June/July 2002 - Philippine Defenders Main

The 

VOLUME 57 PITTSBURGH, PA — JUNE/JULY, 2002 NUMBER 1 

Remarks for The Honorable Tim S. McClain, 

General Counsel, United States Department of Veterans Affairs, 

to the American Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor 

San Antonio, Texas 

May 18, 2002 

Commander Ward, heroes of Bataan and Corregidor, distinguished guests … 

Thank you, Ed, for that kind introduction. 

It is a distinct honor and privilege to stand in the same room with the heroes of 

Bataan and Corregidor. I am pleased to be here this evening representing Veterans 

Affairs Secretary Anthony Principi; he sends his warmest wishes to you all and regrets 

that he could not be here with you. 

Tonight’s recognition of your service was set in place sixty years ago, on the far side 

of the globe — when you were suddenly and brutally cut of from he nation you loved. 

You showed the world the stuff Americans are made of. 

At the beginning of World War II, only a modest, and poorly equipped garrison of 

American troops and support staff were stationed on the Philippines to defend American 

interests from the surprise invasion by Japan. But you and your comrades-in-arms held 

the line … and you did so magnificently, but at a terrible cost. 

You who fought on Bataan and Corregidor did more than resist the enemy to the 

utmost of your ability. Through your courage, love of country, and deep personal faith, 

you endured deprivation and brutality at the hands of a ruthless enemy. 

Secretary Principi recently returned from a trip to the Philippines, and he 

described his visit to Bataan as, and I quote, “walking on hallowed ground.” 

I have had numerous discussions Secretary Principi, and I want you to know that 

he and I consider the people in this room to be our personal heroes. 

I don’t think there is a story about bravery and courage that moves Secretary 

Principi more than the account of one of your colleagues, Frank Bigalow. 

Frank survived Cabanatuan prison camp and then was shipped to Japan to become 

a slave laborer in a freezing coal mine in Manchuria. When a mine wall collapsed, 

Frank was trapped and his leg was crushed. His fellow prisoners saved his life … by 

amputating his leg with a hack saw blade … even as his captors denied him medicines, 

especially any anesthesia drugs. After your victory in the Pacific, Frank came home as 

many of you did, raised a family, lived a good and full life, and now he devotes his time 

to helping his fellow former Prisoners of War. Many of you have similar horrifying stories 

of life as a Prisoner of War. 

Like you and hundreds of thousands of other Americans from the “Greatest 

Generation,” Frank paid a tremendous price for the freedoms we all enjoy today. 

As General MacArthur said: “The Bataan Garrison was destroyed due to its 

dreadful handicaps, but no Army in history more thoroughly accomplished its 

mission.” 

You stopped the Japanese in their tracks, and gave our nation precious time to 

recruit and train the men and women who would eventually win the war — and build 

the ships, planes and guns that were the tools we needed to win. And you rallied a 

nation made fearful by Pearl Harbor. You reminded our citizens that American men and 

women were the equal, or the superior, or any fighting force on the face of the earth. 

But you paid a fearful price. The Death March had but one design: to break the 

wills and lives of those who embraced freedom and who were willing to stand fast 

against the whirlwind of tyranny that was sweeping across the western Pacific. 

I am reminded of the words of President John F. Kennedy, who said: “Without 

belittling the courage with which men have died, we should not forget those 

acts of courage with which men have lived. The courage of life is often a less 

dramatic spectacle than the courage of a final moment, but it is no less a magnificent 

mixture of triumph and tragedy.” 

There is a new and noble memorial in Las Cruces, New Mexico, that will tell our 

younger generation — and the generations to come — the story of Bataan and 

Corregidor. It will help remind us today of the thousands of Americans of Bataan who 

died, and also of those who survived the invasion, who lived and died in the hell of the 

Continued on Page 4 

2002 Convention 

Our 58th Convention in San Antonio 

was blessed by an enthusiastic group in 

supporting southern Texas temperature 

and weather. We are all a bit older, perhaps 

a bit wiser, but the camaraderie and 

fellowship was strong as always now two 

years into this 21st century. Note the pictures 

in this issue. You will see many you 

have known well over the years. Forget 

the graying. We are all beautiful. 

So what took place this year? The 

answer is much of the usual and a few 

new events. 

The Convention routine continues and 

it should. Joe Ward, 2001-02 Commander 

was present for several events and 

evenings after his crippling stroke, ably 

assisted by his son, and P.N.C. Joe 

Alexander, his co-partner in the San 

Antonio Convention preparations. Thanks 

so much Joe for all your last minute work 

to complete the details in advance of 

Convention time. 

Our banquet speaker, Tim S. McClain, 

General Counsel of the Department of 

Veteran Affairs, continued last year’s presentation 

by this most supportive organization, 

helpful to ourselves and our families. 

He shared his thoughts on a number 

of subjects important to us all. 

We said our good-byes to friends and 

buddies lost, but not forgotten as 156 

names were read at our traditional memorial 

service with prayers raised. The notes 

of taps signalled their passing and also 

served as a reminder to all of us of the 

past and the future. 

A special highlight this year included a 

panoply of wonderful musical presentations 

in various settings including 

Mariachi singers, wheelchair, Irish and 

Filipino dancers, an Army band and for 

the Quan party, a dance band music featuring 

1940’s and onward selections. 

Thank you Joe Ward and Joe Alexander. 

Two bus loads of us, about 110 people, 

made the hour drive to Fredricksburg, 

Texas to both tour the National Museum 

of the Pacific (old title, Nimitz Museum) 

and attend a seminar on aspects of the 

Bataan and Corregidor fighting and the 

P.O.W. Camp experiences. Andrew Miller 

and John Olson were among those who 

participated in the seminar, narrated by 

Hampton Sides, author of Ghost Soldiers. 

Continued on Page 4

2 — THE QUAN 

The 

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 

OMAR L. MCGUIRE AGAPITO E. SILVA JOHN M. REAL 

Commander Jr. Vice Commander Secretary 

2850 ALDER 1820 La Poblana, N.W. 9349 Vassar St. 

Eugene, OR 97405 Albuquerque, N.M. 87104 Ventura, CA 93003 

JOHN H. OLIVER MRS. JEAN PRUITT 

Sr. Vice Commander Merchandise Sales 

1400 Ocotilla Dr. 1231 Sweetwater-Vonore Road 

Marble Falls, TX 78654 Sweetwater, TN 37874 

MEMBERS OF THE INVESTMENT BOARD 

Joseph T. Poster — Permanent Secretary 

One Year Term (Class C) Two Year Term (Class B) Three Year Term (Class A) 

PNC Joseph L. Alexander PNC Joseph Ward PNC Omar McGuire 

PNC Roy Gentry PNC Ralph Levenberg PNC Arthur Akullian 

PNC Henry J. Wilayto PNC James Flaitz PNC Andrew Miller 

EXECUTIVE BOARD 

Arthur Akullian Walter Lamm 

Henry Cornellisson Pete Locarnini 

Charles Dragich Norman R. Matthews 

Neal Harrington Albert Felsen 

Charles B. Heffron Carlos Montoya 

Charles Graham 

All Incumbent State Commanders 

NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS 

801 Huntington Avenue, #53 

Warren, IN 46792 

REQUEST 

I’d greatly appreciate it if you’d run my 

“request for information” in the next issue 

of THE QUAN: 

For a book about four Navy doctors — 

George Ferguson, Ferdinand V. Berley, 

John Bookman, and Murray Glusman — 

I’d appreciate hearing from anyone 

acquainted with them at any time on 

Bataan (Mariveles and Battery C vicinity) 

and Corregidor (Government Ravine, 

Battery Geary), or with knowledge of the 

following camps in the Philippines and 

Japan: Bilibid, Cabanatuan #1, Tsumori, 

Wakayama, Itchioka, Kobe, Maruyama 

(Kawasaki). 

Please contact John A. Glusman, 453 

Hillside Place, South Orange, NJ 07079, 

or at jglusman@fsgee.com. 

———————— 

HONORARY OFFICERS 

Kenneth Wheeler USN Ret. ....................................................Vice/Adm. (SC) 

Harold E. Feiner .................................................Honorary Vice Commanders 

Paul Reuter 

JOHN CRAGO PNC 

National Treasurer 

Convention Site Committee 

Membership Chairman 

United Methodist Memorial Home #53 

801 Huntington Ave. 

Warren, IN 46792 

219-375-2286 

DUANE L. HEISINGER 

Executive Secretary 

7401 Bull Run Dr. 

Centseville, 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 

HELP 

I was in the Philippines April 1-14 with 

the Battling Bastards of Bataan. While 

there, a Filipino woman talked to me 

about a father-in-law she has lost contact 

with and asked me to help. He is Manual 

S. Tuazon. He is too young to have been a 

Philippine Scout or in World War II (born 

in 1947) but she thinks he was either in 

the service or was a civilian employee of 

the US military. Mr. Tuazon is 55 and was 

born in Ormoc City, Leyte. Please contact 

Mrs. Eny Chua Tuazon at 332-C Gen. 

Vincente Lim St., San Juan, Metro 

Manila, the Philippines. Her e-mail 

address is yme1682002@yahoo.com. 

Submitted by Steve Raymond 

Box 192 

Lecanto, FL 34461. 

———————— 

PAUL REUTER 

Adjutant & Legislative Officer 

516 Sandy Pl. 

Oxon Hill, MD 20745 

HAROLD E. FEINER 

Judge Advocate 

14565 S.E. 90th Ave. 

Summerfield, FL 34491 

JOSEPH A. VATER PNC 

Editor of Quan 

Co-Chairman Site Committee 

18 Warbler Drive 

McKees Rocks, PA 15136 

412-771-3956 

MARTIN S. CHRISTIE 

Necrology Committee Chrmn. 

23424 Mobile St. 

West Hills, CA 91307-3323 

JOSEPH WARD 

Past Commander 

451 Gilbert Lane 

San Antonio, TX 78213 

RALPH LEVENBERG, PNC 

Special Projects 

2716 Eastshore Dr. 

Reno, NV 89509 

PAST NATIONAL COMMANDERS 

Harold Spooner *John E. Le Clair *John R. Lyons 

*Rev. Albert D. Talbot *James K. Cavanaugh *Ken Curley 

James McEvoy *Thomas A. Hackett Henry J. Wilayto 

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

Simme Pickman Louis Scahwald Arthur Beale 

Albert Senna *Jerome A. McDavitt Andy Miller 

*Maurice Mazer John M. Emerick *Joseph Matheny 

Joseph A. Vater Joseph T. Poster *George Wonneman 

*Lewis Goldstein *John Bennett Frank Bigelow 

*Albert C. Cimini *James D. Cantwell *Charles L. Pruitt 

*Samuel M. Bloom, M.D. Ralph Levenberg Melvin L. Routt 

*Kenneth J. Stull *Elmer F. Long, Jr. James R. Flaitz 

*Harry P. Menozzi *Philip Arslanian John Koot 

*John F. Ray John Rowland Roy Y. Gentry 

*Samuel B. Moody John Crago Edward Jackfert 

*Arthur A. Bressi Edward Jackfert Joseph L. Alexander 

Joseph Ward 

2003 

THE CONVENTION WILL BE 

AT THE HILTON HOTEL 

IN 

ALBUQUERQUE, NM 

DATES ARE MAY 20 TO 25 

RATES ARE $79.50 S/D 

MAKE YOUR PLANS EARLY

JUNE/JULY, 2002 — 3

Remarks for The Honorable Tim S. McClain (Continued from Page 1) 

Death March; and of those who survived to face years of brutal and deadly captivity. 

That memorial will stand like a pillar of justice, a symbol of what we as a Nation 

must do to redeem in some small way the price so many of our countrymen paid for the 

freedoms that allow us to gather here today. 

President Lincoln once said: “All that a man hath will he give for his life; and 

while all contribute of their substance, the soldier puts his life at stake, and often 

yields it up in his country’s cause. The highest merit, then, is due the soldier.” 

Perhaps these words of William Faulkner describe that intangible quality that sustained 

you during the Death March and, blessedly, comforted those who did not survive. 

Faulkner wrote: “I believe that man will not merely endure: he will prevail. 

He is immortal, not because he alone among creatures has an inexhaustible 

voice, but because he has a soul, a spirit capable of compassion and sacrifice, 

and endurance.” 

Our country is now engaged in another epic struggle of good and evil. This is another 

protracted battle for our way of life and our daily freedoms. President Lincoln probably 

said it best in December 1862 when he said: “Fellow citizens, we cannot escape 

history. We of this Congress and this administration will be remembered in 

spite of ourselves. No personal significance, or insignificance, can spare one or 

another of us. The fiery trial through which we pass, will light us down, in 

honor or dishonor, to the latest generation … we — even we here — hold the 

power, and bear the responsibility … we shall nobly save, or meanly lose, the 

last best hope of earth.” 

The Department of Veterans Affairs is committed to honoring your compassion, 

your sacrifice, and your endurance. Your courage inspired the free world to bear down 

on the ruthless tyrants of darkness, and to not let up until the pure and righteous light 

of freedom spread across the homelands of the oppressed. 

I am proud to share this evening — and this great Nation, with the American 

Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor. On behalf of President Bush, Secretary Principi 

and the 219,000 men and women of VA who daily live Lincoln’s promise of “ … care for 

him who shall have borne the battle,” I salute you and thank you for all you have 

given in the name of freedom. 

Thank you and God Bless America! 

———————— 

Irwin M. Akers 

Chester C. Aldermen 

John Aldrich 

Walter N. Alexander 

Milton G. Alexander 

William L. Allen 

Garry Anlof, Jr. 

Ricardo Aquino 

Warren I. Atkeison 

Jake Austin 

Carrol D. Barnett 

Irving L. Beattie 

Lionel A. Bertheaud 

Jesse Bier 

James E. Bitner 

Tasker Bliss 

Maynard B. Booth 

William A. Bowman 

Franklin Boyer 

Bruce D. Broxson 

Grover C. Bump 

William M. Burolla 

Ivan I. Buster 

Fulglencio Callueng 

Lewell F. Chandler 

John C. Clark 

Elra D. Clouse 

Frank E. Copeland 

John K. Corley 

Waler A. Criswell 

Ralph L. Cullinan 


2002 Convention 

(Continued from Page 1) 

A lengthy presentation took place within 

the Executive Board and General 

Meetings concerning the status of ongoing 

litigation efforts including time in both 

courtrooms and congressional contacts 

with Lester Tenny, Frank Bigelow and 

others representing us. Other traditional 

convention gatherings included the 

Kawasaki Dinner, the Widows Luncheon 

and E-mailers Luncheon. 

An addition this year in San Antonio 

was a luncheon of some of our A.D.B.C. 

family or descendants. Father Bob Phillips 

spoke with 55 attending including several 

defenders and family. As a group, they 

expressed a desire “to connect” and understand 

more of the combat, the camp and 

ship times. Some are sons, daughters and 

family from those lost early as P.O.W.’s or 

in later years. Many are well known to us 

at previous conventions; others are new. 

They indicated a desire to assist A.D.B.C. 

in areas of expressed needs. 

Those of you in the West, we are headed 

in your direction next year. If you were 

unable to join us this year in Texas, you 

may want to consider next year, mid-May 

in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the “Land of 

Enchantment,” at the Hilton Hotel. More, 

much more, later. 

———————— 

Memorials List 

American Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor — May 15, 2002 

Kenneth D. Curley 

Dorothy S. Danner 

George Definbaugh 

Iberra G. Del Corro 

Rene Del Rosario 

Robert N. Denis 

Elmer S. Drake 

Donald W. Durham 

Bryce W. Duxbury 

Manuel A. Eneriz, Sr. 

Stanley Evanichko 

William R. Evans 

Kenneth W. Fackender 

Pacifico F. Fajilan 

Ruben Flores 

J.B. Francis 

Boyd Gallanti 

Alfred P. Galloway 

Julian A. Gates 

Kevin Godsil 

Samuel A. Goldblith 

LaFayette E. Hall 

Thomas M. Hammel 

Robert L. Hanson 

Earl R. Harris 

Otto B. Harris 

Vinson Hatcher 

Warren K. Hawkes 

Thomas J. Hick 

Rita James 

Epimaco B. Jangaon 

David E. Jones 

Jack J. Jones 

Guy E. Jones 

Alvin D. Joyner 

Charles R. Joyner 

James D. Kell 

Dorcas E. Kelley 

Robert J. Kirker 

Clifford G. Lange 

Edward J. Larson 

Clifton Lee 

Urban W. Lembeck 

Harry Liskowski 

Tull R. Louder 

Robert D. Lucero 

Glenn E. Lyons 

Fernando Mabini 

Stanley W. Macknicki 

Joseph Mahala 

George Mansell, Jr. 

