June 2004 - Philippine Defenders Main

The
VOLUME 59 PITTSBURGH, PA — JUNE, 2004 NUMBER 1
The National World War II Memorial
Over sixteen million Americans served during World War
II. Less than five million remain alive today.
The National World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C.
was dedicated Saturday, May 29, 2004. This semi-circle of 17
foot high granite pillars represent the States, Territories and
Washington D.C. at the time of the war. The pillars are connected
by twisted bronze ropes set in a granite post and are
decorated with bronze wreaths on each side, one of oak
leaves, one of wheat.
Two 43 foot Memorial Arches represent the major theaters
of operation, the Atlantic and the Pacific. Four bronze eagles
ten feet across and 2600 pounds each form a ring inside the
arches. Their beaks hold a ring inside the arches. Their beaks
hold ribbons that support a laurel wreath of victory.
The center of the Memorial contains a large pool of water
with water at the back and center. The Freedom Wall contains
four thousand gold stars, each star representing 100 servicemen
and women killed in World War II.
Throughout the Memorial are words of America’s World
War II leaders. One is: OUR DEBT TO THE HEROIC MEN
AND VALIANT WOMEN IN THE SERVICE OF OUR COUN-
TRY CAN NEVER BE REPAID. THEY HAVE EARNED OUR
UNDYING GRATITUDE. AMERICA WILL NEVER FORGET
THEIR SACRIFICES.
President Harry S. Truman
Here at last, in the place, and this was the time, to celebrate
the living veterans and honor those who sacrificed their
Our New Commander, “Gap” Silva and Socorro
lives in this conflict for liberty and justice.
Throughout the ceremonies the story of Tom Brokaw’s “The
Greatest Generation” was repeated.
Three presidents
were in attendance
for the program.
President Bush did
give one of the
speeches.
Rep. Marcy Kaptur
(D-OH) started the
program stating she
was not aware of the
fact that as far back as
1980 that there was
no WWII monument in
Washington, D.C.
National Chairman
Bob Doyle spoke of
the process for the
construction, 24
years and
$175,000,000 later,
7.4 acres was covered
by the beautiful
World War II
Memorial.
Tom Brokaw spoke
on the sacrifices
each and every citizen
made for WWII,
therefore “The Greatest
Generation.”

2 — THE QUAN
The
AGAPITO E. SILVA HAROLD A. BERGBOWER
Commander Sr. Vice Commander
1820 La Poblana, N.W. 10728 West El Capitan Circle
Albuquerque, N.M. 87104 Sun City, AZ 85351-1502
JOSEPH L. ALEXANDER, PNC EDWARD JACKFERT, PNC
Jr. Vice Commander National Treasurer
9407 Fernglen 201 Hillcrest Dr.
San Antonio, TX 78240 Wellsburg, W.Va. 26070
304-737-1496
MRS. JEAN PRUITT
Merchandise Sales
109 Young Dr.
Sweetwater, TN 37874
MEMBERS OF THE INVESTMENT BOARD
Edward Jackfert Secretary Joseph A. Vater
EXECUTIVE BOARD
Henry Cornellisson Charles Graham
Charles Dragich Pete Locarnini
Charles B. Heffron Carlos Montoya
All Incumbent State Commanders
NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS
7401 Bull Run Dr.
Centreville, VA 20121
703-222-2480
Dedicated to those persons both living and dead who fought against
overwhelming odds against the enemy at the outbreak of World War II.
Official Publication of the
AMERICAN DEFENDERS OF BATAAN & CORREGIDOR, INC.
(INCLUDING ANY UNIT OF FORCE OF THE ASIATIC FLEET, PHILIPPINE ARCHIPELAGO,
WAKE ISLAND, GUAM OF THE MARIANA ISLANDS, AND DUTCH EAST INDIES)
PUBLISHED 5 TIMES A YEAR
HONORARY OFFICERS
Paul Reuter ........................................................Honorary Vice Commander
DUANE L. HEISINGER
Executive Secretary
Co-Chairman Site Committee
Membership Chairman
7401 Bull Run Dr.
Centreville, VA 20121
703-222-2480
ANDREW MILLER
Historian
1605 Cagua Drive N.E.
Albuquerque, NM 87110
REV. ROBERT W. PHILLIPS
Chaplain
200 Seneca Trail
Maitland, FL 32751
DR. WILLIAM R. BRENNER
Surgeon
1006 State St.
Larned, KA 67550
JOSEPH A. VATER PNC
Editor of Quan
Co-Chairman Site Committee
18 Warbler Drive
McKees Rocks, PA 15136
412-771-3956
Fax: 412-875-6606
PAUL REUTER
Adjutant & Legislative Officer
516 Sandy Pl.
Oxon Hill, MD 20745
MARTIN S. CHRISTIE
Necrology Committee Chrmn.
23424 Mobile St.
West Hills, CA 91307-3323
JOHN H. OLIVER
Past Commander
1400 Ocotilla Dr.
Marble Falls, TX 78654
RALPH LEVENBERG, PNC
Special Projects
2716 Eastshore Dr.
Reno, NV 89509
PAST NATIONAL COMMANDERS
Harold Spooner *James K. Cavanaugh Henry J. Wilayto
*Rev. Albert D. Talbot *Thomas A. Hackett *Charles Bloskis
James McEvoy *Bernard Grill Arthur Beale
*M/Gen. E.P. King Jr. Louis Scahwald Andy Miller
Simme Pickman *Jerome A. McDavitt *Joseph Matheny
Albert Senna John M. Emerick *George Wonneman
*Maurice Mazer *Joseph T. Poster *Frank Bigelow
Joseph A. Vater *John Bennett *Charles L. Pruitt
*Lewis Goldstein *James D. Cantwell Melvin L. Routt
*Albert C. Cimini Ralph Levenberg James R. Flaitz
*Samuel M. Bloom, M.D. *Elmer E. Long, Jr. John Koot
*Kenneth J. Stull *Philip Arslanian *Roy Y. Gentry
*Harry P. Menozzi John Rowland Edward Jackfert
*John F. Ray John Crago Joseph L. Alexander
*Samuel B. Moody Edward Jackfert Joseph Ward
*Arthur A. Bressi *John R. Lyons Omar McGuire
*John E. Le Clair *Ken Curley John H. Oliver
The Hilton Cincinnati
Netherland Plaza
will be the site of the
2005 National Convention
April 5 to April 10, 2005.
The price is $79.00 S/D/Q
A great hotel at a good price!

A Tribute to WWII Nurses
To you “Beautiful WWII Nurses”:
Even if you are 70 to 80 years old now, in the eyes of
every WWII veteran you will always be beautiful.
There is no way we can say thank you in the way we
would like to. So many would like to say it but some don’t know
how to go about it. I am going to say it for the thousands that
did not get home, the thousands that have died since WWII
and the thousands that are still alive. The best way I know to
do this is to use some of my own experiences, then you can
multiply them by thousands, and maybe you can understand
what I’m trying to say.
There are thousands of experiences all different from this,
still in some ways similar to this.
My first 26 days in real combat were a frightening experience
to say the least.
I was on Leyte Island, it was raining real hard when we
started to the front line. We had 31 inches of rain in 30 days
and we were out in all of it. I got jungle rot real bad on my feet.
When an infantry soldier has foot trouble he is in real trouble. I
was sent to a hospital that consisted of a long tent with canvas
cots. They took care of my feet soon after I arrived. Then they
were real busy with seriously wounded soldiers so I did not
receive much attention for a few days.
I want to tell you a few things that I had gone through in
those 26 days. We got cut off by the Japs and had to do without
food for 5 days. We had some of our close friends killed,
others wounded, some real bad, some not so bad. Some of us
had killed our first Japs. Some of us were 19 years old, scared
to death. We had been sleeping in wet holes every night, we
had been wet 26 days. We were just about as miserable as we
could possibly be, on top of that, real homesick.
After about the third day in that tent hospital, a beautiful
young nurse, probably about 21 years old, came to my cot.
She said, “You haven’t been receiving much attention, we have
been real busy with the wounded. How would you like to have
your back rubbed down?” I could not believe she could spend
that much time with me. She said, “How old are you?” I said,
“Nineteen.” She said, “You look about 16.” When she said that
I knew she had at least looked at me. Then she asked where I
was from and I said, Louisiana.
You can’t imagine what that 4 or 5 minutes meant to me. I
am sure that each of us fell in love with her as thousands of
others fell in love with the nurses that spent a few minutes with
them. So after 50 years we would all like to tell each of you
“Beautiful WWII Nurses” that we are still in love with you.
—Written for thousands of WWII Veterans
By Whayland H. Greene
Belcher, LA
318-378-4385
————————
Group Plans Return Visit to Mukden
POW Camp
A return visit to the Mukden POW camp site is once again
being organized by the Truth Council for WWII in Asia, based
in Washington, DC. The trip is being planned for mid-
September 2004. Ex-POWs who are interested in learning
details and travel arrangements should contact Ao Wang, 5809
Calico Court, Columbia, MD 21044. Phone: 410-730-5971.
————————
USS Bataan Continues Legacy
Commanding Officer
USS Bataan (LHD 5)
March 12, 2004
Mr. Joseph A. Vater
Editor, The Quan
18 Warbler Drive
McKees Rocks, PA 15136
Dear Mr. Vater,
I would like to take this opportunity to reintroduce myself to
you and to the American Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor.
My name is Captain Nora W. Tyson, the former Executive
Officer of USS Bataan LHD 5 and now the Commanding
Officer.
I am aware of the close ties the Defenders of Bataan and
Corregidor have with our ship since its commissioning. As the
second ship to proudly bear the name Bataan, we are continuing
the legacy that began with you and those who have gone
before you, over 60 years ago. One of the highlights of my
Naval career thus far, was the Bataan Appreciation Day on
November 7, 2003, during which for the first time, all groups
related to the name Bataan, gathered for memories, fellowship
and celebration. This day would not have been possible without
the assistance of the Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor.
We are looking forward to continuing our strong ties and
lasting friendships. As we return from Operation Iraqi Freedom
II, we realize that the USS Bataan will continue “as a symbol of
the fortitude and endurance of free men in the face of overwhelming
odds.”
N.W. Tyson
Captain, United States Navy
Commanding Officer
————————
Widows and Angels Luncheon
The Widows and Angels Luncheon was a superb event.
There were 39 present to enjoy the delicious chicken and potato
salads and the scrumptious fruit plate. Those present included:
Twenty-six (26) widows, three (3) daughters, one sister, Dr.
Elizabeth M. Norman, Angel Floramund Fellmeth Difford and
her husband, John Emerick, Rev. Robert W. Phillips, and two
Veteran Administration representatives ‚ the POW Coordinator,
Corrine Roy and a Registered Nurse, Enzo Scuatto.
Rev. Robert W. Phillips gave a beautiful invocation to
open the luncheon.
We were reminded by Corrine Roy, POW coordinator, that
we are entitled to ChampVA For Life, a form of insurance that
works in conjunction with Medicare in providing medical care
and prescriptions. If you are entitled to Tri-care For Life,
because your husband was retired from the military, you are
not entitled the ChampVA For Life. She also mentioned the
Veterans Administration had reinstated the benefit for DIC
(Disability and Indemnity Compensation) for those widows who
have remarried. If you fall in either category, I suggest you
check with the VA.
John Emerick gave us a brief description of the history of
the Widow’s Group and Floramund Fellmeth Difford enlightened
us on the Angels.
Our guest speaker, Dr. Elizabeth M. Norman is the author
of WOMAN AT WAR, the Story of Fifty Military Nurses Who
Served in Vietnam 1965-1973 and WE BAND OF ANGELS,
the story of our own Angels when the Japanese trapped them
on Bataan. Her third book titled TEARS IN THE DARKNESS,
co-authored with her husband, Michael Norman, will be available
in 2005.
Next year’s convention is in Cincinnati, Ohio — start making
plans now to attend. I’ll see you there.
Lora Cummins
————————
JUNE, 2004 — 3

Hell Ships Memorial Fund
4 — THE QUAN
Orlando ADBC Convention
Photo Slide Show Available
A slide show of approximately 250 pictures of the Orlando
Convention is now available. If you attended the convention,
you may want these pictures which portray not only the people
who were there, but the memorable moments as well. If you
were unable to attend, you may also be interested so you can
“attend” the convention through these photos.
The slide show is on a CD. To view it, simply slide the CD
into your computer and wait about 10 seconds for the program
to come up on the screen. If you do not have a computer, you
can request the slide show to be transferred to a VHS video
format for viewing with your VCR/TV.
The photos on the slide show each have a number. If
there is a particular photo you would like to have, we can do
that for you also. Photos come by the sheet. One sheet holds1-
8x10, 2-5x7’s, 3-4x6’s or 9 wallet size.
The CD slide show of “The Return to The Philippines” is
also still available, along with the VHS format for those without
computers. This slide show was shown in the registration room
at the convention and several attenders made a donation to the
Hell Ships Memorial fund and received the CD or VHS tape as a
thank you. This slide show is a documentary of the return to the
Philippines in January 2004 showing pictures of some of the significant
spots from Bataan, Corregidor, Camp O’Donnell, Bilibid,
Camp Cabanatuan, the American Cemetery in Manila, and the
groundbreaking for the Hell Ships Memorial at Subic Bay.
John Neiger is offering these slide shows and photos as
incentives for building up the Hell Ships Memorial fund. 100%
of your check goes to the fund. Checks and money orders
should be made out to “The Hell Ships Memorial Fund.” The
suggested donation amounts for each item is as follows:
Philippine Documentary CD or VHS tape: $15 each
Convention Slide Show CD or VHS tape: $15 each
Convention Photo Reprints: $15 per sheet
A separate postage and handling fee is requested to help
defray John Neiger’s costs for putting these items into your
hands. The suggested amount is $3 for one item and $5 for
two or more items. This fee should be on a separate check or
money order made out to John Neiger. John Neiger’s address
is 4011 Lakeview Parkway, Lake of the Woods, VA 22508-
5436. You can also email him at JNeiger@adelphia.net or call
540-972-0612 with any questions.
————————
Seeking Information
LaVelle Cotham
108 Byrd Rd.
Paris, TN 38242
731-642-2440
Dear Mr. Vater,
I have just learned of your magazine. I am seeking information
of a William F. Speakman or the family of same. This
person was on Bataan in 1941-42. I do not know if he survived
or not.
My husband, Perry Cotham, was a technician in a hospital
in New Gurna in 1945. They received survivors of the Bataan
March, fed and cared for them and when they were shipped
out someone left this beautifully engraved canteen cup on his
ward. It was engraved with name and outfits but no serial number.
My husband tried to locate this person or family but could
not do so without a serial number, so I’m still trying to do this
as he has passed on.
If you could help me in any way I would be so grateful, as
we wanted him or his family to have the cup.
Sincerely,
Lavelle Cotham
I tried to sketch the cup to let you know a little of how it
looks. I am no artist. There is a spread winged eagle behind
the front and it is wonderfully engraved.
————————
Need Information
Michael Norman and Elizabeth Norman (WE BAND OF
ANGELS), who have been working on a book about Bataan
and Corregidor — the battles, the camps, the liberation —
would like to speak with anyone from the 21st Pursuit
Squadron. Please contact them at:
973-744-2795 (call collect, if you wish)
or
michael.norman@nyu.edu or
elizabeth.norman@nyu.edu or
The Normans
8 South Brookwood Dr.
Montclair, NJ 07042
————————

