2nd Lt. John Frederick Hay was the son of Dr. Samuel H. Hay and Dr. Rachel McMaster-Hay. He was born in Coddle Creek, Iredell County, North Carolina, on November 8, 1919. His father would later become the minister at the First Presbyterian Church in Morristown, Tennessee. With his two sisters, he grew up at 21 Church Street in Morristown. John attended Davidson College and enrolled in the college’s ROTC program on September 13, 1937. In the summer of 1940, he attended a six-week military program at the ROTC camp in Anniston, Alabama. In September 1940, John accepted a commission as a second lieutenant in the Army Reserve Corps. He was also the vice-president of Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity and graduated from college with a Bachelor’s Degree in Chemistry on June 9, 1941. After graduating he went to Clemson College, Clemson, South Carolina, and attended ROTC camp.
The 753rd GHQ Tank Battalion was activated on the morning of June 1, 1941, at Camp Polk, Louisiana. The officers assigned to the new battalion were pulled from other units, while men were also sent to Camp Polk from Fort Benning, Georgia. The first enlisted men – from Selective Service – arrived at Camp Polk from Ft. Knox, Kentucky, on June 3rd. John was assigned to A Company of the battalion. John reported for active duty on August 21, 1941, at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia, and joined the battalion from there.
The 192nd boarded the USAT Gen. Hugh L. Scott and sailed at 2:00 pm on Monday, October 27th, with two other ships. The sea was rough during this part of the trip, so many tankers had seasickness. Two hours after they sailed, a lifeboat drill was held and only about a tenth of the battalion took part. It was stated that a large number of the members of the battalion did not show up for inspection the first morning on the ship, but by the evening having gotten their sea legs, many were at evening mess. Once they recovered they spent much of the time training in breaking down machine guns, cleaning weapons, and doing KP.
During this part of the trip, one of the soldiers had an appendectomy. A day or two before the ships arrived in Hawaii, the ships ran into a school of flying fish. Since the sea was calm, that night they noticed the water was a phosphorous green. The sailors told them that it was St. Elmo's Fire. The morning of November 2nd, they arrived in Hawaii was said to be a beautiful sunny day. As the ship docked, men threw coins in the water and watched native boys dive into the water after them. They saw two Japanese tankers anchored in the harbor that arrived to pick up oil but had been denied permission to dock. The ship was scheduled to sail in 24 hours, but ended up in Hawaii for 2 days.
Most of the soldiers were given shore leave so they could see the island. During this time they visited pineapple ranches, coconut groves, and Waikiki Beach which some said was nothing but stones since it was man-made. They also noticed that the island residents were more aware of the impending war with Japan. Posters were posted everywhere. Most warned sailors to watch what they said because their spies and saboteurs on the island. Other posters in store windows sought volunteers for fire-fighting brigades. Before they left Hawaii, an attempt was made to secure two 37-millimeter guns and ammunition so that the guns could be set up on the ship’s deck and the tank crews could learn how to load them and fire them, but they were unable to acquire the guns.
Before the ship sailed, an attempt was made to secure two 37-millimeter guns and ammunition so that the guns could be set up on the ship’s deck and the tank crews could learn how to load them and fire them, but they were unable to acquire the guns. On Thursday, November 6th, the ship sailed for Guam but took a southerly route away from the main shipping lanes. It was at this time it was joined by, the heavy cruiser, the USS. Louisville, and, another transport, the USAT President Calvin Coolidge. The ships headed west in a zig-zag pattern. Since the Scott had been a passenger ship, they ate in large dining rooms, and it was stated the food was better than average Army food. As the ships got closer to the equator the hold they slept in got hotter and hotter, so many of the men began sleeping on the ship's deck. They learned quickly to get up each morning or get soaked by the ship's crew cleaning the decks. Sunday night, November 9th, the soldiers went to bed and when they awoke the next morning, it was Tuesday, November 11th. During the night, while they slept, the ships crossed the International Dateline. Two members of the battalion stated the ship made a quick stop at Wake Island to drop off a radar crew and equipment.