Marvin A. Mark 

Maurice A. Mazer 

Robert F. McArdle 

Charles L. McCartin, Sr. 

Robert V. McClellan 

Wilton E. McGuire 

Warren H. Mellies 

Jesse L. Miller 

John B. Miller 

John J. Mirabal 

Lorenzo Mirizio, Sr. 

John T. Mock 

Benjamin Morales 

Isaac A. Morgan 

Harvey S. Mowrey 

William H. Murrell 

Otis W. Musslewhite 

Ethel M. Nelson 

Melvin L. Newsom 

James P. Norris, Sr. 

Sylvester North 

John E. O’Neal 

Ted C. Odom 

Atilano F. Olis 

Robert E. Page 

Sam M. Palasota 

Robert W. Palmer 

Dwight S. Pendleberry 

Robert W. Piper 

Lowell Pursel 

Nelson H. Quast 

George A. Reed 

Anthony S. Rivera 

Lloyd L. Robinson 

Federico Robles 

Amando Romero 

Waler R. Ross 

Robert E. Ross 

James J. Rubard 

William E. Rust 

John F. Ryder 

Emil San Giorgio 

If we made any mistakes, please let us know so we can correct them. 

———————— 

Victor F. Sanchez 

Bernard W. Saunders 

Columbus Savage 

Robert Scholten, Sr. 

Maurice P. Schurmarker 

Irvin C. Scott, Jr. 

Charles A. Settle 

Harold J. Shrode 

Ralph E. Shuping 

Herbert H. Smith 

William H. Smith 

Theodore I. Spaulding 

Roy Stephens 

Lloyd H. Stinson 

William S. Stocks 

James L. Strain 

Gregory A. Swick 

Paul A. Thacker 

Thomas H. Trapnell 

Madeline A. Ullom 

Teofilo M. Victorio 

William A. Visage 

Wade W. Waldrup 

Gaylon S. Walker 

Arthur D. Waters 

Mike S. Wepsiec 

John R. Wertenberger 

George Whiting 

John Winterholler 

Mike Winterman 

Erminio L. Ybaben

National History Day 

Competition 

To Whom It May Concern: 

Hello, my name is Chloe’ Huber. I am a 

ninth grade student at Brockbank Jr. 

High School in Magna, Utah. This year I, 

along with two other students, Colby 

Bryson and Erica Jones, have entered the 

National History Day competition. We 

have taken first place at the regional and 

state level in Senior Group Documentary 

division. First place winners at the state 

competition have the wonderful opportunity 

to compete at the National History Day 

competition June 9-14, 2002. 

Last fall I attended the traditional 

“Veteran’s Day” football game at the 

University of Utah. During the half time 

of this game many veterans were recognized 

for their military service. Among 

those recognized were men and women 

from D-day, the Battle of the Bulge, Korea 

and Vietnam. There was one man who had 

“survived” The Bataan Death March. I 

knew nothing about the Bataan Death 

March. I found out more about it and realize 

that it would be a great subject for our 

documentary. I discussed it with my group 

and we decided to do it. 

We contacted the man who had been 

recognized at the game, Mr. Harold Poole, 

and he agreed to be interviewed. He then 

told us about his friend Mr. Johnny 

Johnson whom we also contacted and 

agreed to talk to us. It was an incredible 

experience to hear the amazing and disturbing 

stories they told us. We recorded 

six hours of video from both of these men. 

We then checked out virtually every book 

on the subject of the Bataan Death March 

and Prisoners of War. In most of these 

books we read about the suffering, starvation, 

disease and torture that Mr. Poole 

and Mr. Johnson had related to us. 

We began the long process of cutting 

and piecing the footage and information 

we had taken from the interviews, 

Internet sights, books, and film footage to 

create the film. We had to put it together 

in such a way that it would tell the story 

of three years imprisonment accurately 

within a ten-minute movie as well as 

adhere to the National History Day theme 

of: Revolution, Reaction and Reform in 

History. We spent so much time on this 

project, that it became an obsession. The 

time spent working on our project taught 

us more about the Bataan Death March, 

Prisoners of War, and the Japanese military’s 

treatment of POW’s than we 

thought possible and gave us a new found 

respect for the “Greatest Generation” and 

their willingness to sacrifice their all for 

the betterment of the world. 

Our hard work paid off when we won 

first place at both the regional and state 

history fairs. We are excited to go to 

Washington, DC not only to compete in 

this National competition but also to 

share this story with teenagers and other 

Long Range Committee Report 

After several years of studying the Long Range Program and the future of the 

A.D.B.C., there is no question we needed the protection of a program which would leave 

the organization on a status-quote, especially for some of the programs we need to keep 

the A.D.B.C. running in a normal way. 

We have been very fortunate inasmuch as some of the committee chairmen have 

been hospitalized but their conditions didn’t prove serious, but how long can we beat the 

odds when you consider each of us are in our 80’s? 

We needed someone we could have trust and faith in to carry out the aims of the 

A.D.B.C. The Executive Board and the regular organization meeting agreed to have a 

gentleman by the name of Duane L. Heisinger take over the position of Executive 

Secretary. He has agreed to study and work with committee chairmen to acquaint himself 

with the procedures. I think you will find him well-qualified. His father was lost on 

the Enoura Maru Jan. 13, 1945. Here is his personal resume and qualifications: 

Duane L. Heisinger 

7401 Bull Run Drive 

Centerville, VA 20121 

(703) 222-2480 

E-mail: heis56@aol.com 

Family: 

Born September 29, 1930, Selma, California 

Father (National Guard, Calif., Major, JAG) surrendered Corregidor, died Enoura 

Maru 13 Jan. 45 

Married Judith Elaine Spencer, Feb. 1957, three married daughters, ten 

grandchildren 

Academic: 

Graduated Fresno High School, 1948; attended two years Fresno State College 

1948-50 

Entered US Naval Academy in 1952, graduated 1956 as Ensign 

Service Career: 

Enlisted USAF, 1951, served 15 months, then received appointment to US Naval 

Academy 

Two Navy commands, Amphibious ship and Destroyer, total of 13 sea years, all in 

Pacific Overseas tours (total 11 years) in Sri Lanka (Embassy), Japan (USNavy 

Shore Command), Norway (NATO) and England (Defense Attache in Embassy) 

Retired in 1985 as Navy Captain 

Post-Navy involvement: 

Defense Analyst with Betac Corporation, Arlington, Virginia 1985-88 

Defense Consultant to TASC in Arlington, Virginia 1988-92 

Volunteer Areas: 

Active in numerous positions over 20 years in Episcopal Church, Fairfax, Virginia 

Speaker in Military History groups and other situations 

Trained Pastoral Counselor: active in counseling ministries 

References available. 

———————— 

BUY U.S. 

SAVINGS BONDS 

people from all over the country. With our 

participation in this National History Day 

competition it is our hope to gain recognition 

for those brave men and women who 

sacrificed their lives and freedom for our 

country. If you would like to have a copy of 

our documentary I can send it to you in a 

VHS videocassette or DVD. You can contact 

me by e-mail at e.huber@attbi.com; by 

mail at 3405 South Centennial Rd., 

Magna, UT 84044; or by phone at (801) 

250-1416. 

Any help or support that you could provide 

us in presenting our documentary 

would be greatly appreciated. 

Sincerely 

Chloe’ Huber 

———————— 

Japan: War Prisoners Lose 

Compensation Bid 

The Tokyo High Court rejected an 

appeal for government compensation for 

150,000 civilians and military personnel 

held prisoner in Asia during World War II. 

The ruling was the latest in a string of 

legal setbacks for people seeking compensation 

from Japan for war-related atrocities 

and human rights abuses. The seven 

plaintiffs who represent larger organizations 

of former prisoners, said they would 

make a final appeal in the seven-year-old 

case. 

Howard W. French (NYT) 

———————— 


BILLY E. BALLOU 

After receiving the Quan paper for April 

2002, I, as Billy E. Ballou’s widow, decided 

to write to you and let you know he passed 

away February 2, 2002. 

He was an avid reader of your Quan 

and it meant a lot to him to receive it. 

He was a prisoner of war of the 

Japanese during World War Two and 

worked in a lead and zinc mine for over 

two years. 

I know how happy he would have been 

to know that I’m sending in this letter to 

you as my tribute to him. 

Thank you, 

Audrey M. Ballou 

851 Citrus #15 

La Habra, CA 90631 

———————— 

LORENZO BANEGAS 

Lorenzo “Lencho” Banegas, 82, lifelong 

resident of Las Cruces, died Saturday, 

Dec. 15, 2001. He was born on May 22, 

1919 in San Isidro, NM to Febronio 

Banegas and Luisa Ybarra Banegas. 

Corporal Lencho was a veteran of the US 

Army serving his country during WWII 

where he was awarded the American 

Defense Medal with Bronze Stars, WWII 

Victory Medal, Philippine Defense Ribbon 

with Bronze Star, Asiatic Pacific 

Campaign Medal, Good Conduct Medal 

and the Distinguished Unit Badge with 2 

Oak Leaf Clusters. He was an ex-pow captured 

April 9, 1942 during the Bataan, 

Philippines Campaign and was liberated 

September 8, 1945. He was a member of 

the Las Cruces Chapter of ex pow’s, VFW 

Post #3242 on Mesquite Street and 

American Defenders of Bataan & Corregidor. 

Lencho was very honored by the 

support shown to himself and all vets by 

Lt. Colonel Stone and the Mayfield High 

School ROTC. He was also a member of 

San Albino Catholic Church. 

He is survived by his wife of 51 years 

Nina Banegas of the family home; son, 

Lawrence Banegas and wife Pancha; 

daughters, Anna Lisa Banegas-Peña and 

husband Richard, Martha Legarreta and 

husband Richard and Janice Orten 

Banegas, Vina Craig and husband Joel, 

Jessie Kinnikin and husband Clay and 

daughter-in-law, Lourdes Banegas; brother, 

Charlie Banegas; sisters, Suzie Carrier 

and Cecilia Zarate; also by 22 grandchildren 

with 1 on the way, 1 great-grandchild 

and 1 on the way. Lencho was preceded 

in death by son, Louie Banegas and 

grandson, Angelo Legarreta. 

———————— 

RUBY BRADLEY 

Col. Ruby Bradley, an Army nurse who 

was one of the nation’s most decorated 

female veterans and a World War II prisoner 

of war, died Tuesday. She was 94. 

At a Japanese prisoner of war camp, Col. 

Bradley went hungry and instead gave 

most of her food to children who were being 

held captive. She and other nurses set up a 


clinic to care for the sick and wounded. 

A native of Spencer, W.Va., Col. Bradley 

became a nurse in 1933 after a stint as a 

teacher and joined the Army Nurse Corps 

in 1934. 

When the Japanese bombed Pearl 

Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, she was a 34-yearold 

administrator serving in the Philippines 

at Camp John Hay. She was captured 

three weeks later. 

Col. Bradley was moved to Santo Tomas 

in Manila on Sept. 23, 1943. She was 

among a group of imprisoned nurses who 

came to be known to captives as the 

Angels in Fatigues. 

Col. Bradley weighed about 80 pounds 

when American troops liberated the camp 

on Feb. 3, 1945. She said she never missed 

another meal. 

She received 34 medals, including two 

Legion of Merit medals, two Bronze Stars, 

and the International Red Cross’ prestigious 

nursing honor, the Florence 

Nightingale Medal. 

———————— 

NICHOLAS DALESANDRO SR. 

Nicholas Dalesandro, Sr., 80, of Prospect 

Street, a retired die cutter for 30 years for 

Old Colony Envelope in Westfield, died 

Tuesday in Noble Hospital in Westfield. 

He retired in 1983. Born in Chester on 

June 23, 1921, he was a lifelong resident. 

He was the son of the late Camelo and 

Carmela (Lancia) Dalesandro. He was a 

U.S. Navy veteran, serving in World War 

II. He joined the Navy in 1940 and was 

captured on Corregidor after the sinking of 

the USS Quail and was Prisoner of War in 

Japan for 3 1 ⁄2 years during World War II. 

He was held in the following prisoner of 

war camps: Umeda Bunsho, Tsuruga, and 

Cabanatuan. He held the rank of Chief 

Petty Officer. He received the Bronze Star 

Medal, World War II Victory Medal, 

American Area Medal, Asiatic-Pacific 

Theatre Medal, Philippine Liberation 

Medal, Good Conduct Medal, and The Ex 

Prisoner of War Medal. He was a member 

of the American Defenders of Bataan & 

Corregidor, Past Commander of Western 

Mass Chapter American Ex Prisoners of 

War, a member of the VFW in Westfield 

and a member of the Disabled American 

Veterans. He was the water commissioner 

in Chester for many years. He attended 

Westfield Vocational School after the war 

for cabinet making. He was a life-long 

communicant of St. John’s Mission Church 

in Chester. He leaves his wife of 56 years, 

the former Mary Lopresto Dalesandro; a 

son, Nick Dalesandro, Jr.; a daughter, 

Sister Judith (Rose) Dalesandro; a sister, 

Ellia Bates; two grandsons, Anthony & 

Andrew Dalesandro; and many nieces and 

nephews. A daughter, Cheryl; a brother, 

Tony; and three sisters, Alvira Sebastiano, 

Mary Wilander and Margaret Nelson, predeceased 

him. The funeral was held 

Saturday at 8:00 a.m. from the O’Brien 

Hilltown Community Funeral Home in 

Huntington followed by the Mass of 

Christian Burial at 9:00 a.m. at St. John’s 

Mission Church in Chester. Burial, with 

military honors was at St. Thomas 

Cemetery in Huntington. 

———————— 

RUBEN FLORES 

Ruben Flores, age 84, lifetime resident of 

Las Cruces left his dwelling place on earth 

and entered eternal life to be with his heavenly 

Father, Saturday, April 13, 2002 at 

Memorial Medical Center. He was born 

August 23, 1917 to Julian Flores and Anita 

Mariana Flores. From 1939 to 1941, Ruben 

spent time as a US Merchant Marine on the 

U.S.S. American Seaman and the U.S.S. 

America. On April 3, 1941, he was inducted 

into the United States Army and assigned 

to Clark’s Airfield in the Philippine Islands. 

During his service, Staff Sergeant Ruben 

Flores was a prisoner of war from April 9, 

1942 to August 15, 1945. He was also a survivor 

of the Bataan Death March. He was 

honorably discharged from service on 

March 14, 1946, and was decorated with the 

Bronze Star for Service, Philippine Defense 

Ribbon with one Bronze Star, Philippine 

Independence Ribbon, American Defense 

Service Medal with Foreign Service Clasp, 

Good Conduct Medal, Asiatic-Pacific 

Campaign Medal with one Bronze Service 

Star, Distinguished Unit Emblem with two 

Oak Leaf Clusters, Philippine Presidential 

Unit Citation Badge and a World War II 

Victory Medal. Mr. Flores was very active 

in his community where he was a member 

of the Las Cruces Chapter of the Bataan 

Veterans Organization, a lifetime member 

of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post #3242 

and a lifetime member of the Disabled 

American Veterans Chapter 10. He was a 

4th Degree member of the Knights of 

Columbus, a member of the St. Genevieve’s 

Catholic Church and a member of the 

Sunshine Boys Breakfast Club. Survivors 

include one son, Art Flores and wife, 

Lourdes; three daughters, Carmelina and 

Freda Claudeen Flores, Sandra Christine 

Jacquez Flores; three brothers, Robert F. 

Estrada and wife, Bertha and their daughter, 

Rachel, Florencio “Lencho” Montoya, 

Jose G. Flores and wife, Angelita; four sisters, 

Celia Montes, Manuela Mestas, 

Adelina Flores and Josefina Montoya. 