Looking Back
On January 24, the 31st Infantry covered the rest of II
Corps as it abandoned the main line of resistance near
Abucay. A provisional tank group consisting of two National
Guard tank battalions and a battalion of 75mm self-propelled
howitzers assisted them. As the covering force began withdrawing
at midnight on January 25, the Japanese attacked,
shouting “Samurai.” The infantry fought a brief delaying action
before falling in behind a waiting screen of tanks and self-propelled
howitzers that remained undetected by the enemy.
When the infantry was safely behind them, the tanks and howitzers
opened fire at close range, firing straight down trails
densely packed with Japanese troops. The engagement threw
the Japanese into a chaotic retreat, leaving hundreds dead or
dying on the trails behind them.
At about 0130 on January 25, the 31st Infantry’s last elements
to withdraw reached the barrio of Wawa on Manila Bay.
Men quickly fell into an exhausted sleep. At 0400 they were
awakened for heir first hot meal in two days — still half rations.
There would be no more sleep that day because the regiment
was again the covering force for II Corps. Fortunately, the
Japanese were so exhausted and depleted that they could not
pursue the dispirited units that came of the Abucay Line. By
evening it became clear that a covering force was no longer
needed and the 31st was ordered to withdraw to a bivouac
area two kilometers west of Limay.
From January 28 to February 1, the regiment got a sorely
needed rest. The time was spent cleaning equipment and searching
for food since rations supplied by the Army were insufficient to
keep men functioning in the tropical heat. The entire Bataan
Force was feeling the effects of gradual starvation, having been
on half rations since the end of December 1941. Moreover, medicine
was running out and Bataan’s tropical jungle, with its plethora
of diseases and unsanitary living conditions was taking its toll.
Malaria and dysentery became particularly rampant.
On February 5, amid a sporadic enemy barrage, a howitzer
shell hit the 3d Battalion Command Post, wounding Captains
Donald G. Thompson of L Company and Richard Roshe of I
Company. At dusk on February 5, the regiment moved by truck
to assembly areas on the Alangan and Lamao Rivers. The 1st
and 2d Battalions were posted just over a mile west of the main
Thank You February 13, 2004
Dear Mr. Oliver,
Thank you very much for coming to speak with us. I am
Japanese and it was quite interesting to hear you talk. All my
life I have heard World War II stories, but only from the
Japanese side. Otherwise all I learned was my teachers teaching
us. It’s surprising to know that even though we all are
humans, war changes us into beasts, all of us. Even now there
are many racist people at our school against middle-eastern
people. I guess people don’t see that they share the same
thoughts, feelings and anything else. In your case the
Japanese guards. Old “Bucktooth” just went crazy because
you were American. War is a bad thing because of that. I must
agree with you about the atomic bomb though. I just wish they
hadn’t used it a second time. My grandmother was in
Hiroshima at the time and she is one of the few atomic bomb
survivors. Although it’s shocking to know that the radiation still
exists in me, I’m just glad to be in America and greatly thankful
to be living in America, with the freedom that you and your
comrades fought and risked your lives for. You will never be
forgotten by me. Just your talk has truly influenced me. Again
thank you for coming to talk to us, and my freedom.
Your admirer,
Ai Irene Marsuno
15 years old
————————
highway’s crossing of the Alangan River. The Regimental
Headquarters and 3d Battalion were about a mile and a half
west of Lamao, near II Corps Headquarters. The regiment
would stay in those positions until April 3. On March 1, Colonel
Charles L. Steel departed the regiment to become chief of Staff
of II Corps. He was succeeded by Lieutenant Colonel Jasper E.
Brady. Major Marshall Hurt, who had been the Regimental
Adjutant, replaced Brady as 3d Battalion Commander. On
March 27, Lieutenant Colonel Cyril Q. Maron took command of
the 2d Battalion, replacing Major Lloyd C. Mofit, who remained
with the battalion as Marron’s executive officer.
In early March, replacements from the Army Air Corps’ 7th
Chemical Company, the 807th MP Company and the
Philippine Department’s Quartermaster Section joined the 31st.
What the better-fed replacements found shocked them.
Veterans of the 31st were emaciated, covered with jungle
sores, and most were sick with serious diseases. Their khaki
uniforms had become little more than filthy sweat-soaked rags.
Rations had declined to eight ounces of rice and one can of
fish per day. To make matters worse, moist rice quickly molded
in the tropical heat, making diarrhea rampant. All carabao
(water buffalo) on Bataan had already been butchered and
eaten, as had the Quartermaster’s pack mules, the 26th
Cavalry Regiment’s horses, and General Wainwright’s horse.
Men constantly foraged for edible roots and herbs, snails,
snakes, monkeys, bananas, wild pigs, and stray chickens, but
with over 70,000 American and Filipino soldiers on Bataan, the
jungle was nearly picked clean of edible material. Although
there were eleven cases of C-rations on each company’s mess
truck, they were reserved for “emergency” use only and it was
a court martial offense to open them without authorization from
Philippine Department Headquarters. Everyone grew weaker
by the day and by April, the 31st Infantry Regiment mustered
less than a full strength battalion of men able to walk unassisted.
How bad would it have to get before someone in authority
decided to declare the situation an emergency?
————————
WWII Philippines — Today
WWII 59th Victory Day
WWII 59th Victory Day was held in Panay Island,
Philippines on March 19, 2004, to commemorate the victory by
th American Forces against the invading Japanese Imperial
Army of WWII at Romblon Guinaras and Panay.
The meeting was held at the Balantang Cemetery National
Shrine in Jaro, Iloilo.
The following patriotic comments were made by dignitaries
present:
Brig. Gen. Arcado S. Lozada, PNA Ret.: Encouraged
WWII veterans to fight today’s terrorism. The veterans of today
may be old and feeble, but still capable of serving their country.
Iloilo City Mayor Jerry P. Trenas: The people bow their
heads in reverence to what the WWII veterans have done for
democracy and the country.
Como. Regalio A. Dayan said that the WWII veterans can
continue to support the government for the people, by the people,
and of the people, by collaborating with other societies to
bring out developments. The Commodore further told the vets
to step back and enjoy their veteran status as heroes of th
country, while letting their sons and daughters take the task of
perpetuating their deeds.
Brig. Gen. Arcado is the President of the 6th Military
District, WWII Veterans Federation Association, Inc., whose
veteran members fought with Gen. Macario Peralta, Jr.
CWO Steven Watson, USCG Ret./USCGA, resides in the
Philippines, and renders volunteer community service to members
of ADBC, promoting the best interests of the U.S. Coast
Guard Auxiliary. He may be reached at his overseas military
address: PSC 517, Box RCD, FPO AP 96517-1000.
————————
JUNE, 2004 — 5

WWI Veteran Frank Woodruff Buckles
Gap View Farm Rt. 6, Box 127
Jefferson County
Charles Town, West Virginia 25414
304-725-5998
Three pictures are all I have from my experience in World
War One. The one showing my four gold overseas stripes was
taken about February 1920 in Oklahoma City on the way to a
reception for General Pershing. The General questioned me at
length and asked where I was born — Harrison County,
Missouri — the General said, “Just 43 miles, as the crow flies,
from Linn County where I was born.”
Frank Woodruff Buckles enlisted in Oklahoma City and
was sent to Ft. Logan, Colorado to be sworn into service in the
US Regular Army in August 1917. He was then sent to Ft.
Riley, Kansas for training in trench retrieval and ambulance
service. After completing his training, he was sent to A.E.F. in
December 1917 with the first Ft. Riley Casual Detachment, a
unit of 102 men. He sailed from Hoboken, NJ via Halifax, Nova
Scotia, without escort, on the Cunard Line vessel HMS
Carpathia, the ship famous for the rescue of the survivors of
the White Star Liner Titanic April 15, 1912.
Frank returned to the US in the USS Pocahontas in
December 1919 after two years on various assignments and
locations in England and France. After the Armistice, he was
assigned to the 122nd P.O.W. Escort Detachment for returning
German prisoners to their homeland.
I was born on my father’s farm north of Bethany in
Harrison County, Missouri, February 1, 1901. I experienced
some difficulty in convincing the military of the extra years
added to my age in order to qualify for service.
Dear Joe,
Recently I have received a lot of attention as a surviving
veteran of World War One, including the French Legion of
Honor presented by Jacques Chirac, the President and Grand
Master of the Order.
I hope you continue in good health as I am, and with best
wishes to you.
Sincerely,
Frank
Can you correct these returns from
the Post Office? Please review.
Walker Consing Abrantes
17060 E. Colima Dr. #237
Hacienda Heights, CA 91745-6779
Joel M. Cooke, Sr.
1504 Golden Rain Drive
Matthews, NC 28104-5215
Salomon L. Diaz
708 South 8th
Gallup, NM 87301-6528
Howard Gudrum
3429 Cincinnati Dr.
Holiday, Il 34691-3310
Robert J. Howe
12 Lincoln Ave.
Batavia, NY 14020
Charles T. Johnson
1925 Otay Lakes Rd. 57
Chula Vista, Ca 92013
6 — THE QUAN
Rev. Ernest Norquist
924 E. June Ave. #708
Milwaukee, WI 53202-2789
Steven Rogers
Box 1584
Falon, NV 89407-1584
Percival Rosette
2858 Montair Way
Union City, CA 94587-1678
Joseph W. Seider
209 East Houston
Llano, TX 78843-1319
Derrell H. Sharp
135 Horizon View Drive
Sequim, WA 98382-9312
On way to reception for General Pershing in Oklahoma
City about January 1920 — Frank Woodruff Buckles.
Marvin Shapiro
1426 Duke Street
Alexandria, VA 22314-3403
Virgin Wallace
705 N F MM 1725
Lubbock, TX 79403
Maj. Thomas M. white Od
17th Asg Cmn Box 3517
Unit 45013
APO, AP 96338
Rufus E. Whiteman
P.O. Box 336
Gallup, N. Mex. 87305-0336
Charles D. Wittfeld
PO Box 901667
Kansas City, MO 64190-1667
————————

Needs Your Help
Mr. Vater … I contacted Fr. Robert
Phillips to enlist his help with finding a
survivor that may have known my father.
My father was a prisoner of war in the
Philippines. He advised me to write to you
and tell you my father’s story. This is all
I’ve been able to find:
My father’s name was Thaddeus E.
Tomaszewski (Ted). He arrived in the
Philippines in June of 1936. On his arrival
he was sent to Battery B, 60th Anti-
Aircraft on Corregidor. Later he was
transferred to Battery F as First Sergeant.
He was promoted to this rank on July 1,
1941. In May of 1942 he was captured
and made a prisoner of war. After two
years at Nichols Field he was sent on a
ship to Fusatisi where he worked in a
Japanese coal mine. On august 18, 1945
he and a small group of prisoners liberated
themselves and were back in American
hands on September 12, 1945. He
reached the States a month later and was
sent to Vaughn General Hospital as a
patient until December 8, 1945. He was
then sent to Percy Jones General Hospital,
remaining there until August 9,
1946. On the tenth of that same month he
reenlisted and was sent to fort Custer
where he was made First Sergeant of the
MP’s. On December 2, 1947, he was
transferred to Tilton and was made First
Sergeant of the Annex Detachment.
My father was a stocky man of average
height. He had short-cut dark blonde hair
and blue eyes. It’s been said that he was
very sharp and brusque in person and
every bit a soldier. He died on June 3,
1955 at the age of 38, leaving behind a
young widow and 4 small children. He is
buried at Arlington National Cemetery
next to my mother who passed away on
June 23, 1994.
If there’s anyone out there that knew
my father, my brothers and I would appreciate
it if you could contact us. My e-mail
address is judie@ix.netcom.com and my
phone number is 408-779-2207.
Thank you so much.
Judie Bowden
————————
Book Sequel Released
The sequel to my book, “Rogues of
Bataan” is just going to press. Titled, “The
Rogues Return”, it depicts a time frame
from 1940 through 1945 in the Philippines
and Japan with an emphasis on the
Marine Corps’ participation there. It features
some of the seventy nine marines
who actually survived the Death March,
O’Donnell, Clark Field detail, Bilibid and
Camps 17 and 1 on Kyushu, Japan. The
Luxury Liner Mati-mati Maru and the sixty
two day cruise is described in detail.
Many thanks.
Ted R. Williams
Former member
Hdqtrs. Co., 3rd. Bat.
4th Reg. USMC
Home phone: (714) 535-4253
————————
White House Appoints Lawyer
to Help Declassify Files on
Japanese War Crimes
At a press conference in Washington,
D.C. on May 13, it was announced that
the White House has appointed attorney
and law professor John Choon Yoo to
assist the Nazi War Crimes and Japanese
Imperial Government Records Interagency
Working Group (IWG) in locating
and declassifying federal records dealing
especially with Japanese World War II
war crimes.
The appointment was announced by
IWG chair Steven Garfinkel at The
National Archives at a special event
releasing the IWG report titled “U.S.
Intelligence and the Nazis”, a joint effort
by National Archives staff and four historians
over the past five years. Now, Mr.
Garfinkel said, the IWG will devote its primary
focus over the next year to war
crimes by the Japanese, a search which
has been ongoing in a parallel way to the
work on Nazi war crimes and postwar
issues.
Mr. Yoo received his B.A. from Harvard
College, and worked as a reporter in
Washington, D.C. before entering Yale
Law School. He joined the faculty of the
University of California Law School at
Berkeley in 1993, and later clerked for
Justice Clarence Thomas on the U.S.
Supreme Court. He served as general
counsel of the U.S. Senate Judiciary
Committee in 1995-96, and in the office of
legal counsel in the U.S. Department of
Justice from 2001 to 2003 before returning
to Berkeley.
Linda Goetz Holmes, a member of the
IWG Historical Advisory Panel, told the
Quan: “Because Mr. Yoo has high-level
security clearance and knows his way
around Washington, we believe he will be
of great help to us in locating any records
which may still be classified in our government
agency files relating to Japan’s
wartime behavior.” Many records on
Japan have been declassified already but
are under-researched because they were
not indexed until now, she noted.
The Japan volume of the IWG’s final
report to Congress is expected to be
released in the spring of 2005.
————————
Thanks!
We wish to acknowledge a donation to
A.D.B.C. in memory of Dick Gordon who
passed away last June or July. Sorry, to
this date I have not received a call of his
obit.
Usually the post office notifies us if
someone passes on, so someone must
be receiving his mail. If anyone has a
copy of his death notice, it’s not too late to
notify his friends.
————————
If the Quan wishes to include the book
in the newsletter, I will be happy to take
any orders and ship directly.
The book retails for $15.95. It is sold in
every major chain (Barnes and Noble,
Borders, etc.), military catalogs (Scholars
Bookshelf, Military Ink) and of course
Amazon. I will offer a 20% courtesy discount
to your members if they order
directly from me. They can call toll free 1-
800-843-1724 ext. 343 for ordering. It will
be my pleasure to speak to your members
directly.
————————
Some Survived
An eyewitness account of the Bataan
Death March and the men who lived
through it.
By Manny Lawton
with an introduction by John Toland
Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill 2004
Available in book stores.
320 pages, 5-1/2” x 8-1/2”
ISBN 1-56512-434-0
UPC 09-19628-72434-2
Price: $14.95 Trade paper
NO. 72434
World
Manny Lawton graduated from
Clemson College and joined the United
States Army as an officer in 1940. He
spent three and a half years as a prisoner
of the Japanese in the Philippines, Japan,
and Korea before liberation in 1945. He
lived in his hometown of Estill, South
Carolina, until his death in 1986.
————————
JUNE, 2004 — 7

