a brief stay at Bilibid Prison, he was<br />

moved to Cabanatuan and remained there<br />

until the Japs began moving prisoners<br />

back to Bilibid in October 1944 in preparation<br />

for their evacuation to Japan. He was<br />

on the Oryoku Maru when it sailed from<br />

Manila on December 13, 1944, and he was<br />

on either the Enoura Maru or the Brazil<br />

Maru when they sailed from San<br />

Fernando, La Union, 9on December 27,<br />

1944. He was on the Brazil Maru when he<br />

died on January 25, 1945.<br />

Lt. Col. Lewis was from Lake Village,<br />

Arkansas, and was a 1925 graduate of<br />

West Point.<br />

We will be staying at the Holiday Inn in<br />

Hampton during the ADBC meeting and<br />

we would very much appreciate the opportunity<br />

of talking with anyone who may<br />

have known him when he was in the<br />

<strong>Philippine</strong> Islands or on the “Hell Ships”<br />

or have any information concerning him.<br />

John Broadus Lewis — son<br />

John Llewellyn Lewis — grandson<br />

John B. Lewis<br />

16415 Jersey Dr.<br />

Houston, TX 77040<br />

CAN YOU HELP?<br />

My name is Virginia J. Parker and I am<br />

looking for anyone who knew my father,<br />

Alvin F. Sayler. He was in the U.S. Army<br />

Air Corps stationed at Clark Air Force<br />

base. His address was 30th Bomb Sqdn,<br />

16th Group, Clark Field Pampanga,<br />

<strong>Philippine</strong>s. He arrived in the <strong>Philippine</strong>s<br />

before Dec. 7 1941. The war department<br />

informed my grandparents that he died<br />

Sept. 7, 1944 when the Shinyo Maru was<br />

torpedoed by the USS Paddle. Thanking<br />

you in advance.<br />

V.J. Parker<br />

430 Fitch St.<br />

Healdsburg, CA 95448


AMERICAN DEFENDERS OF BATAAN AND CORREGIDOR<br />

Mid-Atlantic Tri-State Chapter Reunion<br />

Sunday, October 21 to Wednesday 24, 2001<br />

Special Reunion Rates<br />

$75 per room per night, single or double occupancy — All rates are plus 6% tax —<br />

Best Western — Eden Resort Inn — 222 Eden Road — Lancaster, PA 17601-9888<br />

FOR RESERVATIONS<br />

Sunday, October 21 to Wednesday 24, 2001<br />

Name ___________________________________________________ Phone # ________________<br />

Address __________________________________________________________________________<br />

State Zip<br />

Group or Company _______________________________________ Phone # ________________<br />

Address __________________________________________________________________________<br />

State Zip<br />

Number of Persons ______________________ Numbers of Rooms ______________________<br />

Date of Arrival __________________________ Date of Departure _______________________<br />

Reservations must be accompanied by a deposit equal to the first night’s room rental or<br />

a major credit card number. Cancellation 24 hours before date of arrival. Reservations<br />

must be made by 9-21-2001.<br />

Major Credit Card # _____________________ Expires _________________________________<br />

FOR RESERVATIONS CALL (717) 569-6444<br />

CHECK-IN 3 PM CHECK-OUT 12 NOON<br />

PS: We welcome all former members of the Virginia Chapter<br />

to join us for our Annual Mid-Atlantic meeting.<br />

Mid-Atlantic States Chapter<br />

Choice of Menu<br />

Broiled Flounder or Sliced Roast Sirloin of Beef<br />

Cost of Dinner will be $20.00 per person — Ladies will have complimentary dinner<br />

Send choice of menu and money along with your dues to Walter C. Lamm.<br />

Make check out to the Mid-Atlantic States Chapter of the A.D.B.C.,<br />

In care of Walter C. Lamm, 937 Green Street, Allentown, PA 18102.<br />

… Dues are due.<br />

Annual Dues are still $10.00 from October 2000 to 2001.<br />

Name ____________________________________________________________________________<br />

Address __________________________________________________________________________<br />

City ________________________________________ State ___________ Zip Code ___________<br />

Dues are sent to our Treasurer,<br />

Walter C. Lamm, 937 Green Street, Allentown, PA 18102.<br />

CAVITE FLAG<br />

Dear Sir,<br />

For many years ex Marines have asked who knows what happened to the old Cavite<br />