During this part of the voyage that lasted 16 days, fire drills were held every two days, the soldiers spent their time attending lectures, playing craps and cards, reading, writing letters, and sunning themselves on deck. Other men did the required work like turning over the tanks’ engines by hand and the clerks caught up on their paperwork. The soldiers were also given other jobs to do, such as painting the ship. Each day 500 men reported to the officers and needle-chipped paint off the lifeboats and then painted the boats. By the time they arrived in Manila, every boat had been painted. Other men not assigned to the paint detail for that day attended classes. In addition, there was always KP. The medical detachment held classes with the enlisted men teaching them how to bandage wounds and give artificial respiration.
Two men stated that the ship made a stop at Wake Island, but this has not been verified. It is known that around this time, radar equipment and its operators arrived on the island. On Saturday, November 15th, smoke from an unknown ship was seen on the horizon. The Louisville revved up its engines, its bow came out of the water, and it took off in the direction of the smoke. It turned out that the unknown ship was from a friendly country. Two other intercepted ships were Japanese freighters hauling scrap metal to Japan.
Albert Dubois, A Co., stated that they were in a room on the ship and listening to the radio. Recalling the event, he said, "We were playing cards one day at sea. President Roosevelt's speech to America was being piped into the room we were in. I still hear his voice that evening in November 1941. 'I hate war, Eleanor hates war. We all hate war. Your sons will not and shall not go overseas!' We were already halfway to the Philippines."
When they arrived at Guam on Sunday, November 16th, the ships took on water, bananas, coconuts, and vegetables. Although they were not allowed off the ship, the soldiers were able to mail letters home before sailing for Manila the next day. At one point, the ships passed an island at night and did so in total blackout. This for many of the soldiers was a sign that they were being sent into harm’s way. The blackout was strictly enforced and men caught smoking on deck after dark spent time in the ship’s brig. Three days after leaving Guam the men spotted the first islands of the Philippines. The ships sailed around the south end of Luzon and then north up the west coast of Luzon toward Manila Bay.
The ships entered Manila Bay, at 8:00 A.M., on Thursday, November 20th, and docked at Pier 7 later that morning. One thing that was different about their arrival was that instead of a band and a welcoming committee waiting at the pier to tell them to enjoy their stay in the Philippines and see as much of the island as they could, a party came aboard the ship – carrying guns – and told the soldiers, “Draw your firearms immediately; we’re under alert. We expect a war with Japan at any moment. Your destination is Fort Stotsenburg, Clark Field.” At 3:00 P.M., as the enlisted men left the ship, a Marine was checking off their names. When an enlisted man said his name, the Marine responded with, “Hello sucker.” Those who drove trucks, drove them to the fort, while the maintenance section remained behind at the pier to unload the tanks. The soldiers were taken by busses to the train station where they waited an hour before the train pulled out and took them to Ft. Stotsenburg. During the trip, they saw men fishing, farmers plowing their field behind carabao, and Filipinos working in rice paddies. From the train station, the tankers rode trucks to their assigned area next to Clark Field.
During the trip to the Philippines, Capt. Nelson left HQ Company and became the battalion's executive officer for a short time. He was promoted to major, on November 1, 1941. Capt. Fred Bruni became HQ Company's new commanding officer. The battalion boarded busses that took them to a train station, they then rode a train to the base. At the fort, the tankers were met by Gen. Edward P. King Jr. who welcomed them and made sure that they had what they needed. He also was apologetic that there were no barracks for the tankers and that they had to live in tents. The fact was he had not learned of their arrival until days before they arrived. He made sure that they had dinner – which was a stew thrown into their mess kits – before he left to have his own dinner. Some men stated they didn't get anything to eat. If they had taken longer to unload at the docks, they would have had a turkey dinner.