Other survivors include seven grandchildren, 

Michelle Fyfe, Michael, Jasmine, 

Danielle and Amanda Flores, Annette 

Mendoza and Pamela Vasquez; two greatgranddaughters, 

Ruby Fyfe and Samantha 

Flores. He was preceded in death by his 

parents; his wife, Manuela Flores; two 

brothers, Guadalupe Flores and Bessie 

Montoya. Visitation for Mr. Flores was held 

at 6:00 p.m. Tuesday, April 16, 2002 in 

Immaculate Heart of Marty Cathedral, 

1240 S. Espina where the Prayer Vigil was 

scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m. The Funeral 

Mass was offered Wednesday, April 17, 

2002 at 10:00 a.m. in the same church with 

the Most Reverend Bishop Ricardo 

Ramirez. 

————————

J.B. FRANCIS 

JB (Jake) Francis, 84, a 63 year resident 

of Albuquerque, died Saturday, April 

6, 2002. He was born in Grapevine, TX in 

1917. He is survived by his wife of 56 

years, Delcy H. Francis; son, Robert 

Francis and wife, Pamela; daughter, 

Karen Smith; grandchildren, Kelly Smith, 

Ryan Francis, Tracie Pearson, and husband, 

Richard; great-grandchildren, 

Ashley and Jacob Pearson; sister-in-law, 

Opal Francis of Redding, CA; brother-inlaw, 

Don Dunham and Johnston family of 

Bayfield, CO; sister-in-law, Sue Beystrum 

of Mesa, AZ; and loved nieces and 

nephews. Jake was a survivor of the 

Bataan Death March in WWII. Memorial 

services will be held Thursday, April 11, 

2002, 2:00 p.m., at La Mesa Presbyterian 

Church, 7401 Copper Ave. NE, with 

Pastor Trey Hammond officiating. 

———————— 

DR. LLOYD H. GOAD 

This is to inform you of the death of Dr. 

Lloyd H. Goad on March 19, 2002, at the 

age of 88. He was a life member of your 

organization. 

He reported for active duty in the Army 

Medical Corps on Feb. 10, 1941, at 

Beaumont Hospital, El Paso, Texas. He 

was sent to the Philippine Islands May 4, 

1941 and was stationed at Sternberg 

General Hospital in Manila. He served on 

Corregidor and was captured by the 

Japanese while serving at Fort Frank. 

He was imprisoned at Bilibid and 

Cabanatuan Camp #3 in the Philippines. 

He was transported to Japan on board the 

Nigata Maru, and was imprisoned at 

Camps Shinagawa, Omori and Noetsu. He 

returned to the U.S. aboard the USS 

Rodman. 

In July of 1948 he returned to Tokyo to 

testify at the war crime trials. In May of 

1967 he returned to the Philippines for 

the 25th anniversary of the fall and the 

ADBC convention. 

He was awarded the Legion of Merit, 

The Philippine Presidential Citation, the 

POW medal and other awards. 

He practiced medicine in Golden, CO for 

32 years. 

He is survived by his wife Lois, of 

Golden, 3 sons, a daughter and 6 grandchildren. 

———————— 

JOHN L. HINKLE 

Funeral services for John Lewis Hinkle 

Jr., 78, a retired car dealership owner of 

Greenville, was today at 2 p.m. at First 

United Methodist Church, Greenville. He 

died of heart failure Feb. 24, 2002, at 

Veterans Administration Hospital, Jackson. 

Burial was in Greenville Cemetery 

under the direction of Mortimer Funeral 

Home, Greenville. 

John Lewis Hinkle Jr. was born in 

Crawford, Lowndes County, Miss., July 8, 

1923, to John Lewis and Marie Kinard 

Hinkle. He graduated from Crawford High 

School. After graduation, he joined the Air 

Force in 1940. He was stationed in the 

Philippines when the Japanese bombed 

Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1941. Mr. Hinkle is 

a survivor of the Bataan Death March and 

was a prisoner of war in the Philippines 

and Japan for 42 months during World 

War II. 

After returning from the service, he 

attended Memphis State University. He 

owned and operated John Hinkle 

Volkswagen for 25 years. 

He was a very active member of St. 

Joseph Athletic Association. He was a 

member of First United Methodist 

Church, Big Brothers Sunday School 

Class and Lamplighters Sunday School 

Class. He also served on the finance committee. 

He served as a member of 

Veterans of Foreign Wars Post No. 04486, 

American Legion Post No. 32, a 32 degree 

Mason of Grand Lodge of Mississippi, 

F&AM No. 040, Kiwanis Club of 

Greenville, and past president of the 

Greenville Chamber of Commerce. He 

served on the Washington County Board 

of Supervisors, District 2, for eight years. 

Mr. Hinkle was preceded in death b his 

wife of 23 years, Jean Corbett Hinkle. 

He is survived by his wife of 27 years, 

Margaret Pearce Maritt Hinkle; three 

sons, John Lewis Hinkle III (Beth), 

Michael Gene Hinkle (Brenda), and 

Robert Davis Hinkle (Denise); two daughters, 

Diane Hinkle Crews and Judith 

Hinkle Mitchell; one stepdaughter, Linda 

Maritt Yarbrough (Thomas); 13 grandchildren; 

two great-grandchildren; and two 

brothers, Allen Hinkle (Doris), and Earl 

Hinkle (Marilyn). 

———————— 

GUY E. JONES 

My husband of 56 years was admitted 

to Jerry L. Pettis Memorial Va Medical 

Center in Loma Linda, CA on 2/15/02, 

passed away on 2/25 after a long battle 

with bone cancer. 

He survived the Bataan Death March, 6 

weeks in a hell ship and a year as a slave 

laborer in a coal mine in Japan, and a 

Camp #17 survivor. He is survived by his 

wife Virginia, one son, 4 grandchildren 

and 2 great grandchildren. He was preceded 

in death by one daughter. 

———————— 

DORCAS E. EASTERLING 

KELLEY 

By LaKISHA LADSON 

Staff Writer 

Dorcas E. Easterling Kelley, a former 

Army nurse who was a prisoner of war 

during World War II, died recently at The 

Forum at Park Lane in Dallas. 

Services were private. 

Mrs. Kelley, 87, was one of 64 Army 

nurses liberated from a Japanese military 

prison in the Philippines in 1945. She had 

been held at the Manila prison for three 

years. 

Mrs. Kelley was an Army nurse from 

1940 to 1949. During the war, she treated 

soldiers and operated in underground tunnels 

in the Philippines. 

“She was just a devoted and caring person 

and was proud to have served her 

country,” said her daughter, Diana Lynn 

Kelley of Dallas. 

After the war, Mrs. Kelley was stationed 

in Germany. She was awarded the 

Army of Occupation Medal with Germany 

clasp, which was given for 30 or more consecutive 

days of miliary service in occupied 

territory after the war. 

She later worked at the hospital now 

called Methodist Medical Center, where 

she was a fourth-floor supervisor. She was 

also a registered nurse at a family medical 

clinic. After her retirement, Mrs. Kelley 

worked as a private nurse. 

“She was a very likable person, very 

friendly [and] easygoing,” her daughter 

said. 

Mrs. Kelley, who was born Nov. 2, 1914, 

in Abbott, Texas, graduated from nursing 

school in Temple in 1938. 

She is also survived by a brother, E. 

Wayne Easterling of Ashland City, Tenn. 

———————— 

JAMES E. (JIM) KINCAID 

James E. (Jim) Kincaid, 79, of Emmett, 

died at home from cancer with his family 

at his side on Sunday, January 27, 2002. 

Services were held Saturday, February 

2 at 10:30 a.m. at the Potter Funeral 

Chapel in Emmett, with interment following 

at the Emmett Cemetery. Rich Schell 

of the Emmett Christian Church officiated. 

A viewing was held Friday from 10 

a.m. until 8 p.m. 

Jim was born May 27, 1922 in Boise, 

Idaho. He moved to Emmett and began 

first grade in 1928. He graduated from 

Emmett High School in 1940. In January 

1941 Jim joined the Army Air Corp. He 

served in the Philippines in WWII until 

April 9, 1942 when he was taken prisoner 

by the Japanese. He survived the Bataan 

Death March and three and a half years 

as a prisoner of war. He was liberated in 

September 1945 and returned home to 

Emmett in 1946. He married Alice 

Johnson on May 13, 1947. Jim loved to 

hunt, fish and the out of doors. He loved 

spending time with his family and friends 

especially when teaching them outdoors 

skills or sharing his many stories. 

Jim was a member of the Emmett 

Christian Church, Veterans of Foreign 

Wars, American Legion, Order of the 

Purple Heart, American Defenders of 

Bataan and Corregidor, Disabled 

American Veterans and Blinded Veterans 

of America. 

He is survived b his wife, Alice; his son, 

Ken Kincaid and his wife, Melody; daughter, 

Barbara (Bobbi) Rogers and her husband, 

Don. Also surviving are his grand- 


children, Becky and Jason Bendele, Amy 

Rogers, Ellen and Ryan Haffner, Jessie 

Kincaid, and great great grandchildren, 

Tyler and Hailey Bendele. His parents 

and eight brothers preceded him in death. 

———————— 

WARREN H. MELLIES 

Warren Harding Mellies, 80, of 

Cheyenne died January 20 at the 

Veterans Affairs Medical Center. 

He was born Oct. 28, 1921, in Adams 

City, Colo., and had lived in Cheyenne 

since 1960 with prior residence in Casper. 

Mr. Mellies retired as a purchasing 

agent for the Federal Government after 42 

years of service. He served in the U.S. 

Marine corps during World War II, and 

was a prisoner of war for 31 ⁄2 years. 

He was a member of the Defenders of 

Bataan and Corregidor, the Military 

Order of the Purple Heart and Disabled 

American Veterans. 

Mr. Mellies is survived by his wife, 

Christina, whom he married Sept. 17, 

1954, in Casper; a son, Warren L. Mellies; 

daughters, Linda Ann Conine, and Kimberly 

Colling; sister, Betty Lou Matthews; 

and six grandchildren. 

He was preceded in death by a daughter, 

Bertha Marie McCartney; parents, 

August and Maude Mellies; sister, Bertha 

A. Szymanski; and brothers, Everett B. 

Mellies, Ira Mellies, Woodrow W. Mellies, 

John W. Mellies and Howard L. Mellies. 

Funeral liturgy was at 10 a.m. Wednesday 

at Holy Trinity Catholic Church with 

the Rev. James Doudican as celebrant. 

Interment was in Cheyenne Memorial 

Gardens. 

———————— 

STANLEY MROZ 

On December 31, 2001 God called another 

American hero home — Stanley Mroz, 

torpedoman first class, USN. Stanley 

enlisted in he U.S. Navy in August of 1938, 

and served aboard the original USS 

Canopus (AS-9) before being assigned to 

submarine duty. Stanley was taken prisoner 

by the Japanese on May 6, 1942 when 

Corregidor was forced to capitulate. 

Unfortunately he spent the next three 

years and eight months as a prisoner of 

war. Initially, he was held at Bilibid Prison 

in Manila, next he was sent to Pasay 

School at Nichols Field. His commanding 

officer at Nichols Field was the brutal and 

sadistic Japanese officer called the “White 

Angel.” From Nichols Field Stanley was 

sent to northern Japan on the hell ship 

Noto Maru (1944). Ultimately he ended up 

at Sendai Camp #6 in Hanawa. He was liberated 

in January of 1946 and released 

from active duty in September of 1946. 

Stanley was preceded in death by his 

wife Margaret “Eileen” Mroz, and a son, 

Daniel Mroz. He is survived by a son Dick 

Mroz of Shirley, Indiana, and a daughter 

Pat Mroz of Anderson, Indiana. If there 

are any sons or daughters of those incarcerated 

at Sendai #6 in Hanawa and 


would like to correspond, Dick’s e-mail is 

YDMIND@hrtc.net, and Pat’s is PLM- 

ROZ20@aol.com. 

———————— 

SHELLEY MYDANS 

Shelley Mydans, 86, a journalist who 

spent 21 months in a Japanese prisonerof-war 

camp during World War II, died 

March 7 at her home in New Rochelle, 

N.Y. The cause of death was not reported. 

She and her husband, photographer 

Carl Mydans, were Life magazine’s first 

photographer-reporter team to cover the 

war, traveling to Europe, China and the 

Western Pacific. They were taken prisoner 

when Japanese forces arrived in the 

Philippines. 

Mrs. Mydans, the author of three novels, 

was later a commentator for a Time 

Inc. radio news program in New York. She 

continued to write for Time and Life and 

reported from Tokyo when her husband 

was bureau chief there. 

———————— 

MICHAEL PULICE 

Michael Pulice took the hand of the Lord 

and returned home with him on December 

8, 2001. He was born February 10, 1919 in 

Morencie, Arizona and moved to Carlsbad, 

New Mexico in 1931 with his mother, 

father, two sisters and younger brother. He 

was a volunteer member of the 200th Coast 

Artillery, a NM National Guard Regiment 

and was inducted into active military service 

in 1941. He was wounded in action at 

Clark Air Field, Bataan, Philippines on 

April 2, 1942 and taken prisoner. On 

September 7, 1944 the Japanese POW ship, 

Shinyo Maru, carrying over 800 prisoners 

was torpedoed by an American submarine 

resulting in only 83 survivors. He was rescued 

by Philippine guerrillas after swimming 

in shark infested waters for over 24 

hours with a severe leg injury. He returned 

to the United States as a patient at Walter 

Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, 

D.C. in December 1944 after 2 1 ⁄2 years as a 

POW. Mike returned to Manila in 1946 and 

provided personal testimony at the war 

crimes trials. He was given the honor as the 

designated US Army representative who 

accepted the 1st three cent Bataan memorial 

postage stamp presented by President 

Harry S. Truman. Mike was a highly decorated 

WWII veteran receiving numerous 

awards including the Purple Heart and discharged 

from the Army in September 1948. 

He attended Loyola University in Los 

Angeles, CA and received his degree in 

1953. He retired from a successful 30 year 

career as a New Mexico state employee in 

Santa Fe, NM. He was an Honorary life 

time member of the BPOE, the American 

Legion, the DAV, Order of the Purple Heart 

and the VFW. He had been a resident of 

Las Cruces for over 20 years. 

He is survived by his wife Mary 

Heathman Pulice and her 4 adult children 

and grandchildren; daughter, Helen Marie 

Griego and her husband Joseph Griego; 

son Michael W. Pulice and his wife 

Patricia; three grandchildren, Daren Choi 

and her husband Chin, Sarah and Michael 

F. Pulice and one great-granddaughter, 

Catherine Celeste Choi; 2 sisters, Olympia 

West and Mary Louise Lyle and her husband, 

Ken and youngest brother Alric 

Pulice from Texas. 

———————— 

NOEL RAVNEBERG 

“I can’t believe what went on today. I’m 

still in wonderment at the outgoing 

expressed by everyone,” said Noel M. 

Ravneberg, after Gen. John Abrams of 

Fort Monroe presented him with a Purple 

Heart in recognition of the years he’d 

spent as a prisoner of war during World 

War II. The ceremony was held at the 

Training & Doctrine Command on April 9, 

2002, 60 years to the day of his capture by 

the Japanese. The crowd gave him four 

prolonged ovations. 

Mr. Ravneberg of Ford’s Colony, a survivor 

of the Bataan Death March, died May 

18 at Williamsburg Community Hospital. 

He was born in Devils Lake, N.D., on 

Nov. 19, 1916. In March 1941 he entered 

the Army, and in September he was 

shipped to the Philippine Islands with the 

194th Tank Battalion, a National Guard 

Unit. He was a halftrack operator with a 

crew of four. 

When the Japanese landed on the 

Bataan Peninsula, the men from the 

194th and other units held out until April 

9, 1942. Maj. Gen. E.P. King, commander 

of Bataan, surrendered after the defenders 

had been on half rations for two 

months. In addition, they were running 

low on ammunition. 

Upon the fall of Bataan to the Japanese, 

Cpl. Ravneberg was taken prisoner and 

endured the infamous Death March, considered 

the greatest surrender in U.S. military 

history. Some 70,000 American and 

Philippine soldiers were forced to march 

60 to 70 miles across the island, with no 

food and no water. An estimated 21,000 

men died. He was a prisoner of the 

Japanese for 3 1 ⁄2 years. 

When World War II ended, the only way 

the prisoners knew it was over was that 

the guards suddenly vanished. After 

release from the prison, Mr. Ravneberg 

weighed 85 pounds and was barely able to 

walk. He spent a long time in Army hospitals 

recovering from malaria, the beatings 

he’d received and amoebic dysentery. 