Flag. Some don’t even remember what it looked like.<br />

Well here you are fellows. Take a good look because in my opinion its the ugliest<br />

flag the Marine Corps ever flew on a flag pole.<br />

You all know that a Marine is a Marine and we are all proud of it.<br />

The pictures are of me on the left and Herb Shelton on the right. We have been<br />

friends for years and until he passed away about eight months ago. He was just as<br />

proud as ever to show that he indeed belonged to the corps.<br />

If you remember he was a baker at Cavite.<br />

My name is Sam Vlahon and I was on guard duty at the Commandancy War Plans<br />

Office when the Nips bombed Pearl Harbor. You know the rest.<br />

Semper Fi<br />

SEEKS INFORMATION<br />

6810 Cedar Cove Drive<br />

Centerville, Ohio 45459<br />

Dear Sir,<br />

I have been told that you might help me<br />

find someone who can give us information<br />

about my husband’s brother. I am<br />

attempting to write about his life in the<br />

Navy, particularly the days just before<br />

and after the beginning of the war.<br />

Specific information is practically<br />

nonexistent.<br />

My brother-in-law was:<br />

John Thompson<br />

279 5416<br />

Machinist Mate 2nd Class<br />

Kentucky<br />

He was on the river patrol boat, Luzon<br />

(RP7) on the Yangtze River, when the<br />

Luzon was recalled to the <strong>Philippine</strong>s in<br />

November 1941. Some data say the crew<br />

of the Luzon was given shore duty at Fort<br />

Hughes; others say only that the Luzon<br />

patrolled Manila Bay and when fuel was<br />

exhausted, the crew was given shore duty.<br />

There is conflicting data from the Navy<br />

concerning his disposition as a POW. In<br />

1942, the family was told he was in<br />

Osaka, Japan. His death notice says he<br />

died in the <strong>Philippine</strong>s, official date of<br />

death, June 1943. A record book of service<br />

personnel on Corregidor listed his death<br />

in early 1942, on Corregidor.<br />

My husband is John Thompson’s only<br />

brother. He was finally able to join the<br />

Navy in 1943, when he was 17. He<br />

remembers some of John’s career — the<br />

Tennessee, the Henderson, the Black<br />

Hawk, the Luzon. But he has no specific<br />

dates. We have one son, who has one son.<br />

We are most anxious that they, and those<br />

who follow them, know as much as we can<br />

gather about John.<br />

Will you please add John’s name to your<br />

QUAN? Perhaps someone remembers<br />

something about him.<br />

Thank you for your time. Bless you for<br />

what you are doing.<br />

Sincerely,<br />

Helen Dees Thompson<br />

HELENDEEShdt07@aol<br />

————————<br />

CAN YOU HELP?<br />

I am trying to obtain specific information<br />

on my mother’s cousin Oliver Myers, who<br />

was on the Bataan death march. He<br />

suffered severe injuries as a POW. He died<br />

after spending the next 20 years of his life<br />

in a western Pennsylvania veterans<br />

hospital.<br />

I questioned the Veterans in DC but<br />

received information for a World War I<br />

veteran, whose name was similar, and<br />

who died in Pennsylvania also about 1965.<br />

Any help would be appreciated. I am his<br />

oldest and closest surviving relative.<br />

Lawrie Stratton<br />

P.O. Box 4644<br />

Covina, CA 91723<br />

JULY, 2001 — 17


UPDATE ON LITIGATION AND LEGISLATION<br />

By Edward Jackfert, Past National Commander<br />

As you are all aware, the slave labor cases which had been<br />

filed in the court of Judge Vaughn Walker in San Francisco were<br />

dismissed by him in September of 2000. The judge based his decision<br />

substantially on the opinion filed by the State and Justice<br />

Departments relating to their interpretation of the peace treaty<br />

between the United States and Japan. This ruling by Judge<br />

Vaughn Walker has been appealed to the Ninth Circuit Court Of<br />

Appeals by the attorneys for the plaintiffs in this particular<br />

litigation.<br />

Herman Mathis, attorneys for the plaintiffs, also represent<br />

plaintiffs in three slave labor cases in a California State Court.<br />

The judge has suggested that defendants in this litigation meet<br />

with plaintiffs for settlement discussions. However, it is still too<br />

early to be overly optimistic relative to the outcome in this<br />

matter, especially since the defendants have stated that they<br />

have no desire to settle at this time.<br />

In order to overcome the interpretations of the state and<br />

justice departments in these slave labor cases, the attorneys for<br />

the plaintiffs, Herman Mathis, decided to seek help from another<br />

source, the United States Congress. Therefore, on Thursday,<br />

March 22, 2001, Representative Mike Honda and Representative<br />