The other members of the 192nd pitched their tents in an open field halfway between the Clark Field Administration Building and Fort Stotsenburg. The tents from WW I and pretty ragged. They were set up in two rows and five men were assigned to each tent. There were two supply tents and meals were provided by food trucks stationed at the end of the rows of tents. Their tanks were in a field not far from the tanks. The worst part of being in the tents was that they were near the end of a runway. The B-17s when they took off flew right over the bivouac about 100 feet off the ground. At night, the men heard planes flying over the airfield. Many men believed they were Japanese, but it is known that American pilots flew night missions. D Company was scheduled to be transferred to the 194th Tank Battalion so that each battalion would have three tank companies. When they arrived at the fort, they may have moved into their finished barracks instead of tents that the rest of the 192nd. The 194th had arrived in the Philippines in September and its barracks were finished about a week earlier. The company also received a new commanding officer, Capt. Jack Altman. The company's other officers were assigned to other 194th tank companies.
The 192nd arrived in the Philippines with a great deal of radio equipment to set up a radio school to train radiomen for the Philippine Army. The battalion also had many ham radio operators after arriving at Ft. Stotsenburg, the battalion set up a communications tent that was in contact with ham radio operators in the United States within hours. The communications monitoring station in Manila went crazy attempting to figure out where all these new radio messages were coming from. When they were informed it was the 192nd, they gave the 192nd frequencies to use. Men sent messages home to their families that they had arrived safely.
With the arrival of the 192nd, the Provisional Tank Group was activated on November 27th. Besides the 192nd, the tank group contained the 194th Tank Battalion with the 17th Ordnance Company joining the tank group on the 29th. Both units had arrived in the Philippines in September 1941. Each tank company had three platoons of 15 tanks and each company commander had his own tank. This gave each tank battalion 48 tanks. In addition, each battalion HQ company had three tanks assigned to it, and the commanding officer of each battalion had his own tank raising the number to 5 tanks in each battalion. The tank group headquarters had two tanks bringing the total number of tanks in the Philippines to 108. Military documents written after the war show the tank group was scheduled to be composed of three light tank battalions and two medium tank battalions which was the exact make up of the First Tank Group. Col. Weaver left the 192nd, was appointed head of the tank group, and was promoted to brigadier general. Major Theodore Wickord permanently became the commanding officer of the 192nd.
The day started at 5:15 with reveille and anyone who washed near a faucet with running water was considered lucky. At 6:00 A.M. they ate breakfast followed by work – on their tanks and other equipment – from 7:00 A.M. to 11:30 A.M. Lunch was from 11:30 A.M. to 1:30 P.M. when the soldiers returned to work until 2:30 P.M. The shorter afternoon work period was based on the belief that it was too hot to work in the climate. The term “recreation in the motor pool,” meant they worked until 4:30 in the afternoon.
During this time, the battalion members spent much of their time getting the cosmoline out of the barrels of the tanks' guns. Since they only had one reamer to clean the tank barrels, many of the main guns were cleaned with a burlap rag attached to a pole and soaked in aviation fuel. It was stated that they probably only got one reamer because Army ordnance didn't believe they would ever use their main guns in combat. The tank crews never fired their tanks' main guns until after the war had started, and not one man knew how to adjust the sights on the tanks. The battalion also lost four of its peeps, later called jeeps, used for reconnaissance to the command of the United States Armed Forces Far East also known as USAFFE.
Before they went into the nearest barrio which was two or three miles away, all the newly arrived troops were assembled for a lecture by the post's senior chaplain. It was said that he put the fear of God and gonorrhea into them.
It is known that at this time the battalion went on at least two practice reconnaissance missions under the guidance of the 194th. It traveled to Baguio on one maneuver and to the Lingayen Gulf on the other maneuver. Gen. Weaver, the tank group commander, was able to get ammunition from the post’s ordnance department on the 30th, but the tank group could not get time at one of the firing ranges.