Christmas 1944
It was twilight when we were plodding along the suburbs of Manila on a cool
December evening in 1944 among those magnificent homes whose owners evacuated
to safer places to await the return of the Americans.
It had been three years that the Philippines had been occupied by the Japanese,
although at this time they were losing the war in the Pacific and Asia.
Three months earlier, MacArthur and his army of liberation had returned, having
seized Leyte and Mindoro in the Middle Philippines. The city of Manila, my birthplace, is
in the north main island of Luzon, once the citadel of democracy. The ensuing naval battle
around Leyte, declared to be the greatest sea battle in history, decimated the
Japanese Imperial Pacific Fleet with the loss of their impregnable “Musashi”, one of the
three great giant battleships and hundreds of navy planes outside Japan. Although their
number was dwindling, the Japanese military escalated their brutality, lending credence
to their earlier threat that if the Americans came back, we’d never see them. This presaged
their ability for committing atrocities against POWs, civilians, women and children
like they did in China and Bataan. They also escalated their arrests of Manila patriots,
members of the underground, including priests and nuns of different nationalities, hauling
them en masse into the dungeons of Fort Santiago for interrogation, torture and execution.
The city was in grief when they nabbed “High Pockets”, an American spy and
night club singer and her Filipina cohorts as well as a general, the first Filipino West
Pointer who commanded a division in Bataan. The city elite, fighting the Japanese clandestinely,
did not escape the clutches of the Kempei-tai, their dreaded secret police.
At this time, intelligence agents from Australia were being landed secretly by submarine
to bolster and coordinate the different guerrilla factions all over the island-country.
All these developments had deteriorated the quality of life of everyone while the
Japanese kept sending the country’s produce, livestock and goods to Japan causing
the economic deterioration into a triple flash of inflation, recession, (depression) and
collapse. The “mickey mouse” money in circulation with no gold bullion to back it up
bought very little of anything even from the black market. Stores and marketplaces had
nothing more to sell while pets, animals and birds were disappearing from homes and
streets. Instead, there had been a proliferation of insects, some in their giant, mutant
state, lining the street electric wires in dense clusters, and a preponderance of beggars
and paupers in search of the last morsel of food from whose rank the streets were littered
with dead bodies. Lately these were joined by fallen collaborators, spies, guerrillas
and bandits lying on the pavements.
It was six weeks earlier that the last sortie of U.S. Navy planes had wrought havoc
on Japanese installations, ground troops, and naval vessels in Manila Bay. Since then,
the city had been at a standstill, stores were boarded up, churches were bolted shut
and the city paralyzed.
The reason why the rampaging U.S. Navy planes disappeared from the scene was
because Admiral Wm. Halsey’s 3rd Fleet had moved on north to raid the areas around
the Japanese-held Formosa (Taiwan). This then allowed the Japanese to direct some
of the emaciated American POWs, survivors of the Bataan Death March, to board ship
for transfer to Japan for forced labor. We didn’t know what was going on anymore at
that time and we felt abandoned, insecure and lost
I was 12 then and with my mother, brother and sister, we kept treading along, having
obtained our ration of rice and vegetables from Mr. Hemady, my father’s employer,
who with his family evacuated to northern Baguio, leaving his manor to the care of his
household staff. We knew we couldn’t make it home, 12 miles away, under a blackout
night in our weak condition, especially since Manila was full of stern sentries, prowling
patrol cars, barricades, checkpoints and loose muggers. So we decided to stay with a
relative in San Juan. Turning into an alley, we unexpectedly heard Christmas carols
being sung by a live group from a hole-in-the-wall cafe. We had forgotten it was
Christmas eve already. The thoughts of my father assailed us. He and a college president
dared to chance riding a dilapidated charcoal-fed truck to get to his hometown 70
miles away, hoping to get food, medicine and money, and to recover from the emotional
trauma and strain he underwent as chief accountant from a grueling investigation of
the real estate firm’s reported connection with the underground. Mr. Hemady was hustled
of to Ft. Santiago and later released.
We finally reached Goring’s place whom we hadn’t seen for two years. That night
she fed us with thick slices of heavy rice cake with caramel topping resulting in our
bouts of colicky diarrhea. Suddenly we were jolted by a heavy drone of an aircraft
which was circling a wide orbit and we guessed it to be a U.S. B-24 bomber. Soon we
were seeing a flurry of white leaflets floating down in the dim, taking on the sheen of
the moonglow but illumined by myriads of flickering fireflies. The air was engulfed by
the haunting scent of Jasmine and Dama de Noche, mixed inexorably with the stiff shitty
odor of dry pig sty.
The bantering children and adults in the neighborhood, as scrawny as we were,
had fun catching and retrieving the leaflets. Under the somber light of a coconut oil
lamp, the printed leaflet with a colored picture of the U.S. and Philippine flags, read
“The Commander-in-Chief and the men of the American forces of liberation in the
(Continued on Page 11)
8 — THE QUAN
Still Available
I work with Turner Publishing Company
in Paducah, Kentucky. We were the publisher
of the ADBC publication from 1998
entitled HISTORY OF THE DEFENDERS
OF THE PHILIPPINES, GUAM, WAKE
ISLANDS 1941-1945. See the book on
the Turner website at this link:
http://www.turnerpublishing.com/detail.
aspx?ID=186
We still have over 100 copies of this
beautiful history book in our warehouse
and we would love to get them into the
hands of those who would appreciate
them most, the folks of the ADBC. Will
you please add the above link to your
website so that veterans and interested
others will know that the book is still available?
Cost is $50.50.
Thank you for your kind consideration.
Shirlee Vos
Turner Publishing Company
Publishers of America’s History
412 Broadway
Paducah, KY 42002-3101
Ph: (270) 443-0121 ext. 101
Fax: (270) 443-0335
www.turnerpublishing.com
svos@turnerpublishing.com
————————
Seeking Information
Dear Mr. Vater,
A friend gave me your address and told
me that you publish information or have
information about Bataan Death March
POWs.
My grandfather, Kearie Lee Berry, was
a colonel or general in the Death March. I
don’t really know very much information
about his POW years in the Philippines.
I’d like to know more, so any source of
information about him specifically during
those years that you could point me to,
would be helpful.
Thanks for your assistance.
Sincerely,
Dana Berry Frazee
10123 Grove Loop C
Westminster, Colorado 80031
jdfrazee@comcast.net
————————
Help
I would like to receive a life-time subscription
of The American Defenders of
Bataan and Corregidor magazine “The
Quan.”
I was in Battery B, 60th Coast Artillery in
1937, 38 and 39. I would like to have any
info about anyone else that was there at
that time, so I may get a hold of them (telephone
numbers, addresses, names, etc.)
Thanks!
Thomas R. Huntley
757 Myrick Branch Rd.
Pulaski, TN 38478
Phone # (931) 363-7170
————————

A Tribute to the 803rd Engineers
Brief History of the
803rd Engineer Battalion and
803rd Engineer Aviation Battalion
On July 8, 1941 at Westover Army Air Field, Westover,
Massachusetts, the 21st Engineer Regiment (Aviation) was
renamed the 803rd Engr Bn (Avn Sep).
September 17, 1941. The 803rd was alerted for shipment
to the Philippines, arriving October 23, 1941 with three companies
— Hqs., A, and B. Near the end of November 1941 the
809th Engr Co Avn (Sep) which was already in the Philippines
was renamed Co C of the 803rd. The 803rd personnel were
entitled to wear the shoulder patch of the Army Air Corps.
The 803rd was assigned duties on the island of Luzon at
Clark Field, Fort Stotsenburg, O’Donnell, Capas, Tarlac, and
Nichols Field near Manila. On December 7, 1941 Japan
bombed Pearl Harbor and Dec. 8 the Japanese began their
offensive against the Philippines. The 803rd was the first Avn
Engr Bn to engage in combat of WWII. It has been written
about Co A of the 803rd after they had been on a defensive
line for five days and nights as Infantry “ … as tough a fighting
outfit as ever set foot on Bataan.” The now legendary 803rd
defended several areas in the Philippines; Bataan and
Corregidor are just two of the names now well remembered.
April 9, 1942. Major General Edward P. King surrendered
all American and Philippine troops on Bataan. A majority of the
803rd were on Bataan at the time. As POWs the American and
Philippine troops were horribly treated: Death March, POW
Camps O’Donnell, Cabanatuan, Palawan and others, five Hell
Ships, and slave labor camps within Japan, Formosa, Korea,
and Manchuria. Lieutenant General Wainwright surrendered all
military forces in the Philippines on May 6, 1942.
The Emperor of Japan informed his country of their surrender
in a radio message broadcast on August 15, 1945. The
formal instrument of surrender was signed on September 2,
1945. The 803rd POWs had been in captivity for over three
years.
The newly activated 803rd performed engineer duties with
its headquarters in Manila. The unit was deactivated on
February 15, 1947. The 803rd personnel wore the shoulder
patch of the 13th Air Force.
ACTIVITIES OF 803RD ENGINEER AVIATION BATTALION
It is an injustice to history that the unit story of the 803rd
Engineer Aviation Battalion could not have been written. But in
the days of Bataan and Corregidor, 1941 and 1942, men were
not concerned with engraving their names that a civilized world
will never appreciate.
At the infamous beginning of the Pacific War when Japs
planes dived from the sky, straffing and bombing an unsuspecting
foe, the 803rd was scattered at various air fields on
Luzon. The names of these bases are indelibly marked in
every American’s mind — O’Donnell, Clark Field, Nichols Field,
Del Carmen Field.
Nine of its men were recommended for the Distinguished
Service Cross for extraordinary heroism at these three fields
during the first few days when they jumped to small caliber
machine guns in exposed positions and directed a continuous
stream of fire at the planes which were killing dozens of men
around them and destroying hundreds of military objectives. In
the face of withering enemy fire and constant attack, these
men disregarded their personal safety to continue the defense,
downing several planes.
The Silver Star Decoration was recommended to 12 others
for gallantry, in action between December 8 and December
24, 1941 when they continued to repair damaged Clark Field
during incessant air attacks at great personal risk. Repair of
the field required the use of heavy equipment, which, when in
operation, made it impossible to hear air raid warnings. As a
result they were given no opportunity to take adequate cover
after the attacks actually began. But they stuck to their jobs.
Twelve additional men were awarded Purple Hearts for
wounds received in action.
General Douglas MacArthur recognized their distinct contribution
and issued the following commendation for the entire
unit.
*“… In the face of continued bombardment and straffing of
flying fields on Luzon, you men continued day and night to
carry on important engineer construction and repair operations
… and in addition assumed the task of guarding and defending
your stations. It displays a splendid spirit, established an excellent
record and set a high standard of devotion to duty … As a
former Engineer Officer, it gives me special pleasure to commend
you, for your splendid work.”
Yet the 803rd had begun to operate.
Company “A”, of the 803rd, was pulled from valuable construction
work and sent into the front lines near Quinauan Point
on January 25 until the 30th. During the fierce fighting which
ensued they suffered 50% casualties of the 92 men engaged.
Despite that fact, A Company was back at work on the vital
West Road the next day.
On the night of February 3, Company “A” slipped across
the mouth of Manila Bay from Bataan peninsula to Corregidor
where it hastened to improve Kindley Field, on the Rock’s
crest, and carry on other construction projects.
Meanwhile HQ Company, B Company, and C Company
were working feverishly building bridges, roads, gun emplacements,
and numerous airstrips on Bataan.
At that time thousands of Japanese troops were pushing
the Americans into crowded Bataan peninsula while their
planes commanded all sectors. Nevertheless, General Hugh J.
Casey, Chief of Engineers USAFFE, reported morale of all
allied forces was increasing in the face of quinine and material
shortages, and relentless bombardment. He added:
“If only a company or battalion of reinforcements or only a
few planes could be secured SOON as symbols of others to
come, even in remote future, morale of the entire command
would be greatly uplifted.” Only three ships out of a whole fleet
of supply vessels reached the beleaguered forces. But they
fought on.
The last few days of the struggle have gone unrecorded
and the heroism of many men may never be told, but the few
sketches regarding the 803rd and their splendid service stands
a tribute to all those American Forces who did so much with so
little.
Engineer, USAFFE, December 21, 1941
(1) TO: C/S
Recommend that the following letter be dispatched to the
Commanding Officer, 803rd Engineer Battalion (AVN) in commendation
for the splendid work performed by that unit particularly
since the war started:
TO: Commanding Officer, 803rd Engineer Battalion (AVN)
In the face of the continued bombardment and straffing of
the airfields upon which your men have been engaged, they
have continued day and night to carry on their important engineer
and construction operations in addition to the guarding
and defense of these fields. They have displayed a splendid
spirit and established an excellent record in the execution of
their tasks.
It is my hope that the fine record they have already made in
the relatively short period of this emergency will continue and
add still further laurels to your organization and its personnel.
Douglas MacArthur
(Continued on Page 10)
JUNE, 2004 — 9