Dana Rohrabacher introduced legislation H.R. 1198, titled “Justice<br />

for United States Prisoners of War Act of 2001”. This legislation<br />

would require those Japanese companies that used us as slave<br />

labor during World War II, take responsibility for the gross violation<br />

of our human rights while we were prisoners of war of the<br />

Japanese military. This legislation will ensure that the federal<br />

courts respect state laws, like California’s, to allow the lawsuits<br />

against the private Japanese companies to legally continue.<br />

Basically, it requires any Federal court in which an action is<br />

brought against a Japanese national by a member of the U.S.<br />

Armed Forces seeking compensation for mistreatment or failure to<br />

pay wages in connection with labor performed in Japan for such<br />

nation while a prisoner of War during World War II to: (1) apply<br />

the applicable statute of limitation of the State in which the action<br />

is pending; and (2) not construe a specified provision of the Treaty<br />

of Peace with Japan as a waiver by the United States of such<br />

claims. The legislation further states that it is U.S. policy to ensure<br />

that any war claims settlement terms between Japan and any<br />

other country that are more beneficial than terms extended to the<br />

United States under the above Treaty, are extended to the United<br />

States with respect to claims under this Act. It also authorizes the<br />

Secretary of Veterans Affairs to secure information relating to<br />

chemical or biological tests conducted by Japan on members of the<br />

U.S. Armed Forces held as prisoners of war during World War II.<br />

This legislation has strong bi-partisan support with over 75<br />

cosponsors to date, including majority whip Tom DeLay and<br />

Minority Whip David Bonior. This is where you can help. Send a<br />

letter, E-Mail, fax, or telephone call to your U.S. Representatives<br />

and Senators and ask them to support and cosponsor H.R. 1198<br />

“Justice for U.S. POW’s Act of 2001”. The passage of this piece of<br />

legislation can lead the way to a successful conclusion in our<br />

pursuit of justice against those Japanese industrialists that<br />

mistreated and utilized us as slave labor during World War II.<br />

During the year 2000 a gratuity bill was introduced in the<br />

U.S. Senate. The bill passed the senate, however, Congressman<br />

Robert Sump of Arizona, during a House-Senate Conference on<br />

the legislation, placed a hold on the bill and it was never passed.<br />

The legislation did have a serious flaw which limited the<br />

payment to Bataan & Corregidor survivors.<br />

Recently, the litigation and legislation committee of the ADBC,<br />

Inc. sent a number of recommendations to the office of Senator Jeff<br />

Bingaman (NM) for inclusion in a new gratuity bill which he<br />

introduced in the Senate in the near future. The purpose of the<br />

legislation is to recognize, by the provision of compensation, the<br />

heroic contributions of the members of the Armed Forces and<br />

civilian employees of the United States who were captured by the<br />

Japanese military during World War II and denied their basic<br />

18 — THE QUAN<br />

human rights by being made to perform slave labor by the Imperial<br />

Japanese Government of Japan or by Japanese corporations during<br />

World War II. The bill calls for a $20,000 gratuity to be paid to a<br />

covered veteran or civilian internee, or to the surviving spouse of a<br />

covered veteran or civilian internee.<br />

The following nations have passed legislation granting a<br />

monetary gratuity to prisoners of war from their Armed Forces<br />

who were mistreated and utilized as slave labor by the Japanese<br />

industrialists: Canada, Great Britain, Isle of Man, Netherlands,<br />

New Zealand, and more recently, Norway. It is time for our<br />

government to recognize its responsibility in this area and award<br />

a monetary gratuity to those former prisoners of war of the<br />

Japanese military who were severely mistreated and used as<br />

slave labor in Japanese industries during World War II.<br />

————————<br />

2001 CONVENTION<br />

Hampton, VA was, and is, an exciting city for those who were<br />

able to attend the 58th National Convention. The weather was<br />

fine, the tours were great and the meetings were informative. We<br />

enjoyed the assistance of the local VA in supplying our needs.<br />

Thanks.<br />

We were pleased the ship USS Bataan (LHD-5) was in port at<br />

Norfolk and through the efforts of some of the crew, tours were<br />

arranged to visit and tour the ship. Thanks crew. We invited<br />

some of the ship’s personnel to our <strong>Quan</strong> party and banquet.<br />