At Ft. Stotsenburg, the soldiers were expected to wear their dress uniforms. Since working on the tanks was a dirty job, the battalion members wore coveralls to work on the tanks. The 192nd followed the example of the 194th Tank Battalion and wore coveralls in their barracks area to do work on their tanks, but if the soldiers left the battalion’s area, they wore dress uniforms – which were a heavy material and uncomfortable to wear in the heat – everywhere; including going to the PX. The medical staff learned how to identify cogon grass, papaya seeds and the Alibang-bang that were native plants that were edible. They also learned that mudfish and certain worms were edible.
For recreation, the soldiers spent their free time bowling or going to the movies on the base. They also played horseshoes, softball, and badminton, or threw footballs around during their free time. On Wednesday afternoons, they went swimming. Passes were given out and men were allowed to go to Manila in small groups.
When the general warning of a possible Japanese attack was sent to overseas commands on November 27th, the Philippine command did not receive it. The reason why this happened is not known and several reasons for this can be given. The officers on the 28th had talks on the possibility of war. It is known that the tanks took part in an alert that was scheduled for November 30th. What was learned during this alert was that moving the tanks to their assigned positions at night would be a disaster. In particular, the 194th’s position was among drums of 100-octane gas, and the entire bomb reserve for the airfield and the bombs were haphazardly placed.
Capt. Poweleit, the detachment's commanding officer, had the men dig trenches so that if an attack came they would have someplace to take cover in an air raid. Poweleit did this after Gen. Weaver warned the battalions that war was coming. It appears only Weaver saw a Japanese attack as being possible.
On Monday, December 1st, the tanks were ordered to the perimeter of Clark Field to guard against paratroopers. The 194th guarded the northern end of the airfield, while the 192nd guarded the southern end where the two runways came together and formed a V. Two members of every tank crew remained with their tanks at all times, and meals were brought to them by food trucks. Col. Weaver held a meeting with his officers on German tank tactics on the 3rd, but the officers wondered why they weren't learning about Japanese tanks and their tactics. But it was also noted that Weaver appeared to be the only higher ranking officer who understood tanks. On the 4th Weaver spoke to the tank battalions about the need to be prepared for an attack. On Sunday, December 7th, the tankers spent a great deal of the day loading bullets into machine gun belts and putting live shells for the tanks’ main guns into the tanks.
Gen. Weaver on December 2nd ordered the tank group to full alert. According to Capt. Alvin Poweleit, Weaver appeared to be the only officer on the base interested in protecting his unit. When Poweleit suggested they dig air raid shelters - since their bivouac was so near the airfield - the other officers laughed. He ordered his medics to dig shelters near the tents of the companies they were with and at the medical detachment's headquarters. On December 3rd the tank group officers had a meeting with Gen Weaver on German tank tactics. Many believed that they should be learning how the Japanese used tanks. That evening when they met with Gen. Jonathan Wainwright, they concluded that he had no idea how to use tanks. It was said they were glad Weaver was their commanding officer. That night the airfield was in complete black-out and searchlights scanned the sky for enemy planes. All leaves were canceled on December 6th.
It was the men manning the radios in the 192nd communications tent who were the first to learn - at 2 am - of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on the morning of December 8th. Major Ted Wickord, Gen. James Weaver, and Major Ernest Miller, 194th, and Capt. Richard Kadel, 17th Ordnance read the messages of the attack. At one point, even Gen. King came to the tent to read the messages. The officers of the 192nd were called to the tent and informed of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The 192nd's company commanders were called to the tent and told of the Japanese attack.
Most of the tankers heard about the attack on Pearl Harbor at roll call that morning. Some men believed that it was the start of the maneuvers they were expecting to take part in. They were also informed that their barracks were almost ready and that they would be moving into them shortly. News reached the tankers that Camp John Hay had been bombed at 9:00 am.