(Continued from Page 9)
HQS, USAFFE
Office of the Engineer in the Field
SUBJECT: Engineer Operations Report for Week Ending
March 7, 1942
TO: The Commanding General, USAFFE
(Activities of 803rd Mentioned in Report)
A. Hq & Serv Co —
Reach from Cab cabin to KP 169. Ditching and placing of
concrete culvert at all entrances to units along road, ditching
where possible is by machine.
“A” Co — Improvement of Corregidor Field and other work
requested.
“B” Co — Improvement of reach from KP 169 to KP 173 —
Sisiman Road and Alaoasin R Road — surfacing and ditching
“C” Co — Reach from Alawgan R to Cab cabin preventive
maintenance and road patrol.
War Department
Washington, March 9, 1942
General Orders)
No. 14)
Citation of Units in the United States Forces in the Philippines
As authorized by Executive Order 9075 (Sec 11, Bull. 11,
WD 1942), a citation in the name of the President of the United
States, as public evidence of deserved distinction and honor, is
awarded to the 803rd Engineer Aviation Battalion, then
attached to Headquarters, Headquarters Detachment, and
army troops. United States Army forces in the Far East. They
cited outstanding performance of duty in action. During the
period December 8-31, 1941, operation under continuous serial
bombardment, these units planned and directed the delaying
action that made possible the withdrawal of the North and
Luzon forces into Bataan Peninsula: they planned and executed
the evacuation of personnel, brought about the movement
of supplies and equipment that made possible the prolonged
defense of Bataan, the execution of the demolitions that effected
the delay essential the success of the withdrawing, and the
maintenance of communications without which the maneuver
might have failed.
By order of the Secretary of War:
Gen. G.C. Marshall
Chief of Staff
War Department
Washington, April 30, 1942
General Orders)
No. 21)
Citation of Units in the United States Forces in the Philippines
As authorized by Executive Order 9075 (Sec 11, Bull. 11,
WD, 1942) a citation in the name of the President of the United
States, as public evidence of deserved honor and distinction is
awarded to Company A, 803rd Engineer Aviation Battalion, Co.
A, assigned to the harbor defense of Manila and Subic Bay,
United States Forces in the Philippines, are cited for outstanding
performance of duty in action, during the period from March
14 to April 9, 1942, inclusive.
As a result of their splendid combined efforts, ruggedness
and devotion to duty, Company A, 803rd Engineer Aviation
Battalion, with various units and services comprising the harbor
defense of Manila and Subic Bays frustrated a major hostile
attempt to reduce the efficiency of the islands.
By order of the Secretary of War:
Gen G.C. Marshall
Chief of Staff
10 — THE QUAN
War Department
Washington, April 30, 1942
General Orders)
No. 22)
Citation of both Military and Naval Forces of the United States
and Philippine Government
As authorized by Executive Order 9075 (Sec 11, Bull. 11,
WD 1942), a citation in the name of the President of the United
States, as public evidence of deserved honor and distinction, is
awarded to the 803rd Engineer Aviation Battalion, part of the
combined military and naval forces of the United States and
Philippine government engaged in the defense of the
Philippines since December 7, 1941.
By order of the Secretary of War:
Gen G.C. Marshall
Chief of Staff
War Department
Washington, July 6, 1942
General Orders)
No. 32)
Citation of Units in the United States Forces in the Philippines
As authorized by Executive Order 9075 (Sec 11, Bull. 11,
WD 1942), a citation in the name of the President of the United
States, as public evidence of deserved honor and distinction, is
awarded to the 803rd Engineer Aviation, part of the
Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, Headquarters
and army troops, United States Army Forces in the Far East.
They are cited for outstanding performance of duty in action
during the defense of Bataan from January 12 to February 14,
1942. The foresight and precision in planning by the staff, the
effective execution of these plans by the service elements, the
courage and coolness under fire, and the marked devotion to
duty of all elements made possible, despite manifold handicaps,
the preparation and execution of the plans which resulted
in the successful defense of Bataan against repeated and
varied attacks by superior enemy forces.
By order of the Secretary of War:
Gen G.C. Marshall
Chief of Staff
HEADQUARTERS
874th ENGINEER AVIATION BATTALION
APO 75
December 1, 1945
Administrative Memorandum)
Number 24)
Inactivation of this Organization
1. Under the provisions of Section III, General Orders No.
344 Headquarters, United States Army Forces Western Pacific
(AFWESPAC), dated November 24, 1945, the 874th Engineer
Aviation Battalion will be inactivated effective December 2,
1945.
2. All personnel and equipment of this organization will be
reassigned to the 803rd Engineer Aviation Battalion.
3. For all practical purposes, this action will result in nothing
more than a change of name for this organization.
4. This memorandum will be posted on all bulletin boards.
By order of Lt. Colonel Carlson:
Stanley Celer
1st Lt. CE
Adjutant
The history of the 803rd was furnished by Clarence E.
Campbell, (304) 485-4079. I have a complete roster of the
803rd in the Philippines.
————————
Your Editor printed the 803rd, his unit, to show how
other units can be showcased. Please confine to two
pages or less.

PROFILE
Cpt. Charles D. Tinley
54th Signal Corps
Died February 2, 1943
Camp Tanaguwa, Osaka, Japan
My father, Charles David Tinley, was born of Scotch-English parentage in Tamaqua, PA on February 8, 1907. His father, James
Tinley, was Superintendent of the Lehigh and Wilkes-Barre Coal Company. His mother was Christina Hannah Berry Tinley. My
father was the youngest of four living children. At the time my father was born, his siblings were: Emily, 22 years old, Carrie 18, and
Clarence 12. Around 1920 my grandfather retired from the coal company and he, his wife and two children, Emily and Charles
moved to Franklin Center, PA where he bought and ran a grocery store. In 1922, my grandmother died when my father was 15. My
father once wrote, “A sympathetic and understanding mother motivated by the highest ideals and a father, who engendered respect
and admiration, profoundly influenced my childhood development.”
My father attended high school in Edinboro, PA where my mother, Vera Ethel Beerbower, was also attending. He graduated
from high school in 1923 and attended Edinboro State Teachers College for two and one half years before entering the five-year
cooperative engineering course at Akron University. He received his Electrical Engineering degree in 1929. Sometime during the
time he was a student at Akron University, his father and sister Emily moved to Akron, OH.
During my father’s college years, my mother graduated from high school and attended Edinboro State Teacher’s College and
received her teacher’s certificate. She taught in a one-room schoolhouse until they were married in June of 1930.
It was during my father’s college years at Akron U. that he entered ROTC and then devoted his vacations to summer camp and
his evenings to study in order to qualify himself for promotions in the US Army Reserves.
While he was at Akron U., my father co-oped with the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company in electrical maintenance and
Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company in electrical construction. Following graduation he was employed by the General Electric
Company in electrical engineering at Harbor Creek, PA. In 1930 my father was laid off, so he entered the teaching profession as
instructor of related technical subjects in Dunkirk Industrial High School and became Principal in 1939. Dunkirk, NY is about fifty
miles from Erie, PA on Lake Erie.
It was when my mother and father were living in Dunkirk and after my father changed careers to education that he studied at
Buffalo State Teachers College, Oswego State Normal School, University of Buffalo and Cornell University, earning a Masters
Degree. I was born in April of 1934 and my sister Jane (now Jane Wilson) in June of 1935 and we were living at 504 McKinley
Avenue. Shortly after Jane was born my parents bought their first home at 517 McKinley Avenue. We all attended the First United
Presbyterian Church in Dunkirk. My father was an Elder and superintendent of the Sunday School. Mother was active in the Church
Circle and taught Sunday school. Life was good.
In the spring of 1941 my father, then a member of the Reserve Officers Corp, was called to active duty and our family life was
put on hold. He was Marshall of the Memorial Day Parage on May 29th in Dunkirk. The parade culminated at the train station and we
bid our tearful farewells as he left on the late evening train for San Francisco to meet his transport to the Philippines. On June 6th my
dad sailed on the President Pierce, which had been refitted for this trip for the army, and arrived in Manila on June 24th. He was
made commander of the 54th Signal Maintenance Company at the Port of Manila. Occasionally, he would go to Clark Field (Fort
Stotesenburg) on the Bataan Peninsula because he had men up there installing telephones and cables. Then in late October my
father moved his company to Nichols Field, Tizal Philippine Islands, which was 8 miles south of Manila.
On December 8, 1941 when the Japanese invaded the Philippines I do not know exactly where my father was. My mother
received a letter from my father on January 22, 1942 with a return address of Bataan Peninsula. Letters in February and March had
return addresses of APO 2 P.I. A telegram on April 4 came via Cebu, however, I don’t have any confirmed evidence that he was ever
in Cebu. The U.S. forces under Major General King surrendered on April 9 and these heroic survivors of Bataan were then subject to
the Japanese atrocities and the humiliations of the Death March into captivity. My father was a prisoner at Camp O’Donnell, where the
Japanese took the prisoners from the Bataan Death March and then later at Cabanatuan, because mother received letters from him at
those locations. In November 1942, my father was transferred to Camp Tanaguwa, Osaka, Japan and died on February 2, 1943.
Following the war, in November 1945, my mother received a letter from Major George W. Campbell of the Army Medical Corps
who had cared for my father. He confirmed that he had gone to Japan with my father and that they were in the same camp. Major
Campbell sent a few of my father’s personal belongings and verified that his death was due to dysentery and starvation.
My mother had my father’s ashes returned to the U.S. and he is buried in Arlington National Cemetery, Section 12, and Grave 1069.
The story of my father is just one story of a WWII soldier but it is symbolic of them all. The personal letters to my mother support
that he was a good Christian with high morals. He was a brave and loyal soldier who loved his country and was willing to give his life
for it. He was a loving husband who cherished his wife and daughters.
“To Captain Tinley, service was not just a glorious adventure but a solemn duty to which he gave years of thoughtful preparation.
He gave of his time, his effort and his loyalty in those days when too many of us were concerned with frivolous pursuits. In the
end he gave all, to his own undying glory. We must never forget Captain Tinley.” (The Dunkirk Evening Observer editorial)
—Nancy Tinley Brown
————————
Christmas 1944 (Continued from Page 8)
Pacific, wish their gallant allies, the people of the Philippines, all the blessings of Christmas and the realization of their fervent hopes
for the new year. Christmas 1944”.
Morale was never so high as on this blessed Christmas Eve, bringing such hope, joy and peace in everyone’s heart as did that
bright star in one glorious night in Bethlehem. It was a powerful, wonderful Christmas greeting.
The next day, a beautiful Christmas day, the air scented with the smell of tropical blossoms, we said our goodbyes and reached
home safely. This soon was followed by our liberation by Americans, restoring the Commonwealth government with the promise of a
brighter future.
Fernando J. Manalac, M.D.
Retired Lieut. Colonel, USA
740-282-3153
————————
JUNE, 2004 — 11

12 — THE QUAN

JUNE, 2004 — 13

14 — THE QUAN
Bathing at General Hospital #2, Bataan 1942
Mukden Survivors 2004
The 21st annual reunion of the Mukden Survivors will be
held in Missoula, Montana September 15-19, at “Ruby’s Inn
and Convention Center”, 4825 North Reserve Street. For
reservations, call 1-800-221-2057. Be sure to mention you are
with the Mukden Survivors for the special room rates. Rooms
are: 1 queen size bed — $55.00; 2 queen size beds — $65.00
(suites are available). Included with all rooms are free hot
breakfast buffet 6-10 a.m., free soup and dessert 5:30-8:30
p.m., free airport shuttle (airport is less than 10 minutes away).
There is an outdoor swimming pool and hot tub. Ruby’s is
close to shopping areas and restaurants (some have
casinos/keno and poker machines). Lunch can be purchased
at Ruby’s also. Remember Montana has no sales tax!
If you are driving, Ruby’s is close to Xpressway 90, coming
from the east, exit at the Reserve St. exit, left on Reserve,
Ruby’s is on your right. Coming from the west, exit at the
Reserve St. exit, right on Reserve, Ruby’s is on your right.
Coming from the south on 93, after you pass Wal Mart, left on
Reserve, continue on to Ruby’s on your left (you will cross
South Ave., 3rd St. and Mullen Road intersections before you
get to Ruby’s).
Tentative plans as of now are: Wednesday the 15th, registering
and dinner on your own. Thursday and Friday evenings,
dinner as a group (no host) Saturday as usual the Banquet.
Sunday breakfast at Ruby’s or wherever. Other activities are
still in the planning stages. A short distance from Ruby’s, elk
can be seen on the mountains, and it’s easy to lose count. This
is a good time of the year to see them.
Missoula is home to the “Smoke Jumpers” training center,
the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, the University of Montana,
and the Forest Service. This area played a big part in the
Lewis and Clark Expedition. It has been determined that an
important campsite of theirs is located just west of Lola, south
of Missoula. From Missoula it is 139 miles to Glacier National
Park, 269 miles to Yellowstone National Park and 70 miles to
Flathead Lake, the largest fresh water lake west of the
Mississippi River. Three rivers intersect here, the Blackfoot
(“The River Runs Through It” fame), the Bitterroot and the
Clarkfork, and it ends up in the Columbia River.
Reservations must be made by August 30. Please bring a
gift for the gift drawing (wrapped) — something unique to your
area.
A registration fee of $50.00 per person includes the cost of
“Remember Bataan”
The 62nd anniversary of the surrender
of American and Filipino forces at Bataan
on April 9, 1942 and the 62nd anniversary
of the Maywood Bataan Day
Organization’s first memorial event on
September 13, 1942.
A yearly memorial service is held o the
2nd Sunday of September, this year on
September 12, at 3:00 p.m. at the
Veterans Memorial, Maywood Park (corner
of 1st Avenue and Oak Street).
A reception in the Maywood Public
Library, 121 South 5th Avenue, follows
the ceremony.
For further information, telephone (708)
345-7077.
————————
the banquet, mailing and hospitality room. Please make the
check payable to Glenda M. Elliott, 1205 Yellow Pine,
Missoula, Mt. 59802-3258. Phone: 406-728-0162; email:
gmemmt@amerion.com.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Please include along with your registration fee your choice
for the banquet and how many.
Steak tips/mushrooms ________
Chicken Cordon Bleu ________
Baked Salmon ________
John Hassler and Joe Poster, old friends