We are sorry so many of our members had to cancel out at<br />

the last minute, but I guess we can expect this from now on.<br />

Our banquet speaker, the Honorable Anthony J. Principi,<br />

gave a great talk to the men urging them to be sure to tell their<br />

story so that history can be correct. He thanked the men for their<br />

service. Thank you Mr. Secretary.<br />

We did have a few people who took sick while at the convention.<br />

Lora Cummins, who takes care of the widows luncheon, was hos -<br />

pitalized in Hampton for about a week. Her daughter came to take<br />

care of her. She is in rehab at San Antonio.<br />

Joe Poster PNC became sick on his way up to Hampton. Good<br />

thing he was with his sister and brother-in-law. Joe is in rehab in<br />

Allentown and feeling better.<br />

I understand PNC Melvin Routt took sick. I didn’t know about<br />

it until I got home. Take care of yourselves. Seems like every time<br />

you go to the doctor they find something else for you to worry about.<br />

Hope to see you all in San Antonio, TX next May.<br />

Commander Joe Ward promises a good one. Thanks.<br />

Joe Vater<br />

————————<br />

BATAAN SCHOOL<br />

Every year Bataan Memorial Elementary School has a<br />

ceremony to honor the 32 soldiers from Port Clinton who participated<br />

in the Bataan Death March during World War II.<br />

Through the morning, students stand in front of the school to<br />

pass out brochures to the public. Students, staff, and guests<br />

gather in front of the school in the afternoon on the Friday before<br />

Memorial Day. Mr. Don Behm sang the Star Spangled Banner<br />

for students, staff and guests.<br />

All of the ceremony takes place around the wall. The wall is<br />

located in front of the school, by the flagpole. The wall has the<br />

names of the 32 soldiers from Port Clinton who were in the<br />

Bataan Death March.<br />

Since it is the 10th year we have had this ceremony, the<br />

students who collected the money to build the wall have been<br />

invited back.<br />

They will help lay a wreath in front of the wall. We care for<br />

these soldiers because they led us to freedom by leaving their<br />

friends and family to travel thousands of miles away to fight the<br />

Japanese.<br />

Bataan fourth-graders<br />

Andrew DeLeon, Tia Woodel,<br />

Nick Molnar, Breanna Rodriguez,<br />

Jessica Robertson


CONTRIBUTIONS ACCEPTED<br />

March 23, 2001<br />

Joseph A. Vater<br />

Editor, the <strong>Quan</strong><br />

18 Warbler Drive<br />

McKees Rocks, PA 15136<br />

Dear Mr. Vater:<br />

I was surprised to see my article on<br />

Father Albert Braun reprinted in the<br />

<strong>Quan</strong> from New Mexico magazine. As<br />

detailed in the article, the church he built<br />

almost single-handedly on the Mescalero<br />

Apache reservation in New Mexico, and in<br />

which he is buried, is undergoing extensive<br />

renovation. Father Al dedicated his<br />

church, truly a historic monument, to his<br />

fellow veterans of World Wars I and II,<br />

and especially to those he served with on<br />

Bataan and Corregidor. Restoration is<br />

almost completely dependent on donations.<br />

Those wishing to contribute can send<br />

their donations to the Saint Joseph’s<br />

Apache Mission Restoration, c/o Bro. Peter<br />

Boegel, OFM, PO Box 187, Mescalero, NM<br />

88340.<br />

I am currently working on a biography<br />

of Father Al. If any of your readers who<br />

knew him would like to share memories of<br />

this hero priest of Bataan and Corregidor,<br />

please contact me at PO Box 1257,<br />

Roswell, NM 88202.<br />

Dorothy Cave<br />

(Mrs. Jack Aldrich)<br />

author Beyond Courage<br />

————————<br />

SEEKING HELP<br />

Dear <strong>Quan</strong>,<br />

My father, Capt. Paul E. Pearson, US<br />

Army, from Manhattan, Kansas, was Asst.<br />

Quartermaster and Assistant to the<br />

Assistant Chief of Staff, G-4, south Luzon<br />

Force, Bataan Defense Force and II<br />

<strong>Philippine</strong> Corps, from December 15, 1941<br />

to April 9, 1942. After his capture, he was<br />

a POW in Camp #1 at Cabanatuan until<br />

late in 1944, when he was put aboard the<br />

Hell Ship Oryoku Maru. He survived the<br />