He moved to Queens, N.Y., where he 

made watches for the Bulova Watch Co. In 

the evenings, he attended Columbia University 

and earned a bachelor’s degree in 

geology. In 1954, he earned his master’s 

degree. 

His first job was with the state of New 

York. He soon signed on with a company 

that did foundation engineering around 

the world. Mr. Ravneberg traveled to 

South America, Panama, Morocco, Egypt, 

Borneo, Portugal, Iceland and half of the

United States doing surveys where 

builders planned to construct dams, 

canals and tunnels. He retired in 1981 

from the international consulting firm of 

Woodward-Clyde Consulting. 

He was a charter member of the New 

York-Philadelphia Section of AEG and 

served as treasurer, vice chairman and 

chairman. He was vice president in 1976 

and president in 1977 of the Association of 

Engineering Geologists. In 1984, he 

received a citation for the Bronze Star, but 

no medal, from the Army. 

Mr. Ravneberg is survived by his wife, 

Evangeline; a niece, Nancy Hill; a 

nephew, Ronald Ravneberg; and other 

great-nieces and great-nephews. 

A celebration of his life was held at St. 

Martin’s Episcopal Church at 10 a.m. on 

Friday, June 14. 

———————— 

AMADO ROMERO 

Amado Romero, 83, passed away on 

Tuesday, March 12, 2002. He is survived 

by his wife of 52 years, Ofelia; and his 

children, Mark, James and wife, Doris 

Romero, Maria, Leonard, Helen and husband, 

Michael Johnsen, David, Patrick, 

Leo, Ann Margaret and husband, Mark 

Bieri, John and wife, Abigail Romero; his 

grandchildren; his sister, Vivian Sanchez; 

and numerous nieces, nephews and 

friends. Amado was a native of Albuquerque 

from the Old Town area. He was a 

highly-decorated WWII veteran, captured 

by the Japanese on Corregidor in 1941 

and held captive until the end of the war. 

He was a lifelong member of Our Lady of 

Guadalupe Catholic Church. He will be 

dearly missed by those of us that he left 

behind. Rosary was recited Thursday, 7:00 

p .m. at Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic 

Church, with Helen Romero Johnsen 

reciting. Mass was celebrated Friday, 

10:00 a.m., at Our Lady of Guadalupe 

Catholic Church, with Father Ramon 

Aragon, Celebrant. Interment followed at 

Gate of Heaven Cemetery. 

———————— 

WILLIAM E. RUST 

Born August 22, 1914 to Alick and 

Rhoda Maude (Hobbs) Rust, Dad grew up 

in the Paducah, Ky. area. He married 

Doris Cooksey in Marion, Ill. on May 4, 

1946. He worked for Caterpillar Tractor 

Company in Peoria and Aurora Illinois for 

27 years. He is survived by his wife Doris, 

son Danny Rust; daughter Judy Northcutt 

and daughter Sandra. Also survived by his 

brother, Earnest “Bill Russ”, brother Jesse 

Rust, sister Florence Stanley and sister 

Aleen. He was preceded in death by his 

parents, brothers, Moody Kirby Rust, 

James Lillard Rust, Marvin Alton 

(Tommy) Rust, Arvin Walton (Rusty), 

Leon; sisters, Flora May (Sue) and Lillian 

Beauton. I apologize to sister May and 

brothers Frank, Jeff and Joe. I am not 

sure where you are. 

He enlisted in the Army in El Paso, 

Texas November 13, 1939. Bill was 

assigned to Manila, Philippines from May 

1940 until the bombing of Pearl Harbor by 

the Japanese. 

U.S. forces were evacuated to Bataan on 

Christmas Eve 1941, during that same 

month; the Japanese invaded the Philippines 

causing US and Filipino forces to 

withdraw to the Bataan Peninsula. In 

April, 1942 under the command of Major 

General Edward King, American forces 

surrendered, making it the only time in 

history US forces had surrendered to a 

foreign enemy in the field. The Japanese 

then centered their attention to the coast 

of Corregidor, 1 mile off the Bataan Peninsula. 

This southern tip was where the 

Japanese rounded up and moved approximately 

75,000 American and Filipinos to 

prisoner of war camps. The journey of the 

captives commenced the torturous march 

of death began on April 10, 1942 from 

Mariveles to San Fernando. Fewer than 

52,000 survived the Death March. 

He was a prisoner of war from April 8, 

1942 to September 16, 1946. He was pronounced 

dead in ’43 and was placed in St. 

Peters Ward where bodies were kept for 

burial. However he was not dead and was 

found by Medical Personnel. He was blinded 

by malnutrition, beriberi, dysentery 

and malaria. 

He was later moved to Japan with so 

many others on the “Hell Ships” of 80 

ships that the Japanese loaded with our 

prisoners, three made it to Japan. The 

ships were not marked and were sunk by 

US subs and aircraft. From a coal mine 90 

miles from Nagasaki, on August 9, 1945 

he saw the A Bomb dropped. 

He was at Camp O’Donnell, Camp 

Cabanatuan and Fukyoka Japan where he 

was forced to work in the coal mines as 

slave labor. He separated February 17, 

1946 at Camp Atterbury, Indiana. 

So ends a small part of the life of my 

father, but only a part. I watched the documentary 

Back to Bataan on the History 

Channel; I know it to be true because I 

have grown up with one who was there. I 

thank God for my Father’s life; for the 

lives of all the men and women suffered 

and died that I might live. To those of you 

who still live, thank you. I know your stories; 

I know many of your names. It has 

been great, God bless you all. 

Many times I have watched Dad sitting 

quietly in his chair reading his Ex-POW, 

Quan, Legion, and VFW magazines, he 

would have a pen in one hand and a cookie 

on the table, he could make one cookie last 

for hours. He would make a check mark 

by each name that he knew of men who 

had passed on. I would watch him and he 

would make his mark, then lean back in 

his chair and close his eyes. I know he 

could see you all there, his stories may 

have changed some as he aged, he might 

forget a name or a place. But he never 

ever forgot! At times he would hold up a 

magazine and say look here Sandi, I knew 

this man and tell me the story. I know 

there are those left who will make a mark 

for Dad, and say I knew that man. 

So, I will leave you with one short story. 

As Dad lay dying in the hospital, and I not 

only know that he knew he was dying, but 

he also planed it, he told me a month 

before that he was ready to go. Our Pastor 

who had been at our church for a short 

time went to visit Dad, they had a good 

talk, and when Pastor was ready to leave 

he asked if Dad would pray with him, they 

joined hands and shared a prayer together. 

When Pastor Dan was ready to leave, Dad 

reached and took his hand and said, you 

prayed for me, now let me pray for you. 

This was my Father; his thoughts were 

rarely for his own needs, but for those 

around him. He met death as he did life, 

with strength, courage, faith and honor. 

Love, Mom, Danny, Judy & Sandi Rust 

P.O. Box 1201 

Buena Vista, CO 81211 

rusty@chaffee.net 

———————— 

IRVIN C. SCOTT, JR. 

Irvin C. Scott Jr., 80, a Texan by birth 

and a long time resident of Richmond, 

died Thursday, April 25, 2002. “Scotty” 

served in the Marine Corps 3rd BN 4th 

Marines. He was a survivor of the Bataan 

Death March and was a POW for three 

and a half years. He was a petroleum geology 

graduate of Oklahoma University and 

retired from Reynolds Metals Co., 

Research and Development Division. 

Surviving are his daughter, Cathey Scott 

Black; his son and daughter-in-law, H. 

Craig and Elizabeth Scott; his grandchildren, 

Brian Matthew Scott and Emma 

Cathey Scott; and his dog, Sara. Also surviving 

are his brother, J.R. Scott and wife, 

Barbara; his aunt, Mayme Scott Tomlin; 

his cousin, Evalee and her husband, Jim 

Jackson; and sister-in-law, Lucille Scott. 

He was preceded in death by his sister, 

Jerry Llywelyn; and his brother, R.D. 

Scott; and his dear friend, John W. 

Ferguson. Inurnment was at Arlington 

National Cemetery. 

———————— 

CHARLES PERSHING 

THOMAS 

Charles Pershing Thomas, 82, of 

Bakersfield, Calif., died Wednesday, May 

30, 2001, in Los Angeles, Calif. 

Graveside services were at 10 a.m. 

Thursday at Elmwood Cemetery Pavilion 

with the Rev. Dale Durnell officiating. 

Burial was at Elmwood Cemetery with 

Full Military Rites. Funeral arrangements 

were under the direction of Mills Funeral 

Home of Hartshorne. 

Charles Pershing Thomas was born 

Aug. 4, 1918, in Hartshorne and was the 

son of Beryl and Bertha Blythe Thomas. 

He married Iva Joyce Coleman on May 22, 

1948, in Glendale, Calif. 

He served in the U.S. Marines during 


World War II and the Korean Conflict. 

While in World War II, he was held as a 

P.O.W. by Japan for three years and four 

months. He received the Purple Heart 

with Star, the Bronze Star and many 

other medals, awards and citations during 

his 20 years of military service. 

Survivors include his wife, Iva Joyce 

Thomas of the home; one daughter, Chris 

Thomas; two sons, Scot Thomas and 

Glenn Thomas; and five grandchildren, 

Whitney Thomas, Ryan Welker, Jill 

Welker, Trent Welker and Sarah Thomas. 

He was preceded in death by his parents; 

one sister, Sally Thomas and two 

brothers, Walter and Zane Thomas. 

———————— 

EMIL SANGIORGIO 

Emil SanGiorgio of San Diego died on 

December 29, 2001 at the age of 81. Born 

in Lawrence, MA, he enlisted in the Navy 

at age 17 and honorably served his country 

for 20 years including combat duty in 

World War II and the Korean Conflict. 

Emil spent 40 months as a POW in Japan 

following the fall of Corregidor in May 

1942. He retired as a Chief Quartermaster 

in 1957 and was a 50 year resident of San 

Diego. Emil retired from the United 

States Postal Service in 1977 as Budget 

Officer for the San Diego Region. 

Emil was preceded in death by his wife 

Helen. He is survived by his son Philip 

and daughter-in-law Terrie San Giorgio, 

son David SanGiorgio, daughter LTC 

Donna SanGiorgio, USA (Ret.), grandchildren 

Sophia SanGiorgio and Paul 

SanGiorgio; sisters Pat SanGiorgio and 

Mary Musmanno, and nephew Robert 

Musmanno; and sister-in-law Brigitte 

Joncas and nephew Wilfred Joncas. 

Interment was at Fort Rosecrans 

National Cemetery. 

———————— 

WADE W. WALDRUP 

Wade W. Waldrup, 1st Sgt. U.S. Army 

(Retired), age 85, of Augusta, Georgia, 

passed away Feb. 28, 2002 at the Augusta 

VA Medical Center. Mr. Waldrup was taken 

prisoner of war by the Japanese on Bataan 

in April 1942 while serving with the 31st 

Infantry Regiment in the Philippine Islands. 

As a POW he was held on Bataan, in Bilibid 

prison and Port Area Detail (Philippine 

Camp 11) in Manila, finishing his captivity 

in Kamioka, Japan, Sept. 1945. 

He was active in former prisoner of war 

programs in Georgia, serving as State 

Commander AXPOW, Chapter Commander 

of the Greater Augusta Chapter 

AXPOW, and other positions on the state 

and local level. He was a life member of 

the American Defenders of Bataan and 

Corregidor, American Ex-Prisoners of 

War, Department of Georgia AXPOW and 

the 31st Infantry Regimental Association. 

He is survived by his wife Elizabeth of 

Augusta, Georgia, a son Wade T. Waldrup 

of Memphis, TN and a granddaughter 

Meghan Waldrup of Memphis, TN. 

———————— 


RUDOLFO ZEPEDA 

Rudolfo Zepeda, 85, a retired Army 

master sergeant who did security work for 

the U.S. Department of Transportation in 

the 1970s, died March 22 at Virginia 

Hospital Center-Arlington after a heart 

attack. He lived in Arlington. 

Sgt. Zepeda, a native of the Philippines, 

joined the Philippine army assisting U.S. 

forces during World War II. He was captured 

by he Japanese and endured the 

Bataan Death March. Along the way, he 

escaped and joined a group of guerrillas. 

In the final months of the war, he joined 

the U.S. Army and did Japanese translation 

work. He also served in the Korean 

and Vietnam wars as a military policeman. 

His last active-duty assignment, in 

1971, was at Fort Myer as an advisor to 

the D.C. National Guard. 

His memberships included St. Ann’s 

Catholic Church in Arlington and 

Veterans of Foreign Wars. 

His first wife, Mercedes Zepeda, died in 

1990. 

Survivors include his wife of 10 years, 

Cresina Patron Zepeda of Arlington; six 

children from his first marriage, Orlando 

Zepeda, Robert Zepeda, Rebecca Feliciano, 

Rudy Zepeda and Roman Zepeda and 

Rosemary Zepeda; six grandchildren; and 

two great-grandsons. 

———————— 

SEEKING INFORMATION 

Dear Mr. Crago: 

My father, John L. (Jack) Kennedy was 

a POW to the Japanese for 3.5 years. He 

was not on the Bataan Death March, but 

had gone to the Philippines before war 

broke out and was at the Del Monte Pineapple 

Plantation on Mindanao. John Lewis 

said for me to give you as much information 

as I can about my dad. I do know that 

he took the Quan so he must have also 

been a member at one time. He passed 

away in 1990. What information I have 

about my dad’s POW years is as follows: 

He was a private at the time of capture, 

given the rank of corporal upon release (or 

some time thereafter). He was first at 

Casisang POW Camp, then Davao Penal 

Colony, then went to Japan on the 

Canadian Inventor hell ship. In Japan he 

worked first at the Yokkaichi copper refinery 

and then at the Toyama steel mill 

where he was liberated. John Lewis also 

stated that his dad and my dad went to 

Japan from Mindanao together and he 

told me the names of the other two ships: 

the Yashu Maru from Davao to Cebu City, 

arriving June 17, 1944 where they were 

held at fort San Pedro four days. Then 

they left Cebu City on the Singoto Maru 

on June 21, 1944 and arrived in Manila on 

June 24, 1944 where they were taken to 

Bilibid Prison Camp in Manila. Dad 

stayed there until July 4, 1944 then finished 

his journey to Japan on the 

Canadian Inventor. 

I have been interested in finding out 

more about Dad’s experience as POW. He 

did write a history, but as far as his circum- 

stances go, it didn’t tell the whole story. 

Thanks for your time and attention. 

Judy Kennedy Barrett 

595 North 2200 West 

West Point, UT 84015 

———————— 

Searches for Book 

Dear Mr. Vater: 

I am the daughter of a Bataan/ 

Corregidor Army Doctor, Colonel John F. 

Breslin, who has subscribed for so many 

years to the Quan. The reason I am writing 

is to find out how I can purchase a 

special book that was summarized in the 

March 1999 issue of the Quan (Volume 53 

No. 5). The book is by William N. Donovan, 

MC, entitled POW IN THE PACIFIC: 

Memoirs of an American Doctor in World 

War II. Its code is listed as ISBN 0-8420- 

2725-4 and is priced at $22.95. 

Colonel Donovan and my father were 

very good friends and colleagues, stemming 

from their service in the Philippines 

and subsequent internment by the 

Japanese, throughout their long miliary 

careers as Army doctors following World 

War II. I want to purchase the book for my 

father. But I do not know where to send 

for it. I know you will help me out. 

I see that it is edited by Colonel 

Donovan’s daughter, Josephine Donovan, 

who is at the University of Maine. I would 

also like to have Josephine’s address, if 

you could be so kind as to help me, so I 

can write to her. 

Growing up after the war, the Donovans 

remained family friends and I knew both 

Colonel and Mrs. Donovan and Josephine 

as a young girl. 

My dad told me that “Bill” had planned 

to write such a book when I pointed out 

the article to him which I ran across 

recently. (I, too, am an avid reader of the 

Quan.) My dad said he did not know how 

to obtain the book when he saw it listed in 

the Quan a few years ago. 