Ben Abbott
John Abbott
Anes Akullian
Arthur Akullian
Martina Aldred
Joseph Alexander
Norma D. Alexander
Tiffany Allen
Karol Ames
Don Amoroso
Fran Amoroso
Malcolm Amos
Cecelia C. Ayres
Mike Bacorn
Ellen Barnes
Silas K. Barnes
Fran Bekovac
Harold A. Bergbower
Michael Bergbower
Debra Bergbower-
Grunwald
Stephen Blakeslee
Claudia Bleil
Eugene E. Bleil
Annette L. Bloskis
Celia Bollich
James J. Bollich
Eileen Boulier
Kenneth R. Boulier
Hershel C. Boushey
Bill Bowen
Blanche Bowen
Paul Brazeau
Carlotta Brenner
William Rush Brenner
Rose Bridges
Julie E. Brittan
Robert A. Brown
Arba L. Bryant
Robert Bryant
Caroline Burkhart
Charles Butterworth
Donna Calderone
Karl Calderone
Rosa Calderone
Thomas Guy Calderone
Fran Campeau
Luke V. Campeau
Harry V. Carrarini
Lillian Carrarini
James W. Carrington
Gerald S. Chapman
Kay Chapman
Maurice Charlof
Martin S. Christie
Rosie Christie
Robert Coffey
Helen Coon
Phillip W. Coon
David Cooper
Susan Cooper
Genie Cornellisson
Henry J. Cornellisson
Mauro B. Corral
Lora M. Cummins
Mary R. Curley
Kris Dahlstrom
ADBC National Convention
Orlando, FL
May 4-9, 2004
List of Convention Attendees
Barbara Davidson
Brown F. Davidson
Floramund A. Difford
Wallace E. Difford
Angie Downey
Gary Downey
Grace Downey
John Downey
Mel Downey
Tiffany Downey
James Downey, Jr.
Mary Draughn
Adrienne E. DuSell
Terry DuSell
Betty J. Edsall
Bruce G. Elliott
Glenda M. Elliott
John M. Emerick
Jim Erickson
Dickie Evans
Brenda Feiner
Martin Feiner
Dave M. Ferrell
Dett Ferrell
Harold “Gunner” Ferrell
Ruth Ferrell
Gretchen Hogaboom
Fisher
Cecil Forinasic
Peg Frantz
Bob Fredrickson
Jane Fredrickson
Fred M. Fullerton
Geoffrey Gallagher
Sharon Gallagher
Juanita George
Pete George
Angelina Giardina
Joseph A. Giardina
John A. Glusman
Louise Glusman
Murray Glusman
Charles H. Graham
Robert D. Haines
Dianne Harrill
Dorothy Harrison
Tom Harrison
Keeney L. Hayes
Bill Hays
Jeanne Hays
Judy Hays
Larry Hays
Roy E. Hays
Russ Hays
Vera Hays
Duane Heisinger
Judith Heisinger
Ed Henry
Christopher Hinson
Ginny Holmes
Kent E. Holmes
Linda Goetz
Isaiah K. Huffman
Rosa Huffman
Wes Injerd
Edward Jackfert
Henrietta Jackfert
Janice Jackfert
Mary A. Jaggers
David Johnson
Ruth Johnson
William H. Johnson
Willis Johnson
Lillian Jones
Susan Rozmus Jones
Louis Lee Jurika
Byron Kearbey
Anne Kreyssig
Bill Kreyssig
Louis Lachman
William H. Lambert
Darlene Lane
John Lane
William Larson
Catherine Leeming
Mary Ida Leonard
Oscar L. Leonard
Sarah Leonard
Kathie Levenberg
Ralph Levenberg
Fran Lewis
John B. Lewis
Benedict L. Lohman
Frieda Lohman
David Lowman
Allison Fisher
Delbert Edward Lynn
Doris Lyn
Judy Macomber
Roger Mansell
Edith Mazur
Enon Mazur
Dorothy McArdle
Mary Jane McCorts-
Blaine
Susannah McCorts-
Bookwalter
Linda McDavitt
Al McGrew
Marjean McGrew
Lucy McGuire
Omar McGuire
Emory Meeks
Pauline Mefford
Andrew Miller
Peg Miller
Charlie M. Mills
John L. Mims
Mike Mindoza
Irene Minier
Alene P. Mitchell
Brennan Mitchell
Diana Mitchell
Louis Molaro
Mary Molesevich
Betty Montoya
Carlos Montoya
Paul B. Moore
Annette Morgan
Neal Morgan
Sue Morgan
Tim Morgan
Dorothy Mosher
Francis R. Mosher
Laura Motosko
Nick Motosko
Thomas Motosko
John J. Moyer
Gerald V. Munson
Rosemary Munson
Lorna Nielsen Murray
Nori Nagasawa
Leonard D. Naylor
Barbara Neiger
John J. Neiger III
Eugene Nielsen
Beth Norman
Janet Northern
John Oleska
Mary Oleska
Dawn Oliver
John Oliver
Ann Overmier
William C. Overmier
Kelly Pait
Dorothy Patrizio
Elizabeth M. Peace
Robert W. Phillips
Elaine Ping
Robert Ping
Sharon Cusano Pinter
Buck Prewett
Mary Prewett
Marvella Provost
Theodore Provost
Jean Pruitt
Judy Pruitt
Audrie Pudely
Michael H. Quinn
Regina A. Quinn
Barb Rathburn
John Rathburn
Rich Rathburn
Heinz Ratsch
Pat Rawlins
Russell N. Rawlins
Marie Raymond
Stephen Raymond
John M. Real
Trudy Real
Bernice C. Reamer
Everett D. Reamer
Eloise Renfro
Robert Renfro
Burrel Reynolds
Lance S. Rintamaki
Linda Robinson
Greg Rodriquez
Richard S. Roper
Harry Rosenberry
Nancy Rosenberry
Elizabeth Rosendahl
Robert D. Rosendahl
Anna G. Roy
Carl W. Roy
Helen Gardner Rozmus
Pat Scandrani
Barbara Scherb
Mary Kay Schmeisser
Clement P. Schmitt
Brad Schultz
Amanda Severeid
Jeremy Severeid
Darleen Shope
Agapito E. Silva
Socorro Silva
Alvin Silver
Lillian Silver
Eugene Slocomb
Frank Smith
Jessie Smith
Katheryn Sofranoff
Debby Stahl
Ruth Stahl
Frank Stecklein
Judy Stecklein
Joe A. Sterner III
Albert L. Taylor
Carol Taylor
Dorothy Taylor
Steve Taylor
Billy D. Templeton
Erin Templeton
Katie Templeton
Lou Templeton
Betty Tenny
Lester Tenny
David Thompson
Patricia A. Thompson
Kinue Tokudome
James Tootle
Marian Tootle
Wilma A. Trout
Lyn Turnbull
Robert Turnbull
Helen Vater
Joseph A. Vater
Mona Bridges Ventresca
Donald L. Versaw
Berni Vogler
Robert Vogler, Jr.
Ao Wang
Lydia A. Whitcomb
John C. Whitehurts
Helen M. Wilayto
Henry J. Wilayto
Gary Wilshire
Lorna Wilshire
James B. Wilson
Dudley Winters
Irene F. Wonneman
Michael Wood
Nancy Blakeslee Wood
Woody Woodring
James W. Wright
Ruth Wright
Viola Wright
Dick Young
Erwina Young
Rita Young
Shelly Zimbler
Suzanne Zimbler
Baselio Zorzanello
Margaret Zorzanello
Total = 327 Convention
Attendees
————————
JUNE, 2004 — 15

16 — THE QUAN
Douglas Bogue
Douglas W. Bogue was born April 20,
1918, in Omaha, Nebraska, to Alvin
Eugene Bogue and Anna Sophia Bogue.
He passed away March 5, 2004, at his
home after a lengthy illness.
Doug knew from a very early age what
his life’s direction would be — he wanted
to be a Marine. After ROTC school; serving
in the National Guard; and a little fib
about his age, he enlisted in the Marine
Corps on February 10, 1936.
His first combat tour of duty was in
Shanghai, China. After Pearl Harbor, it
was back to the Pacific where he was
among those taken prisoner in 1942 by
the Japanese at Corregidor and Bataan in
the Philippine Islands. He was removed
from the Bataan Death March to the
island of Palawan as slave labor to build
an airstrip. This experience culminated on
December 14, 1944, when by heroic measures
and under horrific circumstances he
escaped. For this he was presented The
Legion of Merit with Valor. Among other
medals received during World War II were
the Bronze Star and two Purple Hearts.
Doug also received a Letter of
Commendation with ribbon for service as
witness during the prosecution of certain
war criminals before the International
Military Tribunal for the Far East.
Upon his return stateside, he married
his true love, Betty Wearing who was still
waiting for him, on March 10, 1945.
When the Korean Conflict erupted in
1950, it was back to the Pacific. Doug
participated in such actions as the seizure
of Inchon; the securing of Seoul; and the
Chosin Campaign.
In 1957 Doug was designated a marine
Gunner. This was an elite group in the
Corps who were considered the experts
on infantry weapons and tactics. In 1959
he retired as a major from the Marine
Corps on paper, but never in his heart.
The Corps was his extended family, his
friends and his comrades. It was the
source of his strength, as well as his infinite
compassion.
After his military retirement, Doug,
Betty and their three girls moved to San
Diego and he worked the next twenty
years for the San Diego and Arizona
Eastern Railroad. Another retirement and
one final move to Lompoc in 1980.
Having done most things on land and
sea, Doug needed a little challenge during
his civilian life and took up flying. He
thoroughly enjoyed his time in the air and
became certified as a pilot, as well as an
instructor.
Doug never thought he would live to be
very old and on March 5, 2004 his brief
eight-five years came to an end peaceably
and in the arms of his family. Time
now to go to God and rest in peace.
~ Deceased ~
Semper Fidelis! He will be forever loved
and remembered by his surviving family:
his wife of 59 years, Betty; his daughter
and son-in-law, Judy and J. “Howdy’
Spicer; his daughter, Pat Sutton; and his
daughter, Cathy Bogue.
Private family services were held at the
Moffett Air Field Chapel, Palo Alto, CA..
————————
Glenn Bowers
Glenn Bowers, 82, long time resident of
Seal Beach, died on March 26 at Kindred
Hospital Westminster of congestive heart
failure. He is survived by his wife, Louise,
daughter Deborah Hoff of Virginia and
two grandsons, Steve Thomas of Solvang
and Danny Hoff of Virginia.
Glenn was born February 6, 1922 in
Pocahontas, AR and moved with his family
to Bakersfield, CA in 1935, where he
completed high school and joined the
Army Air Corp in September, 1940. He
served in the Philippines with the 20th
Pursuit Squadron until they were surrendered
to the Japanese. He was a survivor
of the Bataan Death March and spent 3 1 ⁄2
years as a prisoner of war of the
Japanese.
Upon leaving the service he came to
Long Beach, obtained his contractor’s
license and operated his own business for
20 years. Tired of the rat race, he left contracting
and joined Southern California
Edison, where he retired after 15 years.
Glenn joined R.E. Dolly Masonic Lodge
#616 in 1962 and was Master in 1971. He
received the Hiram Award, the highest
honor a Masonic Lodge can bestow upon
a fellow mason, in 1989. He was a member
of Long Beach Scottish Rite and
received the honor of Knight Commander
of the Court of Honor. He also was active
with American Legion Post #857 in Seal
Beach. In addition, he was a Sr. Volunteer
Policeman for the City of Seal Beach from
November, 1997 until his death.
A Memorial Service was held at the First
United Methodist Church, 148 10th Street,
Seal Beach on April 2 at 11:00 a.m.
————————
Clarence G. Charleston
Clarence “Charlie” Gilbert Charleston,
born on April 18, 1922, was reunited with
our Lord and Creator on Thursday, March
25, 2004 at his home in Tempe, Arizona.
He is survived by his loving wife, Jean of
58 years. Survivors also include his brothers
William (CA), Daniel (IL), Paul (MO)
and sister Charlotte (AZ). Charlie was a
loving father of six surviving children,
Steve, Kathleen, Chuck, Patti, Bonnie and
Terry. He was also a grandfather of 16
and a great-grandfather of 10. He proudly
served his country as a Corporal in the
“Old 4th” United States Marine Corp. He
was a survivor of the Bataan/Corregidor
Campaign. Charlie was a brave Prisoner
of War in WWII for 42 months in a
Japanese Prisoner Camp. For his service
and dedication, he was awarded a Bronze
Star, 2 Purple Hearts and several other
awards. He received an honorable discharge
in 1946. He then went on to work
as a Civil Service employee and retired in
1978. Charlie was a wonderful and loving
husband, father, grandfather, greatgrandfather
and friend. He lived a great
life full of stories and although he has
passed on, his legacy will live in our
hearts forever. Charlie will be missed.
Services were held on Wednesday at 11
a.m. at Carr Tenney Mortuary.
————————
Col. Arthur G. Christensen
Col. Arthur G. Christensen, 88, died
January 2004 of complications from pneumonia.
He joined the Army in 1936 following
graduation from North Dakota State
University. He retired in 1960. He was a
member of the US Army 31st Infantry
Regiment, Manila, PI from 1939 to 1941.
He was a POW of the Japanese from the
fall of Bataan.
Following his military career, he was an
official in the Baltimore, MD urban renewal
and housing agencies.
He and his wife, Sara (Saki) lived in
Severna Park, MD for many years, moving
to Mitchellville, MD two years ago.
————————
Clarence “Sarge” Daubenspeck
Master Sergeant Clarence “Sarge”
Daubenspeck served in the US Army
from January 14, 1937-September 2,
1967. At age seventeen he enlisted in the
Army. He was stationed at Fort Benning,
GA. In 1940, he went to the Philippine
Islands. He became a POW of the
Japanese with the fall of Bataan on April
9, 1942 and survived the Death March.
He was liberated on his 26th birthday,
September 13, 1945.
In 1946, he enlisted in the U.S. Air
Force and was stationed at Sewart AFB
in Smyrna, TN. When the Korean conflict
began, his unit was sent to occupied
Japan. Clarence returned to the US in
1953 and was sent to Langley AFB, VA,
and returned to Smyrna, TN in 1957. The
last nine years of his career was spent as
Air Force Advisor to the Air National
Guard at Berry Fields, Nashville, TN during
the Vietnam War.
His awards included: Combat Inf.
Badge, Bronze Star Medal, Presidential
Unit Citation w/3 Bronze Oak Clusters,
Commendation Medal, Prisoner of War
Medal, AF Outstanding Unit Award, AF
Good Conduct Medal w/Silver Bar w/Two