bombing of that ship on December 15,<br />

1944. He subsequently was placed aboard<br />

another Hell Ship, the Enoura Maru. He<br />

was officially listed as having died in the<br />

bombing of that ship in the Port of Takao,<br />

Formosa, on January 9, 1945.<br />

I am seeking contact with anyone who<br />

may have known my father or anyone connected<br />

with his unit. Any assistance in the<br />

matter would be greatly appreciated.<br />

Sincerely,<br />

Paul E. Arnold<br />

6210 Sierra Court<br />

Manassas, VA 20111<br />

703-368-4890<br />

E-mail: PEJLarnold@aol.com<br />

SEEKS INFO<br />

Dear Mr. Vater,<br />

When I began my research in 1985 for<br />

my book Brothers From Bataan (about my<br />

namesake who died in Hanawa, Japan in<br />

1945 and was in the 200th CAC, Elmer<br />

Long got the ball rolling by supplying four<br />

addresses for names found on old letters<br />

to my grandmother after the war. A<br />

Wisconsin family read the book over<br />

Christmas vacation and asked if I would<br />

continue their research and write about<br />

their brother Glenwood Stephenson.<br />

Glenwood was a West Point graduate —<br />

1940 — and arrived in the <strong>Philippine</strong>s on<br />

the Coolidge 12 days before the bombing at<br />

Pearl Harbor. He was Army Air corps and<br />

was removed from Bataan in January, 1942<br />

by submarine to go to Australia to pick up<br />

the much needed planes. In April, 1942,<br />

Glenwood was killed when he crashed into<br />

the highest mountain in Queensland while<br />

returning from a reconnaissance mission.<br />

Much of the 27th Bombardment<br />

Squadron remained on Bataan and became<br />

prisoners. I have found a number of them<br />

on your website recently and have been<br />

interviewing them. I also came across these<br />

names in Donald Knox’s Death March and<br />

was wondering if any of them are still living<br />

and whether you have a current address.<br />

I enjoy getting the <strong>Quan</strong> and following<br />

what has happened to many of the men I<br />

interviewed for my book. Keep up the good<br />

work.<br />

Sincerely,<br />

Adrian R. Martin<br />

1300 Wittmann Park Lane<br />

Menasha WI 54952<br />

920-720-6029<br />

————————<br />

UPDATE<br />

Dear Joe,<br />

I saw the name of my dear friend<br />

“Roscoe C. Word” under “Bad Addresses”<br />

in the April 2001 issue of the <strong>Quan</strong>.<br />

Roscoe, or “Piggy” as his friends called<br />

him was a POW with us at the Yamamoto<br />

Butai working the ships at Manila Port<br />

area. He got the name “Piggy” from his<br />

football playing days at the University of<br />

Tennessee.<br />

I have received word from his niece,<br />

Carol Hull, that Piggy died on Dec. 6,<br />

2001. His wife Mildred is alive but not in<br />

very good health.<br />

In civilian life, Piggy served as Vice<br />

President and Resident Attorney fro the<br />

Home Federal Savings and Loan<br />

Association of Knoxville, Tenn.<br />

We lost a really good man when we lost<br />

Piggy Word.<br />

Sincerely,<br />

Bob Dow<br />

QUANS RETURNED<br />

Bad Addresses<br />

Samuel Chasinov<br />

5 Gloria Parkway<br />

Hauppauge, NY 11788<br />

Louis Newton Curtis<br />

5109 Barnegat Road<br />

Orlando, FL 32808<br />

Anthony Dattorro<br />

14 Old Pocasset Lane A221<br />

Johnston, RI 02919-3143<br />

Mike Economou<br />

P.O. Box 526261<br />

Salt Lake City, UT 84152-6261<br />

Mr. Rudyard H. Hansen<br />

777 Arguello Blvd. Apt. 303<br />

San Francisco, CA 94118-4032<br />

Robert Jolly<br />

Rt. #2 Box 350<br />

Old Fort, NC 28762-9656<br />

Gerald L. Moffett<br />

P.O. Box 122<br />

Toledo, MA 98591-0122<br />

George E. Omps<br />

Route 3 Box 172 D<br />

Berkeley Springs, WV 25411-9803<br />

James D. Ragland<br />

112 San Leanna Drive<br />

Rockport, TX 78382-9675<br />

Avelino S. Serna<br />

14417 S. Vermont Ave. #23<br />

Gardena, CA 90247-2624<br />

Raymond W. Van Camp<br />

7351 Via Olivero Avenue<br />

Las Vegas, NV 89117-2729<br />

Isidro Montes<br />

313 Mt. Palomar Place<br />

Clayton, CA 94517-1639<br />

JULY, 2001 — 19


MOVING SOON?<br />

Please let us know six weeks before you<br />

move what your new address will be. Be<br />