My dad is now 94 years old. A wonderful 

old gentleman, who is known simply as 

“The Colonel” in the small rural community 

where he lives on a farm. I am so filled 

with awe and emotion by the saga of all 

the gallant men who served on Bataan 

and Corregidor and who suffered so much 

unimaginable hardship, even death, at the 

hands of the Japanese during World War 

II. Art Bressi was a dear friend of my dad. 

As was Chaplain John MacDonald (Father 

“Mac”), who died on one of the horrible 

Japanese transport ships. My whole life 

has been affected by these events and 

these heroic men of valor whose service to 

this country is beyond all imagination. 

Thank you so much for your interest, 

and more so, thank you especially for all 

your hard work and dedication to keeping 

the Quan an ongoing dialogue for all 

American POWs from the pacific War. It 

is an incredible publication. 

Sincerely, 

Margot Breslin Hastings 

RR 1, Box 21 

Turbotville, PA 17772 

(T: 570-524-4323) 

————————

57th National ADBC Convention 

Omni Hotel, San Antonio, Texas 

Friday, May 17, 2002 Noon 

Widow’s Luncheon 

The twenty-second floor of the Omni 

Hotel was a beautiful setting for the 

Widow’s Luncheon, May 17, during the 

57th National ADBC Convention. The 

panoramic view was spectacular. The 

lunch of chicken salad, tuna salad and 

delicious cheesecake was delightful. 

Enjoying this setting and lunch were: 

twenty-six widows, two Angels of Bataan 

and Corregidor, three Department of 

Veterans Affairs personnel and our own 

Chaplain, Rev. Robert W. Phillips. 

The Veterans Affairs personnel included 

Dr. Charles W. Edwards, Jr., Chaplain of 

the Audie Murphy V.A. Medical Center, 

our guest speaker; Candace Tull and 

Kathleen Towell. Chaplain Edwards spoke 

on John 17, Jesus’ high priestly prayer. It 

was a very inspirational message. 

Candace Tull welcomed the ladies and 

offered any assistance the Department of 

Veterans has available. Kathleen Towel is 

the representative for CHAMPVA and 

explained that CHAMPVA for Life, or 

CFL, extends CHAMPVA benefits to those 

over age 65. CFL serves as a Medicare 

Supplement that lets you see civilian doctors. 

I urge you, if you are not eligible for 

TRICARE or CHAMPUS, and if your husband 

was (or is) 100% permanently and 

totally disabled for a service connected 

disability to contact your nearest VA and 

check on “CHAMPVA for Life”. 

The widows are ever indebted and offer 

our heartfelt thanks to the ADBC Board of 

Director and leaders for their support and 

encouragement. The elected officers and 

committee members who plan, organize 

and execute our conventions are ever to be 

commended for their untiring efforts and 

hard work. Without their support and 

encouragement many of us (widows) 

would never return to the pen arms of this 

wonderful support organization that 

meant so much to our husband. 

Many of you are wondering about our 

Angel, Sally Millett, who was hospitalized 

the night of the banquet. She had an 

irregular heartbeat and her pulse rate 

was very high. She remained in the hospital 

until Wednesday, four days, while they 

got her heart regulated. She is going 

strong and ready for next year’s convention 

in Albuquerque. 

Angels of Bataan and Corregidor 

Floramund A. Fellmeth Difford 

Earlyn Black Harding 

Guest 

Chaplain Charles W. Edwards, Jr. 

Audie Murphy V.A. Medical Center 

Candace Tull 

South Texas Veterans Health System 

Rev. Robert W. Phillips 

Kathleen Towel 

South Texas Veterans Health System 

The Chaplain’s Corner 

“Brotherhood Galore” 

Having just returned home from the ADBC Convention 2002, I tried very hard to 

remember every detail so I could tell Audrey about it. She was unable to attend. 

A central impression in my mind was one of unity and bonding of friends. Nobody 

could be a stranger for very long amidst the Defenders; the common experiences have 

made us all brothers-at-arms. No matter where one served over there or on which POW 

ship one was transported to Japan, or in which POW camp(s) one was kept or what kind 

of labor one did, the similarities of experiences more than blotted out any differences. 

Having been a J-POW was a leveling experience; even military rank is less important 

after all these years. 

Our studies teach us that we are all equal in the eyes of our Creator God; we understand 

that to be true. Believing that comes from acting it out by coming together in fellowship. 

We help each other a lot when we meet. It means a lot for us to be accepted, 

cared for and loved by our fellow Defenders who notice that we are growing old, but do 

not mind that we are; who notice that our eyes are dimmed and our hearing is less 

acute, but do not mind that either. And we return the favor to them. We affirm that, 

although we lost that campaign, each of us served with honor, dedication and skill; we 

affirm each other’s goodness and dignity. That is God’s Charity at work in each of us. 

In short, we help each other to grow old, and that is a great favor. 

I view the Conventions as a social event. Of course, the business of the ADBC must 

carry on, but the most important business seems to be a decision about the time and 

place of the next Convention. The rest of the time is spent loving and caring about each 

other. 

Giving of ourselves to others is one of God’s mandates. “Love thy neighbor as thyself” 

was not a suggestion; it is a requirement. Someone wrote a little book entitled, 

“Growing old is not for Sissies”; to that I would add one more thought, “Helping each 

other grow old is one of the greatest of gifts one can offer to another; the gift of true 

friendship.” 

Taking the time and expense to attend conventions is such an act of helping each 

other. It is a unique gift because only you can give it. That is why, I think, so many of us 

come together each year for Convention. May God Bless our gatherings! 

In His service, 

Fr. Bob Phillips+, SSC 

National Chaplain 

American Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor, Inc. 

Widows 

Cecelia Ayres 

Annette Bloskis 

Rose Bridges 

Mona Bridges 

Julia E. Britton 

Lora Cummins 

Mary R. Curley 

Virginia Dessauer 

Ethelene Henry 

Mary Jaggers 

Lillian Jones 

Martha Lowman 

Sue Ann Luton 

Charlie Mills 

Jean Pruitt 

Joan Rawlings 

Katherine Sandor 

Mary Kay Schmeisser 

Dottie Stempin 

Bertha A. Stewart 

Wilma Trout 

Ruth Tyson 

Edith Walker 

Wanda Woodall 

Viola (Brocky) Wright 

ADBC Web Site Grows 

The ADBC Web Site continues to grow 

and now contains more than 700 pages of 

helpful information. You ca visit our Site 

by entering the following URL into your 

browser: 

. 

You are invited to visit our Site and 

meet some old friends, make some new 

ones, send us your biographical sketch 

(digital photos welcome). Read about 

future conventions, reunions and meetings; 

find out how you can find help with 

your VA claim; many more things. Go 

there for names and addresses of all of 

your elected and appointed officers. Send 

us your e-mail address, etc. so we can post 

your name on the Web Site. 

For more information e-mail me at: 

frphillips@sprintmail.com or other 

Committee members: 

Martin Christie: 

Warren Jorgenson: 

 

or 

Don Versaw: 


Louis Lachman 

Paul and Nikki Reuter 

Bishop McKendree 

Joe and Helen Vater 

Eugene Slocomb 

Oscar and Mary Leonard 

Sarah Leonard 

John and Florence Crago 

Duane and Judith Heisinger 

Jay Rye 

Donna Norman 

Charles and Helen Botterworth 

John and Alisha Ponder 

Beverly Farrens 

Omar and Lucy McGuire 

Hank and Genie Cornellisson 

Earl Szwado 

Charles Underwood 

Albert Taylor 

Charles and Ann Dragich 

Millie Scales 

Harold Feiner 

Oliver and Mildred Allen 

Hal and Sandy Gulledge 

Charlie Mills 

Lillian Jones 

Carlos and Betty Montoya 

Edward and Henrietta Jackfert 

Frank Bigelow 

Code Paige 

Joe Poster 

Dean Alay 

Jean Pruitt 

Alene Mitchell 

Darleen Shope 

Harold Bergbower 

Debra Berghauer-Grunwes 

Lora Cummins 

John and Fran Lewis 

Weldon and Audrey Hamilton 

Leon Padilla 

Morris Shoss 

Jerry Munson 

Rosemary Munson 

John Cheritsky 

Maurice Chartoff 

Leo and Salamon Padilla 

Cecil and Marthabelle Uzzel 

Ralph and Kathy Levenberg 

Robert Martindale 

John Cork 

Robert and Rose Haines 

Warren Elder 


Convention Attendees 

Abel and Lorie Ortega 

John and Dawn Oliver 

Melvin Routt 

Frank Stecklin 

Judy Alm 

John Toggle 

Boselir and Margaret 

Zorzanello 

Wilma Trout 

Cecelia Ayres 

Dorothy Dermont 

Nancy Kragh 

Jim and Viola Wright 

William and Anne Kreizig 

Agapito and Socorro Silva 

Robert Brown 

Wanda Woodall 

Mary Kay Schmeisser 

Joe Filko 

Al and Dorothy Felsen 

Andy Miller 

Audrey Klein 

Roy Gentry 

Landys and Stephany 

McClamma 

Rev. Robert Phillips 

Nori Nagasawa 

Dale Frantz 

Linda McDavitt 

Abel and Naomi Ortega 

Daniel and Betty Faye 

Hackmeir 

Peg Frantz 

Al Mitro 

George Koury 

Anne Coleman 

Ruth Mitro 

Thomas Motosko 

Mary Jaggers 

Bill and Caralotta Brenner 

Hersheal and Pat Boushy 

Dan Giantonio 

Kay and Kathy Sandor 

Rose and Mona Bridges 

Mary Curley 

Annette Bloskis 

Arthur and Agnes Akullian 

Warren and Ruth Jorgenson 

Jim Riley 

Jeane Philson 

Gerald and Pamila Turner 

Jack and Mary Turner 

Francis and Dorothy Mosker 

Joe and Norma Alexander 

Richard Roper 

John and Trudy Real 

Robert Erdwin 

Philip Coon 

Gregory Rodriquiz 

Sue Ann Luton 

Ethelene Henry 

John Kidd 

Alvin Griffen 

Leland Sims 

Walt and Liz Irvine 

Norman Simmons 

Eugene Bleil 

Chris Apolinar 

Milton and Vickie McMullen 

Roddie and Bertha Stewart 

Robert and Karen Heer 

Mary Maynard 

Alex Tovar 

Joseph Lajzer 

Carolina Burkhart 

Charles and Shirley Graham 

Marlene Ford 

Adrienne DuSell 

Donald and Elaine S. Graydon 

Kristin Dahlstrom 

Robert and Eloise Renfro 

Al Quijano 

Lorna Shabo 

Losmis and Joanne Crandall 

John, Henry, Adrianne and 

Deborah Vara 

Luke Campeao 

Gary and Argie Downey 

Mel and Grace Downey 

Ruth Tyson 

James Downey 

Lester and Betty Tenney 

Edith Walker 

Dottie Stempen 

Gerry and Kay Chapman 

William Selvig 

Paul Moore 

Joseph and Angie Graidina 

Bill Bown 

Quentin and Phyllis Sabatta 

Fred Fullerton 

Richard Beck 

Ben Lohman 

Frienda Lohman 

Martin and Rosie Christie 

Ernie Boles 

We hope we haven’t missed anyone. With the confusion at the convention, mistakes are made. 

———————— 

39th Annual Reunion 

The 39th Annual Reunion of Survivors 

of Bataan-Corregidor and former Prisoners 

of War of the Far East will be August 

24-28, 2002 in Fontana Village, N.C. 

Guest and friends are welcome. 

For information, call Wayne Carringer, 

828-479-6205, or for reservations call 800- 

849-2258. 

———————— 

Bataan Day 2002 

Sunday, September 8, 2002 

3:00 P.M. 

Veterans Memorial Maywood Park 

(Corner of 1st Avenue & Oak Street) 

Maywood, Illinois 

COMMEMORATING 

60th anniversary of the surrender on 

Bataan on April 9, 1942 

and 

60th Annual Memorial Service 

Charles Underwood 

Jim and Marian Tootle 

Ken and Mary Ellen Porwoll 

Bill Snyder 

Joe Todd 

Henry Neiger 

Malcolm Amos 

Bob and Elaine Ping 

Julie Briton 

Neil and Anne McCallum 

Kent and Ginger Holmes 

Martha Lowman 

Deanie Harrill 

John and Nona Griffing 

Sonja Burleson 

John Whitehurst 

Michail Schroeder 

John Gusman 

Jim and Alicia Cromwell 

Shannon and Roseanne 

Cromwell 

Simne Pickman 

John and Irma Krebs 

Billy Templeton 

Virginia Dessauer 

George and Minnie Purvis 

Joan Rawlings 

Wesley and Daisy Holden 

Arthur and Frances Campbell 

Alex Tovar 

Menaredro Parazo 

Jan Thompson 

Reg and Elizabeth Leighton 

Nick and Ann Hionedes 

John and Janie Moseley 

Louis Molaro 

Murray and Louise Glusman 

Bruce Elliott 

Val and Lydia Gavito 

Doris Walker 

Jim Hambelton 

Abe and Alana Parazo 

Andrea Parazo 

Walter and Cleta Straka 

Blackie Haarding 

Wallace and Floramund Difford 

Alex Tovar 

Felisa and Espiritu Tan 

Roland and Louise Towery 

Dale Minger 

Russell Larson 

Evelyn Higgins 

Buck and Mary Prewett 

60th anniversary of the 

Maywood Bataan Day Organization’s 

first memorial event on 

September 13, 1942 

FOR INFORMATION CONTACT 

Richard A. McMahon, Jr. 

910 Jackson Avenue 

River Forest, IL 60305-1416 

708.366.8761 

E-mail: ramcmahon1@aol.com

CAN YOU HELP? 

Dear Mr. Vater: 

I write in hopes of connecting with any 

friends, finding any pictures and/or information 

of my grandfather’s, Charles E. 

Buchanan, of the 27th Bomb Squadron, 

hometown Vicksburg, MS, enlisted age 19. 

He was with the 48th Materiel, while in 

Savannah, GA, before assignment in PI, 

by way of Midcountry train (of 3) then SS 

Coolidge departing San Francisco in Oct. 

41. He was ‘loaned’ to the 21st Pursuit 

Squadron while in the Philippines, Jan. to 

Apr. 42. He was surrendered on April 9, 

1942, walked The Death March and 

served in the POW camps: O’Donnell, 

Cabanatuan, Bilibid, Lipas. He was liberated 

by the 6th Army Rangers on January 

30, 1945 from Cabanatuan. Distinguishing 

stories: Carried 2 buckets of water found 

on the road during the March. Carried discarded 

wool blankets and began trading 

them with the Filipinos once food was purchased 

instead of given. After hats and 

helmets were removed and destroyed, 

found a white towel with “PA” and later 

used as protection from sun. Was a member 

of the ‘green’ arm band, in a camp, 

during which an escape attempt was made 

with men from the ‘red’ arm bands. (And, 

was this customary in most camps, the 

green/red bands, or just one? If so, does 

anyone know which one?) 

I am hoping the details might help 

someone recognize or remember him or 

one of the men below. I am trying to learn 

more about his friends, and possibly connect 

with their families today: 

1. (Sgt) John and Ralph Mills, 27th 

Bomb Sq., Hometown: Tallulah, L.A. 

Brothers. Younger, Ralph, was executed as 

one of 9 in a Blood Brothers group after an 

escape. His brother, John, was forced to 

watch. 

2. Richard ‘Dick’ Splinter, 27th Bomb 

Sq., Hometown: Madellia, MN. DOD 

October 12, 1942. John, Ralph, Dick and 

my grandfather enlisted together at 

Barksdale AFB January 1940. Then Tech 

school at Chanute Field, then transferred 

to Savannah, before PI October 1941. 

3. Leon Q. Hoxie: 27th Bomb Sq., DOD: 

December 24, 1942, Hometown: Vicksburg, 

MS. Leon and my grandfather were 

longtime family and high school friends. 

They were stationed together at Savannah 

then PI. 

4. William F. Hogaboom, 4th Marines, 

USMC. (Shanghai Marines), Hometown: 

Vicksburg, MS. DOD: December 15, 1944, 

Oryoku Maru, swam to shore, held in the 

‘tennis’ courts. “Billy’s” family and my 

grandfathers’ were friends, however Billy 

was a few years older. Wm. had a younger 

brother, Peter, that might still be living. 

5. James Holcomb, 27th Bomb Sq., 

Hometown: South Carolina. 

6. James A. Courtney, 27th Bomb Sq., 

Hometown: Mobile, AL. 