Knots, American Defense Medal w/One
Bronze Star, American Campaign Medal,
Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal w/Two
Bronze Stars, World War II Victory Medal,
Army of Occupation Medal (Japan),
Korean Service Medal w/One Bronze
Arrow Head, 1 Silver Star and 2 Bronze
Stars, AF Longevity Service Award
Ribbon, USAF NC Graduate Ribbon,
Philippine Defense Ribbon w/One Star,
National Defense Service Medal, Philippine
Presidential Unit Citation, Republic
of Korea Presidential Unit Citation, United
Nation Service Medal (Korea).
————————
Frank L. Corbi
Frank L. Corbi, 85, of Alliance, died on
Wednesday, March 17, 2004, at 12:20
a.m. at Alliance Community Hospital.
He was born in Alliance on Feb. 18,
1919, and was a member of St. Joseph
Catholic Church.
Frank enlisted in the U.S. Army Air
Corps on Nov. 11, 1939. He was sent to
the Philippines in November 1942, was
taken prisoner of war by the Japanese in
April 1943 and survived the “Bataan Death
March.” Mr. Corbi was held prisoner until
August of 1945. He re-enlisted in the U.S.
Army Air Forces in 1946 and served in the
Bomber Flight Test Division. He retired
from the Air Force with the rank of Senior
Master Sergeant in 1962 after serving his
country for 22 years. Mr. Corbi was awarded
the World War II Victory Medal,
Distinguished Service Citation, American
Defense Ribbon and the Purple Heart.
He was a commercial rated pilot in both
fixed and roto wing aircraft. He also was a
licensed aircraft mechanic with inspector
authorization by the Federal Aviation
Agency.
Mr. Corbi was a member of the Alliance
Elks, Experimental Aircraft Association,
the Aircraft Owners and Pilot Association,
and the Alliance Chapter of the Disabled
American Veterans.
He is survived by two daughters, Cindi
Corbi of Alliance, and Linda Kan of Gurnee,
ILL; son, Frank A. Corbi of Grayslake, ILL;
two grandchildren, Trista Common and
Brandon Common, both of Illinois; sister,
Lillian Celentano of Wisconsin; and a brother,
Mario Corbi of Sebring.
Preceding him in death were his wife,
Agnes Svoboda Corbi (they were married
on Sept. 25, 1948); his parents, Corace
and Ellena (DeCarlos) Corbi; his stepmother,
Maria (Canzano) Corbi; infant son,
John Corbi; and a brother, Henry Corbi.
Friends called at the Sharer-Stirling-
Skivolocke Funeral Home on Saturday
from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. with a Memorial
Service beginning at 1:30 p.m. The Rev.
Fr. Donald L. Feicht, Pastor of St. Joseph
Catholic Church, officiated. Interment,
with military honors provided by the
Alliance American Legion Post 166 and
Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1036, followed
at St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery.
————————
Dale B. Frantz
Dale B. Frantz, age 87, died recently in
Aultman Hospital. Born in Mitchell, SD, he
had been a Canton resident for over 60
years. He was retired from the Locker
Moving and Storage Co. Dale was a
World War II Army veteran, having been a
Japanese prisoner of War for 3 1 ⁄2 years.
He was a member of St. Paul’s United
Methodist Church, the Rotary Club of
Canton, where he had been active with
the Handicapped Scouts Program, was a
board member of Goodwill Industries and
the Agency for the Aging, and was a
founder of Pegasus Farm. Dale was also
a member of the Old Rat Patrol, the
Marlboro Volunteers Inc., and the North
Central Ohio Chapter of American Ex-
Prisoners of War. He was honored by the
Canton City Schools for over 55 years of
volunteer service. Survived by his wife,
Margaret (Peg) Frantz; three daughters
and sons-in-law, Pam and Tom Winkler,
Rhonda and Jim Albu, and Patti and Dick
Stull; three sons and two daughters-inlaw,
Dale B. Jr. (Skip) and Marie Frantz,
Rod Frantz, and Tom and Vickie Frantz;
three grandchildren, Alwynn Albu, Nicole
(Nici) Frantz, and Justin Frantz; and
extended family, Carol and Wayne Smith.
Services were held Monday at 11 a.m. in
St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, 2705-
6th St., S.W., Canton, with the Rev. Dr.
Stanley D. Wallace officiating. Burial was
in North Lawn Cemetery. In lieu of flowers,
donations may be made to Pegasus
Farm or to the Rotary Club of Canton.
————————
David Earl Garrett
Chief Master Sgt. David Earl Garrett,
U.S. Air Force retired, 82, of Panama
City, FLA, passed away Friday, March 5,
2004, at his home. He has been a resident
of the area since 1966, coming here
from Tokyo, Japan. Mr. Garrett retired in
1970 from the U.S. Air Force after 31
years of service. He was a former POW
during World War II and an American
defender of Bataan and Corregidor. He
was a survivor of the Bataan Death
March. Mr. Garrett enjoyed fishing and
radio-controlled model airplanes. He is
survived by his wife, Kyoko Garrett; two
sons, David E. Garrett Jr. and his wife,
Linda, and Thomas G. Garrett and his
wife, Kris; two daughters, pamela S.
Arnold and her husband Claude, and
Janet L. Smith and her husband Roger;
half-brother Paul Garrett; and half-sister,
Jeanene McCormick; and six grandchildren.
Funeral services were held at 3
p.m. Tuesday, March 9, 2004, at the
Kent-Forest Lawn Funeral Home Chapel.
Interment will follow at Forest Lawn
Memorial Cemetery with full military honors
conducted by Tyndall Air Force Base.
————————
John P. Gillespie
John P. Gillespie, age 86, of Iowa City,
Iowa, died on February 2, 2004.
Graveside services were held in Memory
Gardens Cemetery in Iowa City on
February 6.
John Paul Gillespie was born August
15, 1917 in Chicago. He was a graduate
of the University of Iowa, with a B.S. in
Commerce. He joined the Army Air Corps
as a Second Lieutenant before the beginning
of WWII. He was stationed in Manila
at Nichols Field in 1941 where he served
as adjutant of the 17th Pursuit Squadron.
He was a defender of Bataan and a survivor
of the Bataan Death March. In
September of 1944 he escaped the sinking
of the Japanese prison ship Shinyo
Maru, and was rescued a month later by
an American submarine. He returned to
the U.S. on November 6, 1944. For his
service in WWII, he was awarded the
Bronze Star and the Purple Heart.
Gillespie continued a career in the U.S.
Air Force and retired in 1966 at the rank
of Colonel. He returned to Iowa City that
year and earned an MBA degree at the
University of Iowa, then served as
Business Manager of the Iowa City
School District for a number of years
before his retirement.
John Gillespie is survived by his wife,
Hazel; his daughter Lee Green of Las
Vegas; son John Jr. of California; and
granddaughters Kelly Green and
Alexandra Gillespie.
————————
Dr. Dan Golenternek
A notice in the March/April 2004 issue
of The Quan stated that Dr. Dan
Golenternek’s Quan had been returned
because he was deceased. I am deeply
saddened by this notice.
My heartfelt condolences go to his family
and to his friends at this time of sorrow.
Dr. Golenternek, along with Dr. John
Lamy, were the two doctors at the
American Prisoners of War Slave Labor
Camp working at the Mitsubishi Company
Osarizawa Copper Mine in Hanawa,
Sendai, Honshu, Japan.
In August 1944, 1035 American POWs,
survivors of Bataan and Corregidor, were
crowded into the forward hold of the Hell
Ship Noto Maru in Manila and shipped to
Japan to help Japan with its acute shortage
of laborers. These men who had
already suffered 2 1 ⁄2 years of sickness,
starvation and deprivations were in no
condition to suffer further by the unbearably
crowded, suffocating airless heat,
lack of food, lack of water, lack of sanitary
and medical facilities which they endured
for the twelve day duration of the trip. The
move from the tropical heat of the P.I. to
the cold climate of northern Japan was an
added stress.
On arrival in Japan, 500 of the
American POWs went directly to Hanawa
and were required to labor, under the
JUNE, 2004 — 17

threat of death, to extract copper ore from
the 1300 year old copper depleted mine.
The labor contract between the Japanese
Army and the Mitsubishi officials required
the Army to furnish a given quota of workers
for twelve hours of work six days per
week. The POWs work conditions, living
conditions and health conditions continued
to deteriorate. Starvation, sickness
and mine related accidents took a heavy
toll. Dr. Golenternek was not given any
medicines or medical facilities to perform
his required job of keeping the slave
laboring American POWs able to walk the
2 miles to and from the mine, and to labor
all day. Dr. Golenternek did not give a
hoot about operation of the copper mine.
His 100% job effort was that of keeping
the POWs alive. By hook and by crook,
by innovation and, yes, by miracles, he
managed to keep the sickest POWs from
going to the mine. He found medicine and
medical facilities that did not exist. He
even convinced the Japanese to increase
the POWs food rations. All of his methods
and innovations had curative effects. Only
eight POWs were lost during 1944-1945.
And all the while, Dr. Golenternek treated
all of us with kindness, with compassion,
with dignity, and offered us hope at
a time when there was no hope.
Most of us could not have survived
another winter at hanawa. The Japanese
were instructed to massacre all American
POWs the moment the American Forces
landed on the Japanese homeland. The
bold decision of President Truman to drop
atomic bombs on Japan, forced the
Japanese into an early surrender. This
unconditional surrender saved millions of
Allied Forces and millions of Japanese, and
the lives of British, Dutch, Australian and
other Allied POWs being held by Japan.
So, I join those who knew Dr.
Golenternek more recently, and the
American POWs who knew him during
WWII, in offering this tribute to one of the
most compassionate individuals and one
of the most outstanding doctors that I
have ever known.
————————
Harold Hart
I am the nephew of Ralph S. Tagg who
died in Bataan after surviving the Bataan
Death March. His best friend from high
school was Harold Hart. Harold was on
the death march with him and was a
Japanese prisoner of war for three years.
Harold died February 13, 2004 and his
death was in the March/April Quan. They
are together again for the first time since
1942. One an 18-year-old kid and the
other an 81-year-old gentleman. Harold
came home to tell my family about those
days and remained a close family friend
his entire life. Whenever I was with Harold
I felt the presence of my uncle whom I
never knew. Now The Quan and our
memories are the only connection to
those days and those wonderful men and
women who defended our country and
18 — THE QUAN
gave so much. As the survivors of Bataan
and Corregidor gradually join those who
died there, it is important for us all to
remember what they did. Our living connections
are drawing to an end and only
those of us who have second hand details
can carry on the story. Let us do so with
dignity and respect. Let us not forget.
————————
Vance Horn
Vance Horn, the last Talladega County
(AL) survivor of the Bataan Death March,
passed away December 31, 2003. He was
serving with the 31st Inf. under Gen.
MacArthur and Gen. Wainwright when he
was captured. He spent the next 31 ⁄2 years
in various camps in the Philippines and
Japan. He was a member of the ADBC
and Cheaha Chapter, AXPOW. He is survived
by his wife, Margaret, one son, two
daughters, one brother, one sister, four
grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
————————
Floyd Laster
Floyd F. Laster, 82, passed away
Sunday, April 25, 2004. Mr. Laster was
born in Inman, VA. He came to Brevard
County in 1961 from Norton, VA. He was
a retired Contract Specialist at Patrick
AFB. Mr. Laster was a U.S. Army Air
Corps veteran of World War II, who was
taken prisoner of war in the Philippines at
the Fall of Bataan, and was awarded the
POW Medal and a Purple Heart. Mr.
Laster was a very active member of the
Melbourne community serving as
President of our Little League Baseball
from 1963 through 1967. He was also
active in Melbourne High School Football
Programs. He is survived by his wife,
Margarette C. Laster; sons, Stephen D.,
Barry K., and Gregory L. Laster; grandchildren,
Patricia White, Marjorie Walsh
and Cody Laster; a great-grandson,
Blaine White; and sisters, Mabel Fields
and Ruby Delp. He was preceded in
death by his first wife, Pauline T. in 1980.
Calling hours were held from 5 to 7 p.m.,
Wednesday, April 28, at the Brownlie-
Maxwell Funeral Home. A funeral service
was held at 2 p.m., Thursday, April 29, in
the funeral home chapel.
————————
Brice J. Martin
Brice James Martin, Lt. Col., U.S. Army,
retired, died peacefully at home on
August 8, 2003, in the company of his
beloved wife, Barbara Bruno Martin, and
his son, Brice James Martin, Jr. He was
born on July 27, 1916, in Grayburg,
Texas, the son of Benjamin Thompson
Martin and Lillion V. Davis Martin, and
grew up in Houston. Jim attended Allen
Academy in Bryan, Texas, and was a
member of the first class at the newlychartered
University of Houston. In 1938,
Jim was commissioned a Lieutenant in
the United States Army, and his distinguished
career and valor were recognized
by his receiving a Purple Heart, a Bronze
Star with two oak clusters, the Philippine
Presidential Citation and a Presidential
Citation. Jim served in the Pacific Theater
during World War II from 1941 through
1945. He was captured by the Japanese
in the Battle of Bataan and survived the
Death March of Bataan. He was a prisoner
of war for three and a half years, in the
Bilibid, Cabanatuan, Lipa, Tokyo (Omori)
and Sumidagawa prison camps.
Following his release and return to the
United States, Jim was asked by the U.S.
Army to testify in the Japanese War
Crimes tribunals. He retired from active
service in 1959, but maintained a lifelong
dedication to the U.S. Army and his military
relationships. He was a member of
the Retired Officers Association, the
Atomic Veterans Association, the American
Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor,
and the American Ex-Prisoner of War
Association. On July 3, 1946, Jim married
Barbara Frank Bruno. Their son, Brice,
was born on July 9, 1948. During Jim’s
military career, the family lived in Georgia,
Washington state, Germany and Texas,
making their home in Corpus Christi for
more than 40 years. Jim was a dedicated
member of the Masonic Lodge #189 and
the York Rite Temple for more than 50
years, and was a devoted member of All
Saints Episcopal Church, having served
as a member of the Vestry, President of
the Men’s Group and Lay Reader in the
Children’s Chapel.
In addition to his wife and son, Jim is
survived by his grandsons, C. Charles
Colley IV and Aaron Brice Martin; his loving
nieces and nephews; and one special
niece, Roslyn Dawson Thompson. The
family wishes to express its deepest
appreciation and affection to Maria Garza.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests
that contributions be made to: Christus
Spohn Hospice, 600 Elizabeth Street,
Corpus Christi, Texas 78404.
Services were conducted at 1:00 p.m.,
Monday, August 1, 2003, at All Saints
Episcopal Church. Burial followed at
Seaside Memorial Park.
————————
John R. McMillian
John Russell McMillian, the son of the
late John Riley and Minnie Brown
McMillian, was born September 24, 1914
at Brandsville, Missouri. He entered into
eternal rest December 6, 2000 at the age
of eighty-six years.
On May 21, 1946, Mr. McMillian was
married at Salem, Arkansas to Betty Jo
Cresap.
Mr. McMillian was a veteran having
served in the Pacific Theatre of War during
World War II, was a POW in Japan
and served during the Korean Conflict
with the United States Marines Corps. He
was a member of the Veterans of Foreign
Wars Post #5896, Farmington, Missouri.
He is survived by his wife, Betty Jo
McMillian, of the family home; two chil-