sure to supply us with both your old and<br />

new address, including the address label<br />

from your current issue. Copies we mail to<br />

your old address will not be delivered by<br />

the Post Office and we must pay 50 cents<br />

for each returned <strong>Quan</strong>.<br />

ATTACH OLD ADDRESS LABEL HERE<br />

My new address will be:<br />

NAME ________________________________<br />

ADDRESS _____________________________<br />

CITY _________________________________<br />

STATE ________________________________<br />

ZIP ___________________________________<br />

Mail to:<br />

JOSEPH A. VATER<br />

Editor, the <strong>Quan</strong><br />

18 Warbler Drive<br />

McKees Rocks, Pa. 15136<br />

20 — THE QUAN<br />

American <strong>Defenders</strong> of<br />

Bataan & Corregidor, Inc.<br />

18 Warbler Dr.<br />

McKees Rocks, Pa. 15136<br />

*Address Service Requested*<br />

DUES<br />

ARE<br />

DUE<br />

JUNE 1<br />

EACH<br />

YEAR<br />

$8.00<br />

Please Send Correct Address When Moving<br />

American <strong>Defenders</strong> of Bataan and Corregidor, Inc.<br />

(including any unit of force of the Asiatic Fleet,<br />

<strong>Philippine</strong> Archipelago, Wake Island, Mariana Islands,<br />

Midway Islands and Dutch East Indies. 12/7/41-5/10/42.<br />

For Merchandise Sales:<br />

Life Membership — $25.00 Mrs. Jean Pruitt<br />

Part Life, Part Payment 1231 Sweetwater-Vonore Road<br />

Assoc. Life — $25.00 Sweetwater, TN 37874<br />

Subscription — <strong>Quan</strong> — $8.00 Yr. For Dues:<br />

Fill in all Blanks John A. Crago<br />

801 Huntington Ave.<br />

Warren, IN 46792-9402<br />

Name (Please Print) _______________________________ Highest Rank _________________<br />

Address __________________________________________________________________________<br />

City _________________________________________ State __________ Zip Code ___________<br />

Organization Complete Unit ________________________ Ser. No. ______________________<br />

SS No. ____________________ Wife’s Name ___________ Tel. __________________________<br />

Life ____ Pt. Life ____ Subscription ____ Last POW Camp ____________________________<br />

Bo-Lo-Ties — W/Caribou. .................. 12.00 Pins 3” X 2”........................................... 6.00<br />

Bo-Lo-Ties — W/Logo......................... 12.00 Overseas Caps only sizes 67 ⁄8, 7, 71 ⁄8.... 28.00<br />

Bo-Lo-Ties — 50th Av. Coin .............. 12.00 Tie Tacks............................................... 7.00<br />

Ladies Pin............................................. 7.00 Patch for Hat ........................................ 3.00<br />

Blazer Patch (Regular)......................... 4.00 Decal — Window .................................. 2.00<br />

Belt Buckle Decal................................. 4.00 Decal — W/Logo ................................... 2.00<br />

License Plates....................................... 4.00 Caps, White W/Logo............................. 8.00<br />

All items shipped require 15% postage<br />

NON-PROFIT ORG<br />

US POSTAGE<br />

PAID<br />

PITTSBURGH PA<br />

PERMIT NO 2648<br />

YOUR HELP SOUGHT<br />

American <strong>Defenders</strong> of Bataan<br />

& Corregidor, Inc.<br />

18 Warbler Drive<br />

McKees Rocks, PA 15136<br />

Dear Sir:<br />

I have been trying for years to locate a<br />

relative, Edwin, who survived the Bataan<br />

Death March. I was led to believe he was<br />

last a Golf Pro, in the Tucson, Arizona<br />

area. I have tried everything I could think<br />

of, but have had no luck in locating him.<br />

For one thing, I am not sure of his last<br />

name! His mother was Sarah, and may<br />

have used her maiden name, or one of her<br />

two married names — Delaney, Wright,<br />

Lenahan — at Edwin’s birth. They came<br />

from Bayonne, Hudson County, New<br />

Jersey. Edwin would be about 80 years of<br />

age, if he is still living.<br />

Any help you could provide would be<br />

most appreciated. For your convenience, I<br />

am enclosing a SASE.<br />

Sincerely,<br />

Wm. E. Bracey<br />

2601 Windover Drive<br />

Corona del Mar, CA 92625-1328 U.S.A.<br />

Tel: 949/644-5125<br />

E-mail: wmebracey@aol.com

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