These men are like uncles I never knew 

from the stories my grandfather passed to 

his family. With the exception of William 

and Ralph, the other men died in my 

grandfather’s camps and he served ‘litter 

duty’ for each. Also, was it customary for 

all chaplains to close a burial ‘ceremony’ 

with the words “For we shall surely follow” 

or was that one man? 

I can be contacted at any of the means 

listed here and give you permission to post 

in The Quan as you feel appropriate. My 

website has a picture of Mr. Buchanan 

approximately the age he was while in PI. 

The Quan was a large part of my grandfather’s 

life, as I remember him sitting 

and reading it when it would arrive in he 

mail, marking it, and sharing stories and 

new legislation with me. Thank you for 

giving me that memory for such a worthy 

and important cause! I hope to honor it by 

continuing the stories to anyone I can 

reach. 

Very respectfully, 

Etta O. Whitfield 

4640 Timken Trail 

Fort Worth, TX 76137 

———————— 

Former POWs Win Legal Victory 

in California Court 

A California court has ruled in favor of 

a group of former POWs, giving them 

their first major legal victory in their 

struggle for recognition and compensation 

for enslavement by private Japanese companies 

during WWII. Orange County 

Superior Court Judge William F. 

McDonald’s ruling, the first substantive 

ruling for the POW cases pending in state 

court, comes down strongly in support of 

the POWs’ claims and indicates that the 

cases will continue to move forward to 

trial. 

The ruling, issued October 19, applies to 

three specific cases — two against 

Mitsubishi and one against Mitsui. 

However, since Judge McDonald has been 

assigned as the trial judge for all the 

American POW cases brought in California 

state courts, the decision potentially 

has broader reach. 

The U.S. State Department and the 

Department of Justice have also opposed 

the veterans, arguing that the 1951 peace 

treaty with Japan waived the claims. 

In his decision, Judge McDonald asserted 

the right of the court to hear the POWs’ 

claims. 

Thousands of Americans who were 

forced into slave labor by Japanese companies 

during WWII have been seeking compensation 

for their injuries for many 

years. These former POWs, all now in 

their seventies and eighties, survived 

months of forced labor, beatings, and starvation 

in Japanese-owned mines, factories, 

and shipyards after being captured. 

their Japanese “employers” never paid 

them for their labor. 

———————— 

American WWII Orphans 

Network (AWON) 

Founded in 1991 by Ann Bennett Mix, 

and headquartered in Indianapolis, 

Indiana, the American WWII Orphans 

Network (AWON) is a nonprofit organization 

comprised of the Sons and Daughters 

of Americans killed or missing in World 

War II. AWON’s mission is to locate and 

support American orphans of World War 

II and to honor the service and sacrifice of 

our fathers, and of all veterans. More than 

a million fathers served in World War II. 

Leaving their wives and children, they 

traveled overseas. There, many paid the 

highest price in service to their country. 

The deaths of more than 406,000 men left 

an estimated 183,000 American children 

fatherless. Most of these fatherless children 

are now in their fifties and sixties 

and many are unaware that so many others 

share the same legacy. 

AWON has located almost 3,000 sons 

and daughters of men who were killed, as 

well as many of the family members. The 

organization has received national recognition 

by military, government and veterans 

groups, with the founder invited to 

breakfast at the White House to witness 

the signing of the contract to begin construction 

of the National World War II 

Memorial on Memorial Day 2001. 

National and local conferences have 

brought members together across the 

nation, from Washington, DC to Seattle, 

Washington. They have created a computer 

network of active, sharing individuals 

from all over the US. Members report that 

participation in the network has had a 

profound impact on their lives. 

The American WWII Orphans Network 

provides the following: 

• A registry of orphans and families of 

WWII casualties 

• National, regional and local conferences 

and gatherings 

• Guidance to locating information 

from military and government 

records 

• Publications, including “The Star” 

newsletter 

• On-line network communication 

among American WWII orphans 

• AWON website, including a members-only 

section 

• Website memorials to our fathers 

If you would like to become a member of 

AWON, register yourself and your parent 

in our database, or request a free copy of 

our newsletter, our website is at 

www.awon.org or contact: 

American WWII Orphans Network 

5745 Lee Road 

Indianapolis, IN 46216 

540-310-0750 

email: awon@aol.com 

———————— 


Death March Horrors 

to the Fore 

Bataan Survivors Sue, Push for 

Recognition of Wartime Suffering 

By STEVE VOGEL 

Washington Post Staff Writer 

Mel Rosen’s introduction to being a prisoner 

of war came in the first hours after 

he and his troops surrendered to the Japanese 

in the Philippines in spring 1942. 

As they sat in a big field ringed by 

Japanese machine guns on the Bataan 

peninsula, a GI tried to use the latrine. A 

Japanese soldier thrust his bayonet 

through the American’s chest, and when 

the blade did not come out cleanly, the 

Japanese soldier used his foot to push the 

dying GI into the latrine. 

“Another Japanese soldier nearby was 

leaning on his rifle laughing, like it was a 

joke,” said Rosen, a vibrant 83-year-old 

retired Army colonel living in Falls 

Church, who 60 years later cannot tell the 

story without choking up. “You don’t know 

what frustration is till you have to watch 

something like that and can’t do anything 

about it.” 

With the 60th anniversary of the 

Bataan Death March being observed this 

spring, new attention is being paid to one 

of the most horrific episodes of World War 

II. 

Today, Rosen will be among the dwindling 

number of Bataan survivors who 

will be honored as part of the National 

Memorial Day Concert. The event will be 

broadcast live across the country from the 

West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol, starting at 

8 p.m. 

Meanwhile, there is a growing movement 

among Bataan veterans to force 

Japan to apologize and compensate them, 

with lawsuits being pursued in U.S. and 

Japanese courts. 

Legislation that would allow survivors 

to sue Japanese corporations that allegedly 

enslaved American POWs during World 

War II was introduced last year in the 

House and Senate. A House resolution 

with more than 225 co-sponsors will be 

pushed in coming weeks. 

While the Bataan Death March has 

entered the U.S. lexicon — often in references 

that trivialize its inhumanity — the 

full extent of the horrors that ensued for 

survivors is little understood. “I think it’s 

time people learned what happened over 

there,” said Paul Reuter, 81, an Oxon Hill 

man who survived the march and more 

than three years of captivity. “That part of 

history has been lost.” 

Marching for days in terrible heat, beaten 

and deprived of food and water, an estimated 

7,000 to 10,000 of the 78,000 

Americans and Filipinos who surrendered 

to the Japanese died during the march. 

Over the next three years, those who 

survived were kept in horribly debilitating 

conditions and exposed to tropical diseases, 

transported in “hell ships” to camps 


in Japan and elsewhere, and forced into 

slave labor. 

Of the 12,000 Americans taken prisoner 

at Bataan, only 4,000 were alive by the 

end of the war, according to authorities on 

the subject. 

Rosen is the lead plaintiff in a $1 trillion 

class-action lawsuit against Japan 

filed in September in federal court in 

Chicago. “Everything the Japanese did to 

us was deliberate, inhuman, brutal, calculated 

and racist,” he said. 

Rounded Up 

Hours after the raid on Pearl Harbor on 

Dec. 7, 1941, U.S. forces in the Philippines 

also were attacked by Japanese bombers 

and fighters, and later that month, by a 

large invasion force of the Imperial 

Japanese Army. 

The U.S. troops and their Filipino allies 

fighting on the Bataan peninsula across 

the bay from Manila held out against 

heavy odds for 150 days, until their 

ammunition, medical supplies and food 

gave out. After their surrender April 9, 

the prisoners were rounded up and 

marched north for days, up to 55 miles in 

the heat without water. 

“If anybody dropped or couldn’t make it, 

we were not allowed to help. The Japanese 

clubbed them to death, bayoneted them, 

shot them or beheaded them,” said Rosen, 

a 1940 West Point graduate who was a 

lieutenant with the Philippine Scouts. 

“There were hundreds of American bodies 

and thousands of Filipino bodies left along 

the route of the death march.” 

At a railhead, they were loaded into hot, 

crowded box cars. “If you died in there, 

you couldn’t fall to the floor even,” said 

Reuter, a B-17 radio operator who was 

based at Clark Field in the Philippines. 

At their eventual destination, Camp 

O’Donnell, 54,000 prisoners were 

crammed into facilities built for a fraction 

as many people. Malaria and dysentery 

killed thousands more. 

In November 1942, Rosen was sent to a 

penal colony on the island of Mindanao, 

and he spent the next two years working 

in rice fields. “I planted rice, weeded rice, 

harvested rice, milled rice. Got damn little 

of it to eat,” he said. 

Aboard ‘Hell Ships’ 

Two years later, he and 1,600 other 

Americans were loaded onto a ship bound 

for Japan, where they were to be used as 

slave labor in factories. Rosen was put in a 

30-by-50-foot hold with about 680 prisoners. 

Many had diarrhea and dysentery, and 

the hold was soon ankle-deep in human 

waste. The next morning, the ship was 

attacked by U.S. dive bombers, whose 

pilots did not know that Americans were 

aboard. 

Another attack by U.S. planes came the 

next day, and as the ship began to sink, 

prisoners emerged from the hold. “Those 

of us still alive decided getting our heads 

blown off by machine gun fire was prefer- 

able to going down in a sinking, burning 

ship,” Rosen said. 

The 1,300 American survivors who 

swam ashore were loaded onto a second 

ship. They reached a harbor in Formosa, 

now Taiwan, in January 1945 when U.S. 

bombers struck again. “The Japanese kept 

us down there with our dead and dying for 

four days, and on the fifth day, lowered a 

net and said, ‘Pile all your dead in here,’ ” 

Rosen said. 

Aboard a third ship, prisoners froze as 

they sailed in the North China Sea with 

little protection from the January cold. 

“We were throwing American bodies overboard 

at the rate of 30, then 40, then 50 a 

day all the way to Japan,” Rosen said. 

By various estimates, 200 to 300 of the 

1,600 prisoners loaded on the first ship 

made it to Japan. “The death march was a 

Sunday stroll compared to the three hell 

ships,” Rosen said. 

When Rosen arrived in Japan and was 

put on a scale, his weight had dropped 

from a normal 155 pounds to 88 pounds. 

Reuter, who had been shipped to Japan 

earlier, spent two years working in a steel 

mill south of Osaka. Others were sent to 

coal mines. “We were money machines for 

them,” Reuter said. 

One day in August 1945, Reuter and his 

fellow prisoners found that their Japanese 

guards were gone. The Americans asked 

some Korean prisoners what had happened. 

“They said the war was over. 

Something had happened at Hiroshima.” 

Rosen was at a camp in Korea when liberation 

came. 

“A lot of people say you must really hate 

the Japanese,” Rosen said. He does not, he 

is quick to say. The home he shares with 

his wife, live, includes Japanese artifacts 

picked up on travels during a 30-year 

Army career. 

The lawsuit he has filed is being pursued 

for symbolic, not monetary, reasons, 

Rosen said. “The Japanese are waiting for 

us to die off,” he said. 

When a U.S. Navy submarine accidentally 

sank a Japanese trawler off Hawaii 

last year, the U.S. promptly apologized, a 

proper gesture, Rosen said. 

“I have been waiting 60 years for an 

apology from Japan.” 

———————— 

VA Benefits are Tax Exempt 

VA benefits — compensation, pension, 

DIC, education, work study, even dividends 

and proceeds from life insurance 

policies, are exempt from federal income 

tax. (Proceeds from insurance are subject 

to federal estate taxes.) Also exempt from 

income tax is interest accrued on dividends 

left on deposit or credit account 

with VA. 

————————

CAN YOU ASSIST? 

The Honorable Jeff Bingaman 

United States Senator 

105 West 3rd Street 

Roswell, New Mexico 88201 

Dear Senator Bingaman: 

My name is Andy Robertson and I am a 

native of Carlsbad, New Mexico. I am 

writing you this letter in hopes that you 

can help my grandmother and I on a mission 

that has been almost 60 years in the 

making. 

My uncle, J.L. Bradley, serial 

#38012554, was a Pvt. in Battery C, 515th 

Coast Artillery Corps, in the Philippines 

in WWII, (he was originally attached to 

the 200th CAC — and the 515th was 

formed from its ranks). His unit defended 

Manila when it was under siege by the 

Japanese 14th Army from December, 1941 

until April 9th, 1942, when General 

Edward King surrendered Bataan. He was 

taken prisoner and survived the Death 

March. My uncle was KIA aboard the 

Shinyo Maru on Sept. 7th, 1944. His “hell 

ship” was torpedoed by the USS Paddle of 

the Philippine coast. The Japanese 

machine-gunned him as he was trying to 

swim away from the sinking ship (as verified 

by eyewitnesses who survived the 

sinking). 668 of 750 men on board were 

killed — most were executed in the same 

manner as my uncle. 

One of my mother’s first memories as a 

child was the Red Cross coming to inform 

my grandmother that he had been killed. 

(I believe you are acquainted with my 

mother — Reba Robertson — of Portales, 

New Mexico.) He lived with my grandparents 

before the war and was unmarried 

and had no children. My grandmother, 

Mrs. Ann Thacker, was his beneficiary on 

his G.I. insurance. 

I have been researching my uncle, his 

unit, and have been talking to survivors of 

Bataan who were acquainted with him 

and my family. (We also had another family 

member in the 200th CAC — Sgt. Jack 

Rupe of Battery F, 200th CAC who after 

the war went on to become a U.S. 

Marshal, appointed by President Reagan, 

for the Albuquerque district. Jack’s mother 

and my grandmother were sisters.) My 

uncle was a kind, caring, decent, and honorable 

man who joined the NMNG to help 

take care of my grandmother and her family. 

If it is possible, I would like to request 

my uncle’s decorations and awards from 

his service to his country for my grandmother. 

In my research, I have found out my 

uncle was entitled to the following 

awards: 

The Bronze Star 

The Purple Heart — one oak leaf cluster 

American Defense Medal 

American Campaign Medal 

Asiatic-pacific Campaign Medal 

Philippine Defense Ribbon 

WWII Victory Medal 

Philippine Liberation Medal 

POW Medal 

Good Conduct Medal 

Presidential Unit Citation — 2 oak leaf 

clusters 

Philippine Presidential Unit Citation 

New Mexico Bataan Medal — (a.k.a. 

MacArthur Bataan Medal) 

All we have left of him is a few letters, 

his P.W. postcards, a faded telegram from 

the Secretary of the Army, and Grannie’s 

memories of her “little” brother. It would 

mean so much to all of us as a family if 

you could assist Grannie in any way. Her 

own health is poor and she is the last child 

of 13 brothers and sisters. It would mean 

a great deal to an 87 year old woman who 

has given so much to others all of her life. 

The 60th anniversary of the fall of 

Bataan is coming up April 9th. Our state 

has given so many mother’s sons in the 

defense of freedom and liberty. My uncle, 

J.L. Bradley was one of those mother’s 

sons — a patriot who was willing to give 

all for his family, and for the state and 

country he loved. 

I would be in your debt for any assistance 

you could render us. 

Respectfully, 

Andy Robertson 

2531 Mitchell Rd. 

Lawrenceville, GA 30043 

(678) 377-1529 — home 

(404) 497-9837 — work 

———————— 

NAVY & MARINE CORPS POW’S 

DURING WWII 

NEEDS YOUR HELP 

Please clip out the letter below (make 

two copies) and send to your Senator and 

Congressman as soon as possible. 

Note: The written word is best communication 

in influencing Congress. In addition 

you can call them toll free at (877) 

762-8762. 

Date: ________ 

Dear Senator ______ Congressman ______ 

I urgently ask your support of Senator 

McCain’s new Senate Bill S-2564 that 

would pay Navy, Marine Corps POW’s 

during WWII back promotion pay while 

interned in current dollars. 

The 2001 defense authorization bill that 

was passed into law only provided payment 

in 1942 dollars, a meager amount 

even in those days, considering the sacrifices 

we made and the inhumane treatment 

endured at the hands of the enemy. 

Most of us are in our eighties, some critically 

ill and dying, as well as in serious 

financial need. This may be our last 

chance to receive a proper amount of 

back pay equal to the cost of living today, 

especially after 60 years. 

I request a reply for your support of 

Senator McCain’s new bill. Thank you. 