It was stated that on that morning Sgt. John Morine ran through the tank park shouting the news that the Japanese had bombed Pearl Harbor. After hearing the news in the radio tent, Capt. Robert Sorensen went to his company and informed them that Japan had bombed Pearl Harbor. To an extent, the news of the war was no surprise to the men, and many had come to the conclusion it was inevitable. The remaining members of the tank crews, not with their tanks, went to their tanks at the southern end of the Clark Field. The battalion’s half-tracks joined the tanks and took up positions next to them. Those men not assigned to tanks continued their work. Around noon, the company's cooks were serving lunch from the company's portable kitchens which were on trucks to the tank and half-track crews. The other members of the company ate in one of the mess halls.
All morning long the sky above the airfield was filled with American planes. Men said no matter what direction they looked they saw planes. At 11:45 the planes landed and were parked in a straight line - to make it easier for the ground crews to service them - outside the pilots' mess hall. It was lunchtime and members of the tank battalion not assigned to tanks were allowed to go to the mess hall to eat. The men assigned to the tanks and half-tracks were receiving their lunches at food trucks
B Company, on December 12th, was sent to the Barrio of Dau to guard a highway bridge and railroad bridge against sabotage. The rest of the 192nd remained at Clark Field until December 14th, when they moved to a dry stream bed. On December 21st, at noon, the tanks were ordered to prepare to move north to Dau. When they arrived, it was realized there was not enough fuel, so only B Company proceeded north. The tanks were refueled at Tarlac, Genora, and continued on their journey north.
Well after dark, the tanks stopped at Binalonan for an hour before continuing their movement north in total darkness. At Manaoag, the tanks were met by a truck full of fuel. After refueling, the tank crews retired for the night. At six in the morning, the tanks continued their journey through Pozurubio and on into Rosario. North of Pozurubio, the tanks came under the observation of Japanese reconnaissance planes, which observed them until they entered the town at about nine in the morning.
The tank battalion received orders on December 21st that it was to proceed north to Lingayen Gulf. It appears that before they left that day, John sent his parents a telegram in which he said that he was well.
It was at this time that John came down with pneumonia and was sent to the hospital. It is not known when he was admitted. The officer in the next bed was Col. Charles Steel who had been John’s R.O.T.C. unit commander at Davidson College, in 1937, when John was a freshman. It was Steel who awarded John his commission as a second lieutenant. Both men celebrated Christmas together before returning to their respective units. John also was able to send a telegram home to his parents at this time. He also returned to duty shortly after Christmas.
According to Col. Charles Steel, during the Battle of Bataan, John and his tank platoon came to the aid of his 31st Infantry which had received orders to withdraw from their positions. Steel’s command had lost so many men, that it was almost impossible for him to safely fall back to new positions. It was only after John’s tanks arrived and provided support that Steel’s unit was able to take the new positions.
The tank battalions, on January 28th, were given the job of protecting the beaches. The 192nd was assigned the coastline from Paden Point to Limay along Bataan’s east coast, while the battalion’s half-tracks were used to patrol the roads. The Japanese later admitted that the tanks guarding the beaches prevented them from attempting landings. Companies A and C were ordered to the west coast of Bataan while B Company – which was held in reserve – and 17th Ordnance held the southern shore of Bataan. The tankers were awake all night and attempted to sleep under the jungle canopy, during the day, which protected them from being spotted by Japanese reconnaissance planes. During the night, they were kept busy with repeated threats both on and offshore.
In early February, the Japanese attempted to land troops behind the main battle line on Bataan on a small point sticking out from Bataan. The troops were quickly cut off and when they attempted to land reinforcements, they were landed in the wrong place. The fight to wipe out these two pockets became known as the Battle of the Points. The Japanese had been stopped, but the decision was made by Brigadier General Clinton A. Pierce that tanks were needed to support the 45th Infantry Philippine Scouts. He requested the tanks from the Provisional Tank Group.
