Posted on 04/18/2004 7:19:23 PM PDT by Born Conservative
"Recognition Day is a time to remember those veterans who gave up their freedom to protect ours."Roland E. Moore Director, VA Medical Center
Sixty-two years ago, America watched as Japanese forces squeezed U.S. Army and Filipino troops onto a narrow Philippine peninsula on Manila Bay. The American commander, Gen. Douglas MacArthur, was ordered to leave for Australia and Lt. Gen. Jonathan Wainwright was left the task of surrendering his 37,000 exhausted troops on April 9, 1942.
Those men and 10,000 defenders of Corregidor, an island fortress in Manila Bay that surrendered May 6, were rounded up by the Japanese and marched to prison camps nearly 70 miles away.
An estimated 60,000 prisoners began the journey. Thousands never reached the camps.
The long trek has entered the history books as the Bataan Death March, which became infamous for its examples of brutality and torture. One thousand American servicemen died during the march, many of them executed when they dropped by the wayside, so weakened by hunger and exhaustion they were unable to walk.
Many others lived to tell the terrible tale of brutality and privation, but of those Americans who reached the prison camps, one-third would die of starvation and inhumane treatment before the war ended.
Two of those death march survivors, Edward Maguire and George Sholtis, were honored at the VA Medical Center in Plains Township on National Former Prisoner of War Recognition Day, April 9.
Mr. Maguire, of Luzerne, was taken prisoner April 9, 1942, and from the Philippines boarded a Japanese vessel, the Tatori Maru, to be taken to Manchuria on the Siberian border, where the temperature sank as low as 38 below zero.
When the Russian army liberated him and others on Sept. 2, 1945, Mr. Maguire weighed just 73 pounds.
Mr. Sholtis was taken prisoner May 7 and weighed 79 pounds when freed Oct. 29, 1945, in South Korea. He recalled voyages as a prisoner aboard three Japanese ships, the Oryoku Maru, the Enoura Maru and the Brazil Maru, before reaching Korea. A former Elmhurst resident, he now lives in the Dalton area.
They had survived three-and-a-half years of captivity under almost unimaginable conditions.
"Thousands of veterans who survived enemy incarceration during World War II and the Korean War are with us today, as are those who served in Vietnam and more recent military operations," said Roland E. Moore, director of the VA Medical Center. "Recognition Day is a time to remember those veterans who gave up their freedom to protect ours."
Because they survived the trauma and deprivations of wartime captivity, these former POWs may be eligible for special benefits and services from the Department of Veterans Affairs, Mr. Moore said.
"For many of these aging former POWs -- most are in their 80s -- time is running out," he said.
He said these veterans should contact the VA to make sure they and their spouses are receiving the benefits they deserve and have earned. He said they may contact Alan Kurlansky, the Former POW Program Coordinator, at the local VA Medical Center, by calling 1-800-877-928-2621, or a VA benefits counselor at 1-800-827-1000. Veterans' service organizations and county veterans service officers also can help, Mr. Moore said.
He gave me the name of a friend of his who is buried in the American cemetery overlooking Omaha Beach who was killed in the fighting there on D-Day. If I can find it, I'm going to bring him back a picture of the headstone, and maybe a Vietnam Wall-style tracing of the name, when in go there in June.
My uncle was and is a hard man. He was never mistaken for a sentimentalist. He could barely talk about this on the phone when he called me.
Some wounds never heal.
My grandmother wanted my folks to go to the national cemetery in Manila and take a picture of my uncle's grave on one of their trips around the world, but my grandmother died before my mother and dad went to the Philippines. She said she wanted to know that his grave was being taken care of.
I don't think the wounds will ever heal for any of the survivors. It was a horrible thing that happened to all of them. They lived through Hell on Earth.
I hope you're able to get that picture for your uncle.
To follow up, as Gator Navy said, your Uncle 2nd Lt. H***** H. G******* survived the Oryoku Maru, Brazil Maru, and Enoura Maru on the 49 day journey to Japan. Lt. G******* was sent with 192 others to Fukuoka camp #1. He and ~140 other survivors were sent to Inchon Korea in late April 45 and your uncle was liberated from there.
Tomorrow, 9 Jan 2006, is the 60th anniversary of one of the most terrible events in the entire journey. The bombing of the Enoura Maru in Takao harbor (now Kaohsiung), Formosa. The bombing ultimately cost more than 400 allied lives. The Taiwan POW memorial society will hold a memorial service. From their website:
The Society will remember the Enoura Maru and the men who suffered and died that day with a special memorial service to be held at Kaohsiung Harbour on January 9th – the 60th Anniversary of that tragic event. Following the service on the pier, a wreath will be laid on the water in the harbour over the place where the ship was anchored at the time it was bombed. We invite friends and loved ones to join with us – in person or in spirit – to remember the men and the events of that day.
My father (still living at his own home!) was aboard the Tatori Maru (in the hold) as a POW of the Japanese. He was gut shot during combat as a sergeant in the 31st Infantry and somehow recuperated enough to make the Death March and subsequent 3.5 years of daily hell at the hands of the merciless captors. His journey away from the Phillipines aboard the Jap ship was nearly interrupted by an American sub (it is believed) that fired torpedoes not knowing U.S. POWs were aboard. The torpedoes missed, although the men swear they heard them coming in! His journey ended in Mukden, Manchuria. Anyway, he’s been plagued by the question ever since — what was the sub’s name and who commanded her? He’s lived with lots of problems and bad memories his whole life since, but i sure wish i could help him answer his one remaining question out of the whole mess. Any ideas out there as to how i can find this info for him? By the way, his name was changed after the war due to spelling difficulties! It used to be Sgt. John S. Zubrzycki during the war years.
My Father was a WWII POW for 3 years AND a survivor of the Bataan Death March who weighed 80 lbs in the end! He NEVER received ANY recognition for his service! When he finally received his POW medal, which was 40 yrs later, they had misspelled his name! I have all the discharge papers stating where & when he was taken captive, along with letters sent via Red Cross from his Mother to the prison camp in Osaka Japan! His name is Delbert L Schultz,USArmy DOB: 02/17/1917 DOD: 08/06/1997, His remains still sit in a box on my Mom’s shelf because she couldn’t afford a burial. I feel he deserves one with full military honors!!
Any help or input on this would be greatly appreciated!
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