———————— 

Pay WWII Slaves, 

Japan Firm Told 

Associated Press 

4/27/02 

TOKYO — A Japanese court on Friday 

ordered a major mining company to pay 

$1.29 million to 15 Chinese men who were 

forcibly brought to Japan as slave laborers 

during World War II. 

It was the first time a Japanese court 

had found a Japanese company responsible 

for slavery during the war. 

The Fukuoka District Court in southwestern 

Japan ruled that Mitsui Mining 

Co. should pay $86,000 to each plaintiff, 

court spokeswoman Mizue Sato said. 

“It is a courageous ruling that may 

affect other similar pending lawsuits,” 

plaintiffs” lawyer Toyoji Tachiki was quoted 

as saying by the Kyodo News agency. 

Minoru Sasaki, a Mitsui Mining spokesman, 

said the Tokyo-based company will 

appeal the verdict. 

In the ruling, Fukuoka District Judge 

Motoaki Kimura said the government and 

the company “jointly committed an illegal 

act” by forcibly bringing Chinese to Japan 

as slave laborers, Kyodo said. 

Although the company should be held 

accountable for its wartime actions, 

Japan’s prewar constitution insulates the 

government from similar lawsuits, 

Kimura was quoted as saying. 

Despite criticism at home and abroad 

that Japan has not fully shown remorse 

for its wartime brutality, the government 

has refused to pay individual damages. 

The lawsuit was filed in May 2000 by 

Zhang Baoheng and eight others who now 

live in China’s Hebei Province and in 

Beijing. Six other Chinese later joined 

them. 

The Japanese military captured an estimated 

40,000 Chinese in the early 1940s 

and shipped them to Japan to work, mostly 

in coal mines and ports. 

Zhang and the others were ages 18 to 25 

when they were taken to Miike and other 

mines in Fukuoka state, 557 miles southwest 

of Tokyo. 

Chinese, Koreans and others from 

Asian countries who were forced to work 

under harsh conditions during World War 

II have sued major Japanese corporations 

in Japanese and U.S. courts. 

———————— 

PLEASE HELP 

I am seeking anyone who knew my 

uncle, Ben B. Hessenberger, who enlisted 

in the US Army in Manila on December 7, 

1941 and was on Corregidor and Bataan 

and then became a prisoner of war. He 

perished on a ship being sent to Japan 

and sunk on October 24, 1944. Please 

answer to: Anne H. Cahn, 6610 Pyle Road, 

Bethesda, MD 20817. Email: 

annehca@aol.com. Phone: 301-320-4458. 

———————— 



Philippine Scouts’ Glory Days Recalled 

Unit’s claim to fame include helping stall Japan’s invasion of the islands in the early days of WWII. 

As Americans all over the world take 

time to remember veterans — both past 

and present — and their sacrifices for 

freedom, John E. Olson will remember the 

Philippine Scouts. 

Olson, a retired U.S. Army colonel living 

in San Antonio, has written two history 

books and a novel based on his research 

and experience as a Scout. 

The Philippine Scouts were created in 

1901 and existed only 50 years. But from 

the group’s formation in the wake of the 

Spanish-American War through its service 

in the darkest days of World War II, the 

little-known unit covered itself with glory. 

During its half-century of existence, 

three members of the Philippine Scouts 

received the Medal of Honor, the nation’s 

highest award for courage above and 

beyond the call of duty. 

Olson served in the Scouts’ 57th 

Infantry Regiment, a unit with roots that 

extended to Fort Sam Houston during 

World War I and the Civil War battle of 

Chickamauga in Georgia. Members of the 

regiment, which helped hold the Japanese 

at bay in the Philippines, were awarded 

21 Distinguished Service Crosses and 68 

Silver Stars. 

Olson earned one of those Silver Stars 

for helping set up a command post after 

an artillery barrage. He also was among 

the Philippines defenders who were captured 

and forced to participate in the infamous 

Bataan Death March. Only half of 

the 12,000 Scouts in the service at the 

start of World War II survived the conflict. 

“I’m particularly proud of my service 

with the Philippine Scouts,” says the 84year-old 

Olson, who serves as the historian 

of the Philippine Scouts Heritage 

Society. “It was a great outfit.” 

After the war, Congress quickly authorized 

the enlistment of 50,000 Philippine 

Scouts to serve as occupation forces in 

Japan. Following the independence of the 

Philippines in 1946, some of the original 

scouts took advantage of an opportunity to 

become American citizens and join other 

units in the U.S. Army. Two years later, 

most of the remaining Philippine Scouts 

on duty were those in hospitals, suffering 

from long-term illnesses. 

The Philippine Scouts were created to 

help quell an insurrection after Spanish 

armed forces left the islands, which had 

just become U.S. territory. Congress 

authorized the enlistment of 5,000 

Filipinos, who were divided into companies 

of 100 men, each led by an American 

officer. 

“We had to pacify the Filipinos,” Olson 

says. “In the Philippine Scouts, we used 

their own citizens, their own relatives and 

their own friends.” 

Olson’s father served two tours with the 

U.S. Army in the Philippines in the early 

By DAVID UHLER, Express-News Staff Writer 

1900s. The father passed along a love of 

the country and its people to the son. After 

Olson graduated from West Point in 1939, 

he asked for and received a posting to the 

Philippine Scouts as his first assignment. 

Asia and the South pacific were already 

in turmoil. Japan, lacking many natural 

resources, had invaded Manchuria and 

had its sights set on other targets. Over 

the next two years, Olson participated in 

annual military maneuvers that were a 

dress rehearsal for an invasion that eventually 

came. Under “War Plan Orange,” 

the defenders of the Philippines would be 

required to hold the invaders of for six 

months, long enough for the U.S. pacific 

Fleet to arrive with reinforcements. 

The war games became reality on Dec. 

7, 1941. Official word of the attack on 

Pearl Harbor arrived in the Philippines 

early in the morning of Dec. 8. 

“By 8 a.m.,” Olson recalls, “we were combat-loaded 

and ready to go to our positions.” 

Japanese planes bombed an American 

airfield the next day and troops landed on 

the principal island, Luzon, a few days 

later. On paper, the defenders of the 

Philippines appeared to have the upper 

hand. Besides the Philippine Scouts and 

other U.S. Army units, they had the 

Philippine Army, more than 120,000 

strong. Most of those troops, however, 

were equipped with old rifles from World 

War I plus small-caliber machine guns: 

they lacked mortars. 

The defenders did the best they could. 

The Japanese thought they would roll 

over the islands in a few weeks. Instead, 

the defenders of Bataan and Corregidor 

didn’t surrender for five months, almost 

achieving the objective of “War Plan 

Orange.” Unfortunately, much of the 

Pacific Fleet, instead of rushing to the 

Philippines with reinforcements, was 

lying on the bottom of Pearl Harbor. 

After Bataan fell, the Japanese forced 

about 70,000 American and Filipino 

defenders to walk 65 miles to a prisoner of 

war camp at the start of their captivity. 

Many of the POWs were malnourished and 

sick from malaria, dysentery and other 

tropical diseases. Only 54,000 men survived 

the march; between 7,000 and 10,000 

died. The rest escaped into the jungle. 

Olson, who didn’t get sick until after the 

march, survived by filling his canteen 

whenever he could and keeping out of 

reach of the Japanese, who often bayoneted 

or shot stragglers. 

One soldier tried to take Olson’s West 

Point class ring at bayonet point. 

“I was one of the lucky ones,” says 

Olson, who still has the well-worn gold 

ring. “I was in one of the first groups on 

the Death March.” 

Another Philippine Scout, Menandro 

Parazo, escaped after nine days on the 

trail. A native Filipino, Parazo joined a 

guerrilla unit and continued fighting. A 

year later, the Japanese captured him 

again and sent him to Fort Santiago, where 

Parazo says the enemy tortured prisoners. 

“Ninety-nine percent of the people never 

came out alive,” says the 84-year-old Parazo, 

who now lives in El Paso. “They make 

you drink water, and they step on your 

stomach. They burned my face with lighted 

cigarettes, and they beat me up.” 

Parazo escaped from Santiago after a 

few months and rejoined the guerrillas. 

When Gen. Douglas MacArthur and the 

Americans returned to the Philippines in 

early 1945, Parazo rejoined U.S. forces and 

participated in the liberation of Manila. He 

later received a direct commission to the 

U.S. Army as second lieutenant. After duty 

in Japan and the United States, Parazo 

retired as a captain in 1971. 

Olson spent most of the war in Japan. 

In November 1942, Olson was transported 

to Manila, where he and 1,500 other 

American POWs boarded the Nagata 

Maru, a freighter bound for Japan. Fifteen 

men died during the 19-day journey. 

Once again Olson was lucky. Many other 

POWs transported later in the war were 

forced to board “hell ships” and live for days 

without food or water. Thousands died. 

In Japan, Olson worked with other 

POWs in a factory that produced steel 

drums. They lived on rice and soup, mostly 

turnips supplemented by an occasional 

piece of meat, and dreamed about home. 

For entertainment, the American prisoners 

— many of whom had never cooked 

a meal in their lives — often wrote and 

exchanged recipes with each other, like a 

bunch of kids trading baseball cards. 

Caroline Burkhart, the daughter of a former 

Philippine Scout, found dozens of the 

handwritten recipes last year among the 

wartime memorabilia left by her father. 

Thomas F. Burkhart didn’t talk much 

about his experiences during the war. He 

died in 1972. Most of what his daughter 

knows is from information she and her sister 

have pieced together from journals he 

kept during his years in captivity. He 

earned a Silver Star for helping save a 

Filipino sergeant who had been wounded. 

Burkhart’s curiosity about her father’s 

military past led her to San Antonio 

recently for a convention of the American 

Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor, a 

group of veterans that also includes some 

former Philippine Scouts. 

Burkhart, who lives in Baltimore, spent 

several days sightseeing, attending seminars 

about the war and talking to World 

War II veterans. 

“One little man I was sitting with downstairs 

said, ‘If you’re a child of one of us, 

you’re one of us,’ ” Burkhart recalled. “I 

almost cried.”

PL 107-103 

The Veterans Education and Benefits 

Expansion Act of 2001 (PL 107-103), 

signed by President Bush on Dec. 27, 

2001, affects compensation and pension, 

burial, education, and loan guaranty benefits 

in a number of significant ways. 

Following is an outline of the most important 

changes. 

CCoommppeennssaattiioonn aanndd PPeennssiioonn 

PL 107-103 does away with the requirement 

that respiratory cancers (lung, 

bronchus, larynx, and trachea) manifest 

themselves within 30 years of a veteran’s 

departure from Vietnam to qualify for the 

presumption of service connection based 

on exposure to Agent Orange. Further, all 

Vietnam veterans, not just those who have 

a disease on the presumptive list, are now 

presumed to have been exposed to herbicides. 

The law expands the definition of a 

qualifying chronic disability for Gulf War 

veterans to claim service connection to 

include medically unexplained chronic 

multi-symptom illnesses that are defined 

by a cluster of symptoms, such as fibromyalgia, 

irritable bowel syndrome, and 

chronic fatigue syndrome. The law also 

extends the period in which VA can presume 

a disease is related to service in the 

Gulf War to Sept. 30, 2011. 

PL 107-103 eliminates the requirement 

that VA withhold benefits to incompetent, 

hospitalized veterans without dependents 

when their estates exceed certain thresholds. 

Veterans will not have to file any 

paperwork to end the withholding of their 

benefits. 

Veterans aged 65 and no longer have to 

meet the disability requirements to qualify 

for a pension. VA will not have to make 

a determination that a veteran who is 65 

or over is permanently and totally disabled 

before granting a pension. Further, 

VA will presume that a veteran younger 

than 65 is disabled for pension purposes if 

the veteran is 

• a patient in a nursing home for longterm 

care due to disability; or 

• already determined to be disabled for 

Social Security benefits; or 

• unemployable because of a disability 

that is reasonably certain to continue 

for life. 

The law increases the automobile 

allowance to $9,000 (up from $8,000). This 

allowance is for veterans with service-connected 

loss or permanent loss of use of one 

or both hands or feet, or with permanent 

impairment of vision in both eyes to a 

specified degree. 

VA is prohibited from paying benefits to 

veterans or their dependents while a veteran 

is a fugitive felon. A fugitive felon is 

one fleeing to avoid prosecution or confinement 

after conviction for a felony or after 

violating probation or parole imposed for 

conviction of a felony. 

PL 107-103 extends the current restric- 

tions on payment of compensation to 

incarcerated veterans to any veteran who 

on Oct. 7, 1980, was incarcerated for a 

felony committed before that date and 

remains incarcerated. 

BBuurriiaall 

PL 107-103 raises the burial allowance 

for veterans who die from a service-related 

disability from $1,500 to $2,000. The 

increase is payable for deaths on or after 

Sept. 11, 2001. Also increases is the plot 

allowance — from $150 to $300 — for veterans 

buried in a private cemetery. The 

higher allowance will be paid for deaths 

on or after Dec. 1, 2001. To be eligible for 

a plot allowance, a veteran must meet one 

of the following criteria: 

• veteran was eligible for VA compensation 

or pension at time of death or 

would have been except for receipt of 

military retired pay; 

• veteran died in a VA hospital or nursing 

home. 

In addition, the law allows VA to furnish 

a government marker for graves with 

a marker bought at private expense. 

Under prior law, VA could not provide a 

marker for a grave that already had one. 

This provision applies to deaths on or 

after Dec. 27, 2001. VA’s authority to furnish 

a marker for a marked grave expires 

Dec. 31, 2006. 

———————— 

Law Increases Veterans’ 

Burial Benefits 

WASHINGTON — Under a new law, the 

Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) will 

increase reimbursement for funeral expenses 

and cemetery plots for service-disabled 

veterans and provide government markers 

for veterans’ graves even if families already 

have installed private markers. 

“The modest increases in payments to 

veterans’ families, and the additional 

monuments to our heroes’ service, are 

steps toward better acknowledging this 

nation’s appreciation of its veterans,” said 

Secretary of Veterans Affairs Anthony J. 

Principi. 

The Veterans Education and Benefits 

Expansion Act of 2001 increases the burial 

and funeral expense allowance for veterans 

who die as a result of a service-connected 

disability from $1,500 to $2,000 

and the cemetery plot allowance, for certain 

other disabled veterans, from $150 to 

$300. 

The law also directs VA to honor 

requests for government markers for veterans 

buried in private cemeteries even if 

their graves have headstones or markers 

furnished at private expense. Previous law 

prevented VA from providing markers in 

that situation. These increases are among 

many provisions of Public Law 107-103 

that expand other veterans’ benefits. 

About 9,800 families receive funeral 

expense reimbursement for service-connected 

deaths each year. The $500 

increase in the funeral reimbursement, 

the first since 1988, is expected to increase 

the government’s cost by about $5 million 

a year. This change applies to deaths on or 

after Sept. 11, 2001. 

About 90,000 families become eligible 

for the plot allowance annually. The cost 

of increasing the amount, which had been 

$150 since 1973, will be about $13 million 

a year. The higher allowance will be paid 

for deaths on or after Dec. 1, 2001. 

The plot allowance is paid when a veteran 

is buried in a non-government cemetery. 

Also, the veteran must meet one of 

the following three criteria: The veteran 

was eligible to receive VA disability compensation 

or a VA pension, was discharged 

from military service due to disability 

or died in a VA hospital. 

In the past, people who submitted VA 

applications to receive a government 

marker had to certify that the veteran’s 

grave was unmarked. Some families complained 

of unfairness because they could 

not obtain the government’s free marker 

to commemorate the veteran’s service if 

they had purchased a marker. 

Under the new law, the applicant must 

certify that the marker will be placed only 

in a cemetery. VA will send the marker 

only to a designated cemetery. 

The new provision for markers applies 

to veterans’ deaths on or after Dec. 27, 

2001. By Feb. 1, 2006, the Secretary of 

Veterans Affairs will report to Congress on 

how much this benefit is being used and 

recommend whether or not to continue it. 

———————— 

Herschel Adkins 

Did you see him? Only info I have at 

present time, he was a prisoner on an 

unmarked ship that was bombed and 

sank. He probably enlisted in 1941 or ’42. 

My grandparents received his purple 

heart. I believe he was a Marine. I would 

be so grateful to anyone that may have 

known him and would be willing to converse 

with me about him. To me he was a 

hero, that left home, feeling no one would 

miss him. I wasn’t born, but my heart 

aches for him, as well as all the others like 

him. 