On February 2nd, John’s tank platoon was ordered to Quinauan Point where the Japanese had landed troops. The tanks arrived about 5:15 P.M. He did a quick reconnaissance of the area, and after meeting with the commanding infantry officer, made the decision to drive tanks into the edge of the Japanese position and spray the area with machine-gun fire. The progress was slow but steady until a Japanese .37 milometer gun was spotted in front of the lead tank, and the tanks withdrew. It turned out that the gun had been disabled by mortar fire, but the tanks did not know this at the time. The decision was made to resume the attack the next morning, so the 45th Infantry dug in for the night.
The next day, another platoon did reconnaissance before pulling into the front line. They repeated the maneuver and sprayed the area with machine gunfire. As they moved forward, members of the 45th Infantry followed the tanks. The troops made progress all day long along the left side of the line. The major problem the tanks had to deal with was tree stumps which they had to avoid so they would not get hung up on them. The stumps also made it hard for the tanks to maneuver. Coordinating the attack with the infantry was difficult, so the decision was made to bring in a radio car so that the tanks and infantry could talk with each other.
On February 4th, at 8:30 A.M. five tanks and the radio car arrived. The tanks were assigned the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, so each tank commander knew which tank was receiving an order. Each tank also received a walkie-talkie, as well as the radio car and infantry commanders. This was done so that the crews could coordinate the attack with the infantry and so that each tank could be ordered to where it was needed. John led as many as five attacks a day, into the pocket, to wipe out the Japanese. He developed a method that three Filipino soldiers each with a musette sack of hand grenades rode on the back of the tanks. As the tanks advanced on the Japanese, they would dive into their foxholes. As the tanks went over the foxholes, each Filipino would drop a hand grenade into them. Since the hand grenades were WWI ordnance, one out of every three hand grenade exploded. A few of the cleansing missions lasted for five hours. After several days of this, the pocket was completely cleared of enemy soldiers. The Japanese were pushed back almost to the cliffs when the attack was halted for the night. When the attack resumed the next morning the Japanese were pushed to the cliff line where they hid below the cliff’s edge out of view. It was at that time that the tanks were released to return to the 192nd and the 45th mopped up the Japanese. For this action, John posthumously received two Silver Stars for Gallantry.
On February 8th, John wrote a letter to his parents. The letter was in a mail sack pulled from the ocean after the ship it was on was sunk by a Japanese submarine. After it was recovered, it made its way to his family. The following is an edited version of the letter.
“Dear Folks,
“Another week has gone by and our whole band is resting after heavy action. I have written several letters to you since my stay in the hospital but they were all lost.
“Every little barrio (town) has a huge cathedral, some of them dating back to the sixteenth century. The buildings are mostly square without arches. But their plain architectural lines along with her massiveness give them a grandeur which cannot be hidden by decaying walls. I was in one the other day whose steeple was being used as an observation point for artillery fire. The church was in a village which was bombed and shelled continuously by the enemy. It alone of the many buildings was standing while all around were tangled masses of concrete, tin, and army equipment. The Japanese had concentrated on this spot but the walls of the church were so thick that no real harm could be done. This church has long since been abandoned but while we still had the surrounding territory it was certainly a haven. At the base of the tower, the walls are over nine feet thick.
“I am now in a mountainous region which is one of the prettiest places I have ever been in. The acacia trees which I love so much are left behind but huge mahogany trees five and six feet thick and towering many feet high along with other kinds of huge trees and large vines make this one of the wildest and yet most peaceful places that I have yet come across.
“I neglected to finish telling about my health. When I left the hospital I was a mere skeleton. I feel sure that I now weigh over 160 pounds which puts me in the almost fat class. Death and tragedy do not seem to bother me – I worry that it does not. I eat enormous meals and continue to gain weight. I am sure you are suffering more than I and that all other parents and loved ones of the fellows are doing the same. The strain upon us here is terrific. We really never get any rest. But we are happy. In my last letter I told you I had no casualties in my company which was really something. By casualties, I mean fatal casualties. The tropical fevers are even more dangerous than the enemy or least have been to date.