dren, Patricia McMillian and Jerry Michael
McMillian and wife, Carla; two grandchildren,
Cherilyn Franklin and Kelly
McMillian; three great-grandchildren,
Madison McMillian, Alex Franklin and
Emily Evans; and several nieces and
nephews.
Mr. McMillian is preceded in death by
his parents, five brothers and five sisters.
He was a member of the Freewill
Baptist Church.
————————
Frank Placko
Lt. Col. Frank Placko, 86, passed away
on Monday, April 5, 2004. A family memorial
service was held at the McGuire VAMC
in Richmond, VA, with Monsignor Walter
Barrett officiating. The funeral service, with
full military honors, was held at Arlington
National Cemetery at 3 p.m. on May 26.
He was born in Ino, WI, on June 28,
1917. He served in the U.S. Army Signal
Corps for 22 years and retired from military
service in 1960. During World War II,
he served in the Philippines, was wounded
on Corregidor and was a survivor of
the Bataan Death March. After the fall of
Bataan-Corregidor, he was held as a
Japanese POW for 3 1 ⁄2 years. Military
awards include the Purple Heart and the
Philippine Unit Citation.
Lt. Col. Placko believed strongly in education
and earned master’s degrees in
Russian language, education and guidance
counseling. He was fluent in four
languages. After military service he
worked for 20 years as a high school
teacher and guidance counselor for the
Virginia school system.
His son, William John Placko, precedes
him in death.
Surviving family are his wife of 59 years,
Joan; son, Peter and wife, Ellen; daughters,
Carol Chilson and husband, John, Janet
Valliere and husband, David, Kathryn Allard
and husband, Guy; 11 grandchildren; and
four great-grandchildren.
His children remember their father as a
quiet hero who raised them to love and
respect their country and the freedom
under which they have the privilege of living.
————————
Raymond F. Reidinger
Raymond F. Reidinger, 85, of
Spanaway, WA, passed away peacefully
at home on April 4, 2004, after a long illness.
He was born August 24, 1918, son
of Fred and Orphie Reidinger, in
Trevorton, PA.
He joined the Army Air Force in 1938
and was stationed in the Philippines when
it was overtaken by invading Japanese
forces. He survived the remainder of the
war as a prisoner in Japan. He remained
in the Air Force after WWII, stationed at a
variety of locations in the lower 48 and
Alaska until retiring at McChord AFB in
1962. He undertook a second career with
St. Regis Paper Co. at Kapowsin and
retired in 1980.
Those who knew Ray will remember
the twinkle in his eye when he told a good
story. Ray was an avid fisherman since
childhood, always seeking out the best
local opportunities wherever he was stationed.
He was also a skilled photographer
and captured many home and outdoor
moments on film. His most enduring passion
was gardening. Rhododendrons and
azaleas were his specialty and he was a
member of the Tacoma Chapter of the
American Rhododendron Society. He was
a longtime member of Our Lady Queen of
Heaven Catholic Church.
Ray is preceded in death by his loving
wife Elizabeth, his sister Rita, and his
brother Donald. He is survived by his son
Kurt (Patt), daughter Karen (Bob), grandsons
Blake and Erik, sisters Shirley
Surowiak (Butch), Clo Schlenker (Mike),
brothers James (Gudrun), Jetson
(Mildred), Marlin (Eleanor), and Kerry
(Louise).
A memorial service was held at 10:15
a.m. on Thursday, April 8, 2004 at Our
Lady Queen of Heaven Catholic Church.
————————
James M. Ross
At age 83, James M. Ross, Lt. Co.,
USAF (Ret.) died March 5, 2004 at
Raymond, WA. Jim earned his pilot’s
wings in April 1941 in class 41C at Brooks
Air Field at San Antonio, and was
assigned to the 17th Pursuit Squadron in
the Philippines. He survived the Bataan
Death March and three and a half years
of imprisonment in Japan. After returning
to the states he pursued training in jet aircraft
flying the B-47 with the 442nd Bomb
Squadron at March Field at Riverside,
CA, serving tours in England and Guam.
With a Civil Engineering degree and MBA
from the AF Institute of Technology, Jim
joined the Site Activation Task Force at
Altus AFB, OK, constructing a missile silo.
After 26 years of service, he retired at
Norton AFB, CA. Burial was March 9,
2004, with military honors at Tahoma
National Cemetery, Kent, WA. He is survived
by his wife of 57 years, Anita, son
James Jr. and daughters Virginia and
Cindi, and four grandchildren.
————————
John E. Rowland
John E. Rowland, age 86, of Westerville,
passed away Monday, February 9,
2004 at Columbus Colony. Retired from
D.S.C.S. and retired Westerville farmer.
Army veteran and Japanese POW of
WWII. Past National Commander American
Defenders of Bataan & Corregidor.
Member of the Otterbein “O” Club. Preceded
in death by wife Virginia. Survived
by children, David (Karen) Rowland, and
Diane (Charles) Penry; 4 grandchildren
and numerous other relatives. Services
were held at the Hill Funeral Home, 220
S. State St., Westerville, at 10:30 a.m.
Thursday. Dr. Arthur Schultz officiated.
Interment was at Otterbein Cemetery.
————————
Owen Sandmire
Owen Leonard “Sandy” Sandmire, a
World War II Army veteran who survived
the Bataan death march and 3 1 ⁄2 years in a
Japanese prison camp, died March 10,
2004, of injuries sustained in a moped
accident last October. He was 85.
“He enlisted in the Army in 1940 and
shipped to the Philippine Islands where
he was a tank commander under attack
and in combat from the first day of World
War II,” said his fiancee, Lysle Lewis.
In 1991, Sandmire told the Herald-
Tribune that he was captured by the
Japanese in 1942 and watched many of
his friends die in the death march. He
said he weighed 85 pounds when he finished
the 80-mile forced march to the
prison camp where the men were treated
brutally and given little food.
Sandmire said he was sustained by the
will to live and thoughts of his family.
“I saw so many of my friends just lay
down and die. I just hung in there and did
anything to keep alive.”
Sandmire was born Oct. 24, 1918, in
Viola, Wis., and came to Sarasota in 1981
when he retired as a power plant supervisor
after 33 years with Oscar Mayer Co.
at Madison, WI, and Sherman, TX.
He received numerous medals and
awards, including the Silver Star, Bronze
Star, Purple Heart and Combat Infantryman
Badge.
He was a life member of American
Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor, the
VFW, DAV and the American Legion. He
was a charter member and past commander
of the Tri-County Chapter of the
American Ex-Prisoners of War, and a
member of Sahib Shrine and the Masonic
Lodge, both in Sarasota, and Tampa
Valley Scottish Rite.
Survivors also include daughters Caryl
L. Miller of Sarasota and Judy A. Trainor
of Erin, TN; a son, Robert W. Lewis of
Toledo, OH; a brother, Richard of Huntsville,
AL; three grandchildren; and five
great-grandchildren.
Services will be later. National
Cremation Society, Sarasota chapter, is
in charge.
Memorial donations may be made to
Andersonville National P.O.W. Museum,
c/o Lysle Lewis, 1804 Springwood Drive,
Sarasota, Fl 34232.
————————
Samuel F. Simpson
This is to notify you that CWO4, USN
Retired, Samuel F. Simpson, passed
away July 3, 2003.
————————
JUNE, 2004 — 19

20 — THE QUAN
Merle E. Tucker
Merle E. Tucker, 83, of Millville,
Minnesota, died March 11, 2004, in
Wabasha, Minnesota. He was born on
February 7, 1921 near Kasson,
Minnesota to parents Charles H. and
Rebecca A. Tucker. Mr. Tucker served in
Battery K, 60th Coast Artillery on
Corregidor where he was captured by the
Japanese on May 6, 1942.
Mr. Tucker was a prisoner of war
(P.O.W.) in the Philippines at Cabanatuan
and Palawan, and in Japan at Fukuoka
#3 for 40 months after his capture.
Mr. Tucker served a term as mayor of
Millville, and worked as a truck driver in
highway construction.
Preceding him in death were his parents,
one sister, Lucille Welti, and three
brothers, Gerald, Donald and Burdette.
He is survived by his wife Helen,
daughters Sally Cain and Susan Schmidt,
three grandchildren, Duane, Shannon,
and Randell Cain, and two great granddaughters,
Holly Cain and Ashley Hahn.
Two brothers, Charles W. and Richard L.
also survive him.
A memorial service was held Saturday,
March 14, 2004 at 11 a.m. at Grace
United Church of Christ in Millville with
Pastor Doris Ruben officiating. Interment
followed at the Millville Cemetery.
————————
Virgil V. Vining
Virgil V. Vining was born 11-11-11 in
Mahaska, Kansas, and died 3-8-04 at
Boswell Hospital in Sun City, Arizona, at
92+ years of age. He joined the US Navy
in 1934. He was taken prisoner by the
Japanese on Corregidor, Philippine
Islands, May 6, 1942. In his book, Guest
of an Emperor, Virgil graphically
described his 42 months of cruel and
inhumane treatment in prison camps in
the Philippines and Japan.
He was a member of the Church of
Christ, American Defenders of Bataan
and Corregidor, the Agua Fria Chapter of
the American Ex-Prisoners of War, USS
Roper Association, Military Officers
Association of America, and the Disabled
American Veterans.
Virgil is survived by his wife of 58
years, Elberta (Berty), a daughter, Vickie,
a son and daughter-in-law, Dan and
Barbara, a granddaughter, Ingrid, and a
grandson, Johnny. He will be greatly
missed by all who loved him, and those
who enjoyed his great stories and his
quick, witty sense of humor.
————————
Kyle Thompson
Kyle Thompson, a long-time Texas
journalist and decorated World War II veteran
who spent nearly four years in
Japanese prison camps, died recently at
St. David’s Hospital in Austin following
complications from surgery. He was 81.
Thompson, a resident of Austin, was
state capitol bureau chief for United Press
International throughout the 1960’s, serving
as the news agency’s senior government
and political correspondent in
Texas. He was later editorial director at
the Fort Worth Star-Telegram before retiring
in 1987.
Thompson served as advisor and press
secretary for several Texas political figures,
including former Democratic Gov.
John Connolly and former Republican
Sen. John Tower. He was a campaign
aide to current Gov. Rick Perry during
Perry’s successful race for state agriculture
commissioner in 1990.
Thompson was among nearly 1,000
American soldiers, sailors and marines,
later known as “the Lost Battalion,”
ordered to construct the “Death Railway”
in the Burmese jungles.
After writing his book following retirement,
Thompson gained prominence as
an authority on POWs, speaking before
student groups and appearing in documentaries.
Thompson was named as Midwestern
State University’s Outstanding Alumnus in
2000 and was awarded the national
Medal of Honor from the Daughters of the
American Revolution in 2002. He
received 11 medals for his military service,
including the Purple Heart, the Ex-
Prisoner of War Medal, and the
Presidential Unit Citation with two oak leaf
clusters.
He and his wife, Vivian were long-time
members of the Hyde park Baptist Church
in Austin. In 2003, he was honored for a
half-century of service as a counselor in
the Royal Ambassadors, a Baptist mission
program for boys.
Survivors include his wife, Vivian
Thompson; three daughters, Linda
Thompson Montgomery, Kay Thompson
and Janis Thompson; two brothers,
James Thompson and George Ward
Thompson; two sisters, Vera Carey and
Nita Smith; two grandchildren, Mandy
Briggs and Colin Montgomery; and two
great-grandchildren, Cassie Michelle
Briggs and Garrett Blake Briggs.
————————
Ralph R. Wheeler
Ralph Rogers Wheeler, 86, of
Jacksonville, AL, was buried with full military
honors Friday, January 30, 204, at
10:00 a.m. at City Cemetery, followed by
memorial service at 11:00 a.m. at Jacksonville
First Presbyterian Church with
Rev. Margaret Northen officiating. Mr.
Wheeler died at his home January 27,
2004.
Ralph enlisted in Birmingham, AL, in
1936, and was sent to Fort Bragg, NC, for
basic training. When his enlistment was
up in 1939, he reenlisted for the Coast
Artillery in the Philippines, arriving there in
May 1940. Ralph served with E Btry, 59th
Coast Artillery on Fort Drum but was on
Corregidor when they were surrendered
on May 6, 1942. When attending a reception
held by the senior English Class at
jacksonville High School in 2001, he told
them that the saddest day of his life was
when he saw the American Flag lowered
on Corregidor.
He was imprisoned at Bilibid Prison,
and Cabanatuan Camps 1 and 3. He was
sent to Japan in November 1942, and
was at Umeeda Bonshu, Tanagawa and
Tsuruga prison camps until his rescue in
September 1945. He remained in the
army until his enlistment was up in 1947.
After being sent to Fort Bragg several
times and not liking that post, he enlisted
in the air Force in 1947 where he served
until his retirement in 1961.
After retirement, Mr. Wheeler worked
as aircraft and ground equipment
mechanic for United Air Lines until his
retirement in 1979.
Survivors include his wife, Elsie
Manners Wheeler, a daughter Susan, a
son and his wife, William Richard and
Ann, and three grandsons, Andrew, Ralph
III and Adam.
Mr. Wheeler was a member of
Jacksonville Presbyterian Church, F&AM
Lodge #757, American Defenders of
Bataan and Corregidor, and Cheaha
Chapter, American Ex-POWs. Every year
he looked forward to attending the ADBC
National Convention and the reunion at
Fontana. He enjoyed going out with his
metal detector and finding treasures. when
he was no longer able to participate in
those activities, he spent his time reading.
————————
Louis Zimmerman
Louis Zimmerman, age 86, died March
13, 2004.
He joined the U.S. Army in 1940 and
was sent to Corregidor in the Philippines,
a place he loved until the war broke out.
He was taken prisoner for 3 1 ⁄2 years. In
that time he was also sent to Japan as a
slave laborer.
He came home after being liberated a
physically broken man.
In time he married, had no children, but
lived a happy and peaceful life. This
country was his greatest joy.
He is survived by his good friend
Gladys and her family.
————————
Katherine (Kay) Sandor
We are sorry to report the death of
Katherine (Kay) Sandor, wife of John J.
Sandor. Kay will be missed by her many
friends.
————————