(Niece) Judy Adkins 

P.O. Box 379 

Greenville, NC 27835 


New CHAMPVA Regulations 

Published in Federal Register 

WASHINGTON — Regulations that 

bring several improvements to the 

Civilian Health and Medical Program of 

the Department of Veterans Affairs 

(CHAMPVA) were published in the 

Federal Register recently. 

“I am very happy VA can provide improved 

financial protection for families of 

disabled veterans against the effect of an 

injury or long-term illness,” said Secretary 

of Veterans Affairs Anthony J. Principi. 

The new rules will bring financial relief 

to CHAMPVA beneficiaries and extend 

benefits to older survivors and dependents 

of some disabled or deceased veterans 

who face medical expenses not paid 

by Medicare or other third-party payers. 

One improvement, called “CHAMPVA 

for Life,” actually began in October. It is 

designed favor spouses or dependents who 

are 65 or older. They must be family members 

of veterans who have a permanent 

and total service-connected disability, who 

died of a service-connected condition or 

who were totally disabled from a serviceconnected 

condition at the time of death. 

They also must have Medicare coverage. 

“CHAMPVA for Life” began paying benefits 

for covered medical services four 

months ago to eligible beneficiaries who are 

65 or older and enrolled in Medicare Parts 

A & B. “CHAMPVA for Life” benefits are 

payable after payment by Medicare or other 

third-party payers. For services not covered 

by Medicare or other insurance, such as 

outpatient prescription medications, 

CHAMPVA will be the primary payer. 

CHAMPVA beneficiaries who reached 

age 65 as of June 5, 2001, but were not 

enrolled in Medicare Part B on that date, 

will be eligible for this expanded benefit 

even though not enrolled in Medicare Part 

B. There is no change in CHAMPVA coverage 

for those beneficiaries 65 and older 

who do not qualify for Medicare. 

In addition, the regulation will reduce 

the catastrophic cap, or amount of out-ofpocket 

expenses for CHAMPVA beneficiaries. 

Under the new rule, CHAMPVA will 

pay 100 percent of allowable medical 

expenses after a beneficiary reaches 

$3,000 in out-of-pocket expenses, a reduction 

from $7,500. 

People can request an application by 

writing to the VA Health Administration 

Center (HAC), P.O. Box 469028, Denver, 

CO 80246-9028. 

To be eligible for CHAMPVA, people 

must be family members of veterans who 

have a permanent and total service-connected 

disability, who died of a serviceconnected 

condition or who were totally 

disabled from a service-connected condition 

at the time of death. 

Updates about CHAMPVA are posted 

on VA’s Health Administration Center 

Web site at www.va.gov/hac. 

———————— 


QUAN Origin 

Dear Joe: 

I read the letter from CWO Stephen 

Watson in the April 2002 issue of QUAN 

in which he mentioned the confusing word 

QUAN. I was born and raised in Manila, 

where the predominant dialect is Tagalog. 

I might be able to throw some light on the 

subject. 

First of all, many years ago at a national 

ADBC convention, I was in a group of 

ex-POWs who spent time at O’Donnell 

and/or Cabanatuan and we were discussing 

the word QUAN. they felt that the 

word originated at the mess hall where 

the cooks were concocting a conglomerate 

of items in one big pot. It contained rice, 

“camote” (sweet yams), mongo beans, 

“kangkong” (a green leafy vegetable), and 

all kinds of items thrown in.They did not 

know what to call it. So they called it 

QUAN, as derived from the Tagalog word 

“Kwan”. Apparently, they heard it from a 

Filipino who mentioned the word casually. 

This word must have been the idea originated 

by the editor or publisher of the 

ADBC magazine when it started. That 

was a close interpretation of the word 

QUAN. 

Another version is the one give to me by 

my wife Marge, from Montana, who also 

lived in California for many years before 

we met and got married. She said that if 

one wanted to use a word without any 

description, he would say, “Give me that 

gizmo,” or “whatyoumacallit.” This is the 

closest version to the Tagalog word 

“Kwan.” In Tagalog, if we want to say 

something and don’t know the word, we 

just say, “Yung ban kwan,” or “That 

gizmo.” I hope that this will satisfy Mr. 

Watson or any reader of our magazine. 

Sincerely, 

Mariano “Mario” Villarin 

———————— 

Support the Nimitz Museum 

Dear Mr. Vater, 

In the Nov. 2001 issue of The QUAN, 

there was a letter from Larry L. Pangan, 

discussing the valiant effort made by the 

troops in the Philippines after Pearl 

Harbor. There are not many people who 

realize the significance of holding off the 

Japs for four months on Bataan and 

another month on Corregidor. Without 

this gallant effort, Australia would 

undoubtedly have fallen, and WW2 would 

have been a different story. Larry’s letter 

does an excellent job of outlining the 

whole situation. 

Very little notice is made of the decision 

of Maj. Gen. Edward P. King Jr. (my stepfather) 

to DISOBEY MacArthur’s order to 

fight to the last man. Ned realized that 

the sacrifice of some 75,000 men would 

accomplish nothing militarily, so cut off 

communications with Gen. Wainwright, so 

that he wouldn’t have to share in the decision 

to surrender. MacArthur never spoke 

to Gen. King again because of the surrender. 

It is interesting to note that Pres. 

Truman fired MacArthur “for disobeying a 

direct order.” 

If indeed Gen. King had “fought to the 

last man” as ordered, Gen. Wainwright 

could never have surrendered on Corregidor 

— there would have been no 

Bataan Death March, Camp O’Donnell, 

Cabanatuan, Hell Ships, slave labor, etc. 

He made the right decision as you survivors 

are here to tell about it. 

I have just returned from a visit to The 

Nimitz Museum. My WW2 outfit, the 11th 

Armored Div., of Patton’s Third Army, had 

a regional meeting there. I know that you 

will be going there in May for your annual 

gathering, and encourage you to continue 

supporting this museum with your historical 

documents. 

Yours truly, 

Barrington K. Beutell 

———————— 

Congress of the United States 

House of Representatives 

Washington, DC 20515 

April 9, 2002 

Mr. Earl Szwabo 

1445 Keeven Lane 

Florissant, Missouri 63031 

Dear Mr. Szwabo: 

Thank you for writing to express your 

support for allowing military retirees with 

compensable disabilities to receive their 

full military retiree pay and full compensation 

for service-related disabilities. 

Please accept my apology for the delay in 

responding. 

I have given a good deal of thought to 

the issue of concurrent receipt. The idea 

that military retirees, alone among the 

various groups of Federal retirees, should 

forego their Department of Veterans 

Affairs compensation, makes little sense. 

Accordingly, I am a cosponsor of Rep. 

Bilirakis’ legislation (H.R. 303), which 

would amend current law to allow concurrent 

receipt of both military retiree pay 

and disability compensation. 

How to fund concurrent receipt has 

always been the main issue. My hope was 

that with most military health care matters 

resolved in the fiscal year 2001 

defense bill, and given the House and 

Senate Armed Services Committee’s support 

for the program, that the President 

will include funding for concurrent receipt 

in his soon-to-be-released fiscal year 2003 

budget request. That proved not to be the 

case. I will support its inclusion in the 

defense bill this year. 

If you have any additional thoughts or 

concerns about this or any other topic, 

please do not hesitate to write or call. 

Sincerely, 

W. Todd Akin 

Member of Congress 

————————

Senate Bill 1302 

To authorize the payment of a gratuity 

to members of the Armed Forces and civilian 

employees of the United States who 

performed slave labor for Japan during 

World War II, or the surviving … 

(Introduced in the Senate) 

S 1302 IS 

107th Congress 

1st Session 

S. 1302 





World War II, or the surviving spouses of 

such members, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF 

THE UNITED STATES 

August 2, 2001 

Mr. Bingaman (for himself and Mr. 

Hatch) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the 

Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. 

A Bill 





World War II, or the surviving spouses of 

such members, and for other purposes. 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of 

Representatives of the United States of 

America in Congress assembled, 

FINDINGS — Congress makes the following 

findings: 

(a) 

(1) During World War II, members of 

the United States Armed Forces 

fought valiantly against Japanese 

military forces in the Pacific. From 

December 1941 until May 1942, 

United States military personnel 

fought valiantly against overwhelming 

Japanese military forces on 

Wake Island, Guam, the Philippine 

Islands, including the Bataan 

Peninsula and Corregidor, and the 

Dutch East Indies, thereby preventing 

Japan from accomplishing 

strategic objectives necessary for 

achieving a preemptive military victor 

in the Pacific during World War 

II. 

(2) In military action in the Philippines, 

United States troops were 

ordered to surrender on April 9, 

1942, and were forced to march 65 

miles to prison camps at Camp 

O’Donnell, Cabanatuan, and Bilibid. 

More than 10,000 Americans died 

during the march, known as the 

‘Bataan Death March,’ and during 

subsequent imprisonment as a 

result of starvation, disease, and 

executions. 

(3) Beginning in January 1942, the 

Japanese military began to transport 

United States prisoners of war 

to Japan, Taiwan, Manchuria, and 

Korea to perform slave labor to support 

their war industries. Many of the 

unmarked merchant vessels in which the 

prisoners were transported, called ‘Hell 

Ships,’ were attacked by American naval 

and air forces, which, according to some 

estimates, resulted in more than 3,600 

American fatalities. 

(4) Following the conclusion of World 

War II, the United States Government 

agreed to pay compensation to 

United States ex-prisoners of war 

amounting to $2.50 per day of 

imprisonment. This compensation 

was paid from Japanese assets 

frozen by the United States 

Government and do not begin to 

fully compensate those ex-prisoners 

of war for the short-term and longterm 

costs of the slave labor they 

endured. Neither the Government of 

Japan nor any Japanese corporations 

admit any liability for further 

payment of such compensation. 

(5) Other nations, including Canada, 

the United Kingdom, and the 

Netherlands, have authorized payment 

of gratuities to their surviving 

veterans who were captured by the 

Japanese during World War II and 

required to perform slave labor. 

(b) PURPOSE — The purpose of this 

section is to recognize, by the provision of 

compensation, the heroic contributions of 

the members of the Armed Forces and 

civilian employees of the United States 

who were captured by the Japanese military 

during World War II and denied their 

basic human rights by being made to perform 

slave labor by the Imperial 

Government of Japan or by Japanese corporations 

during World War II. 

(c) PAYMENT OF GRATUITY 

AUTHORIZED — The Secretary of 

Veterans Affairs may pay a gratuity to a 

covered veteran or civilian internee, or to 

the surviving spouse of a covered veteran 

or civilian internee, in the amount of 

$20,000. 

(d) COVERED VETERAN OR CIVIL- 

IAN INTERNEE DEFINED — In this section, 

the term covered veteran or civilian 

internee means any individual who — 

(1) was a member of the Armed Forces, 

a civilian employee of the United 

States, or an employee of a contractor 

of the United States during 

World War II; 

(2) served in or with United States 

combat forces during World War II; 

(3) was captured and held as a prisoner 

of war or prisoner by Japan in the 

course of such service; and 

(4) was required by the Imperial 

Government of Japan, or one or 

more Japanese corporations, to perform 

slave labor during World War 

II. 

(e) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER PAY- 

MENTS — Any amount paid a person 

under this section for activity described in 

subsection (d) is in addition to any other 

amount paid such person for such activity 

under any other provision of law. 

(f) INAPPLICABILITY OF TAXATION 

OR ATTACHMENT — Any amount paid a 

person under this section shall not be subject 

to any taxation, attachment, execution, 

levy, tax lien, or detention under any 

process whatever. 

———————— 

VA and Spinal Cord Injury 

Approximately 250,000 people in the 

United States have spinal cord injuries 

and 10,000 more sustain these injuries 

every year. About 40,000 are veterans eligible 

for Department of Veterans Affairs 

(VA) medical care. About 60 percent of 

veterans with spinal cord injuries are eligible 

not only for health care but also for 

monetary or other benefits because they 

have a service-connected disability, meaning 

that it occurred or worsened during 

military service. In the other cases, their 

injuries are not related to their military 

service, though these veterans still can 

receive VA medical care. Among health 

care workers and veterans advocates, 

spinal cord injuries are commonly referred 

to by the acronym, SCI. 

What Is It? 

The spinal cord is the main pathway for 

transmitting information between the 

brain and the nerves that lead to muscles, 

skin, internal organs and glands. Injury to 

the spinal cord disrupts movement, sensation 

and function. Paraplegia results from 

injury to the lower part of the spinal cord, 

causing paralysis of the lower part of the 

body, including the bowel and bladder. 

Quadriplegia results from injury to the 

spinal cord, in the neck area, causing 

paralysis to the lower body, upper body 

and arms. 

Compensation 

VA pays disability compensation to 

about 25,000 veterans for service-related 

disabilities in which the spine column or 

nearby structures are affected. A veteran 

rated by VA as 100 percent disabled may 

receive additional compensation if the 

injury resulted in loss of use of hands or 

feet or in other disabilities. About a third 

of veterans with SCI are compensated 

$2,163 per month for being 100 percent 

disabled. their disability rating may 

include other service-connected disabilities 

not related to their spinal injury. 

Many veterans with service-connected disabilities 

are also entitled to vocational 

counseling, grants for adapted housing 

and automobiles, a clothing allowance and 

payment for home and attendant care. 

———————— 


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 

new address, including the address label 

from your current issue. Copies we mail to 

your old address will not be delivered by 

the Post Office and we must pay 50 cents 

for each returned Quan. 

ATTACH OLD ADDRESS LABEL HERE 

My new address will be: 

NAME ________________________________ 

ADDRESS _____________________________ 

CITY _________________________________ 

STATE ________________________________ 

ZIP ___________________________________ 

Mail to: 

JOSEPH A. VATER 

Editor, the Quan 

18 Warbler Drive 

McKees Rocks, Pa. 15136 


American Defenders of 

Bataan & Corregidor, Inc. 

18 Warbler Dr. 

McKees Rocks, Pa. 15136 

*Change Service Requested* 

Please Use Form 3547 

DUES 

ARE 

DUE 

JUNE 1 

EACH 

YEAR 

$8.00 

Please Send Correct Address When Moving 

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 Merchandise Sales: 

Life Membership — $25.00 Mrs. Jean Pruitt 

Part Life, Part Payment 1231 Sweetwater-Vonore Road 

Subscription — Quan — $8.00 Yr. Sweetwater, TN 37874 

Fill in all Blanks For Dues: 

John A. Crago 

801 Huntington Ave. 

Warren, IN 46792-9402 

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 

Bo-Lo-Ties — 50th Av. Coin. ............. 12.00 Tie Bar .................................................. 7.00 

Blazer Patch (Regular)......................... 4.00 Patch for Hat ........................................ 3.00 

Belt Buckle Decal................................. 4.00 Decal — Window .................................. 2.00 

License Plates....................................... 4.00 Decal — W/Logo ................................... 2.00 

Pins 3” X 2”........................................... 6.00 Caps, White W/Logo............................. 8.00 

Overseas Caps only sizes 67 ⁄8, 7.......... 28.00 Caps, Blue............................................. 8.00 

All items shipped require 15% postage 

NON-PROFIT ORG 

US POSTAGE 

PAID 

PITTSBURGH PA 

PERMIT NO 2648 

A Lesson in History 

THE RISE AND FALL 

OF THE USAFFE 

United States Armed Forces 

of the Far East 

(July 26, 1941 to April-May, 1942) 

A one-day forum on the involvement of 

the Filipino armed forces with the United 

States Military in WWII. The speakers are 

survivors of that war and will give their 

oral histories as they experienced it first 

hand in WWII. A debate will cap the forum 

targeting the H.R. 491 Filipino Veterans 

Equity Bill now pending in Congress. 

Participants: Students of history, policy 

makers, community advocates and any citizen 

who can express “freedom and justice 

for all.” 

Free Admission for the Forum. 

Ticketed luncheon at $35.00 per ticket 

or $350.00 per table of 10. 

July 26, 2001 

Venue: Carson Community Center 

801 E. Carson St. 

Carson, California 

8 AM to 4 PM 

———————— 

Sorry we didn’t have room for pictures 

this issue. We’ll have some 

next issue. 

EEddiittoorr

June/July 2002 - Philippine Defenders Main

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