OBITS
We are sorry to report the deaths of two
Philippine citizens who survived the
camps.
We are sorry to report the deaths of two
American civilians who ended in the POW
Camps.
Evelyn Crew Barnes
She and her husband lived and worked
in Manila, P.I. They were interred at
Santo Tomas University.
————————
Juanita T. Mims
Born January 27, 1914 in Manila, P.I.,
she survived the Japanese invasion and
worked as a double agent.
————————
Quans Returned
Quans Returned from Post Office
marked deceased. No other details.
Col. John Breslin
143 W. 4th St.
Williamsport, PA 17701-6110
Col. Leoncio C. Cuartero, Ret.
1743 Ellington Drive
Aurora, IL 60504-7606
Bertram J. Duncan
1612 Crane St. Apt. #20
Schenectady, Ny 12303-2217
Joe Franks
89731 85th Street
Woodhaven, NY 11421-2543
Salvadora J. Garcia
415 6th Street NW
Albuquerque, NM 87102-2006
Louis Ghuzman
14206 Winding Springs
Cypress, TX 77429-6103
Dan Golenternek, MD
10350 Wilshire Blvd. #1003
Los Angeles, CA 90024-4720
Mrs. Beulah Hood
3771 Park Drive
Carlsbad, Ca 92908-2735
John Ivarra
951 W. 32nd Street
Kansas City, MO 64111-3601
Norbert Jirasek
2111 Jacaranda Court
San Bernardino, CA 92404-3315
Charles B. Mellor
1311 9th St.
Clarkston, WA 99403-3339
CWO-4 Samuel F. Simpson
27 Harwood Lane
Falmouth, VA 22405-5032
George L. Smith
1531 W. Swallow
Fort Collins
The 59th National Convention is History
Over 300 members and guests attended the 59th National Convention in Orlando,
FL May 4-May 9, 2004. All business was properly handled. Officers were properly
voted and installed for the coming year.
Thursday, May 6, all who wished were bussed to the Philippine “Death March”
Statue. It was a solemn affair.
We wish to thank the Filipino folks for the hospitality while we were making the
visit. They had food, drinks, and chairs to make our visit to the statue more memorable.
May 8 we had a memorial service conducted by P.N.C. Andy Miller.
The banquet was served to over 300, and the MC was Ed Jackfert, P.N.C.
It was our pleasure to be addressed by Colonel Barbara U. Scherb, who gave the
history of the Army Nurse Corps. It was quite an interesting history of the women who
served the wounded veterans, those in the hospitals and in our case those Angels of
Bataan, they served to the end.
We are happy to announce the Austin Patrizio Award was awarded to Andy Miller
by Dorothy Patrizio. Plaques were presented to outgoing National Commander John H.
Oliver and Colonel Barbara H. Scherb. A monetary gift was given to Dr. Gonzales for
future maintenance of the “Death March Memorial” by the A.D.B.C. in the name of our
members.
As we all were leaving and saying, hope to see you in Cincinnati next year. We all
wonder which will be the last. I hope to see all of you, don’t have your name in the obit
column.
Joe Vater
————————
Orlando Convention 2004
We started with a big bang having to change hotels to the Hotel Renaissance due
to large unexpected numbers. That was good and bad. Great to have the numbers, but
confusing to lots of folks. Even then, we used several overflow hotels by choice and
also by need. Thanks for your understanding and wonderful enthusiasm throughout our
time together.
The theme, “A Tribute to Our Nurses” was carried out over the year through The
Quan articles, but also by tribute at our banquet by the presence of Helen Gardner
Rozmus and Floramund Difford. Hatley (H.R.) Brantley was expected to come but cancelled
last minute due to medical reasons. We wish her the best. Colonel Barbara
Scherb, Army Nurses Force Command, was our keynote speaker and gave us both a
running history and look ahead at these wonderful ladies who served with us and contemporarily
for us in their current work within the Armed Forces.
Our numbers being larger than normal this year gave us a wonderful challenge on
the dancing floor and our banquet where of necessity two tables had to be seated in an
adjacent room. It didn’t slow us down.
As usual our finest time centered around our round tables i the evenings and also
at other times where within the large Renaissance lobby area we met new and gathered
with old friends. The presence of many POW descendants added a bit of youth to
the gathering, but also a special degree on understanding that for many of the descendants
was new and unique. Several POW members noticed the spark of interest and
involvement among these sons and daughters and other POW family which added
much. This was tangibly seen in help by them in several volunteer areas and participation
in events of our days together.
We were pleased to see the 4th Marines Numbers among our midst and participation
in our scheduled activities. We encourage all units to join in these National ADBC
conventions when possible preserving also their desire for dinners and meetings
among their units.
This year an ADBC provided a shuttle bus giving many of us a chance to visit the
Bataan Memorial in Kissimmee hosted there by Dr. Gonzales and the Filipino community.
This wonderful Memorial, a tribute to FilAmerican togetherness during WWII, was
also aided at the banquet by a generous check from ADBC to add in the maintenance
of this lovely site.
We hope for those of your present in Orlando it was a memorable time and we
equally trust you will make advance plans to join us in the special time we expect to
have at the Hilton Hotel in downtown Cincinnati in April 2005.
Duane Heisinger
Ralph L. Tracy
406 NE Conifer Dr.
Bremerton, WA 98311-9222
Dr. Frank L. Yonan
22 Park Lane Apt. #218
Park Ridge, IL 60068-2865
JUNE, 2004 — 21

22 — THE QUAN
Memorials List
American Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor
May 2, 2004
Fred Abanico
Ernesto R. Achacoso
Sereno A. Alegre, Sr.
Fredrico S. Almeraz
John F. Alves
Alex C. Andres
Eutiquette Arceo
William J. Arndt
Ray Barger
Matthew F. Barker
Joseph F. Barta
Ken Bayley
Ann Bernatitus
Frank Bigelow
Albert J. Bland
Thomas M. Bodie
W.D. Bogue
Douglas W. Bogue
John R. Boswell
Robert O. Bowen
Glenn Bowers
Clifford M. Bowling
Gene T. Boyt
Joseph Brimo
James E. Brown
Earl Brown
Claude L. Burkett
Frank E. Burns
Thomas Burrell
Eriberto Caranto
Arthur F. Carter
William W. Carter
Walter Carter
Charles G. Charleston
David Chavez
Edward E. Chavez
Manuel Chavez
Arthur G. Christensen
John M. Cook
Frank L. Corby
Frank Corby
Daniel Crist
Lloyd E. Crumpacker
Feliciano L. Cruz
James Culp
Alfred J. D’Arezzo
Albert J. Dains
Clarence Daubenspeck
G.T. Davis
Robert E. Debord
Clayton O. Decker
Edward G. Depa
William T. Dial
William I. Dietch
John Dunderdale
Willie Ellis
Earl E. Ellsworth
Henry J. Farr
Harold Feiner
Cipriano Ferrer
Joe Franks
Dale Frantz
Irving Frontis
John Galbraith, Jr.
William J. Garleb
David E. Garrett
Vincent Giacolone
William Gonzales, Jr.
Phillip Goodman
Richard M. Gordon
Floyd R. Gravitt
J.S. Gray
J.R. Guidry
Wilburn C. Hammonds
Neal J. Harrington
Harold J. Hart
Sedgie V. Hinson
Harold C. Hirchert
Calvin Hogg
Bernard T. Holt, Jr.
Vance H. Horn
Jay M. Howard
Roy J. Hughes
Russell J. Hutchison
Charles Iskra
Shirk G. Jansen
Werner F. Jensen
Robert W. Kentner
Rodney Kephart
Richard B. Lang
Kermit Lay
John W. Lee
Ralph C. Lewis
Morris F. Lewis
Joel Lloyd
Bernard F. Mancini
Fredrico M. Mandapat
Victor L. Mapes
Vito S. Marashio
Brice J. Martin
John Massimino
John A. McCarthy
James M. McGrath
Glenn W. McKasson
John R. McMillan
Harvey N. Michael, III
Thomas Mikita, Jr.
Bernard P. Miller
Dale E. Moeder
George E. Morris, Jr.
Frank M. Morrisette, Sr.
Orrie Mulholland
Louis E. Myers
Ulpiano N. Naredo
Norman P. Nault, Sr.
Leahman B. Nestle
Daniel H. Nugent
John H. O’Toole
Glenn Olea
Cecil W. Parrott
Elmer J. Pendley, Jr.
Shannon L. Peterson
George Piccirillo
Joseph T. Poster
Foy E. Pribble
Finie B. Price, Jr.
Donald B. Reyes
Royal Reynolds, Jr.
William Richey
Frank E. Riley
Cohen T. Rowland
John E. Rowland
Carl R. Ruse, Sr.
John C. Sadler
Joseph L. Salyer
Emory C. Schlick
Bert Schwarz
Hollis A. Scruggs
Clinton C. Seymour
William G. Smidt
Elizabeth B. Snead
Arthur F. Standlee
James Stewart
Roland E. Stickney
Ralph Stine
Milton H. Strouse
Verble Summers
Merle Swartz
John F. Taylor
Regis M. Theriac
Joseph B. Thibeault
Edward E. Thomas
William H. Thomas
Wendell D. Thompson
Niles R. Thompson
Ralph L. Tracy
Merle E. Tucker
Joseph L. Turner
Emil M. Ulawic
Joseph H. Via
Constante Villalobos
Woodrow W. Walden
Thomas J. Watkins
Wade H. Webb
Ralph R. Wheeler
Howard D. Wilkinson
Lee B. Williamson
Samuel Wood
Gene W. Wooten
Peter R. Wygle
Harlow A. Yeager
William M. Young
Louis Zimmerman
Can You Help?
My name is Stuart Garden. I live in
Center Harbor, NH. Recently I have been
in contact via the internet with an organization
called The Battling Bastards of
Bataan.
My uncle Arthur Rees of Reading, MA
was with the 27th Material Sqdn. 20th Air
Base Group (R) stationed at Clark Field
when the Japs invaded the Philippines
and he never returned.
My grandfather and my mother (both
deceased) tried for years for more information
from the government than just a
letter they had received in 1943. The
above organization has sent me the complete
27th’s roster and that is how I found
your name and address and also where
he had died.
They have told me that my uncle Pfc.
Arthur Rees s/n 11017169 died of dysentery
at Cabanatuan POW Camp on
11/11/1942 and was most likely at Camp
O’Donnell prior to that.
I am hoping that you could provide me
with a little more information regarding
events prior to being taken prisoner and
after or if you might have known Arthur.
I know this all took place a long time
ago, but Arthur’s sister is still with us. She
is 95 years old and still talks about him. I
have managed to get a photo for her of
the Memorial at Cabanatuan and it has
his name on it. You may have information
you would not think I would be interested
in but I would like to talk to you anyway. I
am not too far from Kingston and would
like to met with you at your convenience. I
also have photos of Arthur in hopes you
may recognize him.
You may contact me at (603) 279-4583
or a note at C. Stuart Garden, 65 College
Rd., Center Harbor, NH 03226.
————————
Thank You
Dear Mr. Vater,
The staff of the Renaissance Orlando
Hotel-Airport would like to express our
sincere gratitude for your patronage.
Our entire staff is indeed honored to
have had the opportunity of hosting your
group. We trust our services and facilities
were agreeable with your needs, and that
your function was a huge success.
We know that today’s hotel choices are
endless and our customers deserve and
expect quality with attention to detail. The
Renaissance Orlando Hotel-Airport was
proud to have been selected to service
your needs.
We appreciate your business and look
forward to working with you in the future!
Thanks again.
Sincerely,
Matt Terry
Senior Event Manager
————————

May 28, 2004
Joseph A. Vater, PNC
DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS
Edward Hines, Jr. Hospital
Hines IL 60141
Midwest Center for Health Services and Policy Research
Dear Joe,
My hope is this letter finds you doing well and recovered from the trip to Orlando. Although I was only at the ADBC reunion for a
short while, I was thrilled at having met so many veterans and learning about their experiences. I was also most grateful for your
generous offer to run an advertisement in the QUAN for the Former WWII POW Living History Project. Upon returning to Chicago, I
met with the other members of the research team who coordinate the project and they agreed that this would be a wonderful opportunity
to gather further accounts from veterans who had been POWs in the Pacific Theater. As such, I am writing to let you know that
I will be contacting you within the next week to speak with you further about putting together such an advertisement. In advance of
this, I am sending you some news reports that have been done on the study t provide you with further information on the project and
its scope. Should you have other questions about the project I’ll be eager to answer them when we next speak. In the QUAN I found
your phone number for McKees Rocks and will try to reach you there. Also, you may contact me using the information provided
below in my signature address.
Thank you again for this wonderful opportunity Joe. All of us from the Former WWII POW Living History Project are most grateful.
Best Regards,
Lance S. Rintamaki, PhD
Post Doctoral Fellow
Midwest Center for Health Services and Policy Research
Hines VA Hospital
PO Box 5000 (151H)
Phone: (708) 202-5737
FAX: (708) 202-2316
e-mail: rintamaki@research.hones.med.va.gov
————————
American Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor, Inc.
(including any unit of force of the Asiatic Fleet,
Philippine Archipelago, Wake Island, Mariana Islands,
Midway Islands and Dutch East Indies. 12/7/41-5/10/42.
For Dues: For Merchandise Sales:
Edward Jackfert, PNS Mrs. Jean Pruitt
Nat’l. Treasurer 109 Young Dr.
201 Hillcrest Dr. Sweetwater, TN 37874
Wellsburg, W.VA. 26070
304-737-1496
Life Membership — $25.00
Subscription — Quan — $25.00 Yr.
Fill in all Blanks
Name (Please Print) _______________________________ Highest Rank _________________
Address __________________________________________________________________________
City _________________________________________ State __________ Zip Code ___________
Organization Complete Unit ________________________ Ser. No. ______________________
SS No. ____________________ Wife’s Name ___________ Tel. __________________________
Life ____ Pt. Life ____ Subscription ____ Last POW Camp ____________________________
Bo-Lo-Ties — W/Logo......................... 12.00 Tie Tacks............................................... 7.00
Belt Buckle Decal................................. 4.00 Tie Bar .................................................. 7.00
License Plates....................................... 4.00 Decal — Window .................................. 2.00
Pins 3” X 2”........................................... 6.00 Decal — W/Logo ................................... 2.00
Overseas Caps only sizes 6 7 ⁄8, 7.......... 28.00 Caps, White W/Logo............................. 8.00
All items shipped require 15% postage
Fontana Picnic
The 41st annual reunion for Survivors
of Bataan-Corregidor and other former
Prisoners of War of the Far East will
again be in Historic Fontana Village, N.C.
Aug. 28-Sept. 1. Family, friends and
guests are welcome.
For reservations, call 800-849-2258.
For information, call 828-479-6205.
Wayne Carriage, Chm.
P.O. Box 46
Rollinsville, N.C. 28771
————————
Operation Borneo
If you wish to know the TRUE story of
the last days of World War Two (never
before published!) — then read the new
book by Case and Pounds, “Operation
Borneo.” Available at 1stbooks
Publishing, 1663 Liberty Drive, Suite 200,
Bloomington, Indiana 47403. The cost is
$19.95 (postpaid) in soft cover edition.
————————
JUNE, 2004 — 23

MOVING SOON?
Please let us know six weeks before you
move what your new address will be. Be
sure to supply us with both your old and
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from your current issue. Copies we mail to
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ATTACH OLD ADDRESS LABEL HERE
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Mail to:
JOSEPH A. VATER
Editor, the Quan
18 Warbler Drive
McKees Rocks, Pa. 15136
24 — THE QUAN
American Defenders of
Bataan & Corregidor, Inc.
18 Warbler Dr.
McKees Rocks, Pa. 15136
*Change Service Requested*
Please Use Form 3547
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PERMIT NO 2648
Sorry, I have so
many pictures that
I’ll need at least two
more issues to print
all of them. Hold on,
we will try to get as
many as possible in
future issues.
Thank you for
attending and making
this one of the
better conventions.
I’ll promise you next
year at Cincinnati
will be better, so
make your plans
now for 2005.
We will be at a
great hotel, one of
the finest old hotels
in the country. The
price of $79.00 is
great, the location is
great. Now all we
need is to see you
there. More on the
hotel next issue of
Quan.