“I know you would like to know how I am getting along as an officer. I led my troops in one of the heaviest and most successful actions we have as yet had. I know the teamwork of my platoon deserves the credit – every man did his job and we were successful. Of course, it was I who received the congratulations of the colonels, generals, captains, and fellow officers. By the work of my platoon (of tanks) casualties in the supporting infantry were cut down to nothing. I know I have made the grade – my hope is that I continue in the same way – I have been lucky. God has been more than good to me and only hope I can show my thankfulness by going into his service upon my return.
“I have not as yet been able to contact Col. Steel since last December. He is getting along fine though. His men are doing a good but hard job.
“I am about written out. I hope that this orgy is soon finished but I am afraid that we are in for a long one. I have slept in the open now for a month and a week exactly, most of the time on the ground. I can get as good asleep on the ground as I can on a bed. I have a cot and have several times preferred the ground to the cot since putting the cot up at night and then having to repack it is a lot of trouble.
“Another thing I enjoy even if there is drudgery is washing my clothes. We are all on pretty much of an edge with never a chance for our nerves to relax. Doing little jobs with my hands rests me. Today I washed ………I really had wash woman hands when I got through.
“I have some work in a religious way. In fact, I have been called a preacher a few times. Last night we had Major Dawson of California here for supper. I hope I can also get a Catholic chaplain later – Major Dawson is a Baptist.
“Last Wednesday 77 of us went to Major Dawson’s prayer-meeting. He complimented me in his service saying it was fine for me to bring them rather than just telling the fellows were to go. Of course, I didn’t really deserve the praise since I just went along. His service was very good-he taught rather than preached and said as much.
Give my regards to everybody, Give my love to Rachel, Louisa, and the other folks.
“With love and longings to be home,
“John”
C Company also took part in the Battle of the Pockets in February to wipe out Japanese soldiers who had been trapped behind the main defensive line after a Japanese offensive was stopped and pushed back to the original line of defense. The tanks would enter the pocket one at a time to replace a tank in the pocket. Another tank did not enter the pocket until a tank exited the pocket. Doing this was so stressful that each tank company was rotated out and replaced by one that was being held in reserve.
It was during the Battle of the Tuol Pocket from February 2, 1942, to February 5, 1942, that John was credited with developing a method of clearing the Japanese Marines from their positions with members of the Army Air Corps converted to infantry attempting to clear out the Japanese pocket. The Air Corps men were never taught how to use fire a mortar and fired the shells without pulling the safety pins from them. Another tank group officer taught them to pull the pins. The commanding officer asked John what they should do since the airmen were not trained as infantry. John thought about the problem and came up with a solution for it.
Since the Japanese were dug in, the tanks could not get a good shot at them. John’s solution was to have three Filipino soldiers ride on the back of each tank. As the tanks rolled toward the foxholes, the Japanese would dive into their foxholes. Each Filipino soldier took a hand grenade from his sack and dropped it into the foxholes. Since the grenades were WWI ordnance one or two usually exploded wiping out the Japanese.
The other method used to kill the Japanese was to park a tank with one track over the foxhole. The driver gave the other track power resulting in the tank going around in a circle and grinding its way down into the foxhole. The tankers slept upwind of their tanks so they wouldn’t smell the rotting flesh in the tracks.
While the tanks were doing this job, the Japanese sent soldiers, with cans of gasoline, against the tanks. These Japanese attempted to jump onto the tanks, pour gasoline into the vents on the back of the tanks, and set the tanks on fire. If the tankers could not machine gun the Japanese before they got to a tank, the other tanks would shoot them as they stood on a tank. The tankers did not like to do this because of what it did to the crew inside the tank. When the bullets hit the tank, its rivets would pop and wound the men inside the tank.
What made this job of eliminating the Japanese so hard was that they had dug “spider holes” among the roots of the trees. Because of this situation, the Americans could not get a good shot at the Japanese. Since the stress on the crews was tremendous, the tanks rotated into the pocket one at a time. A tank entered the pocket and the next tank waited for the tank that had been relieved to exit the pocket before it would enter. This was repeated until all the tanks in the pocket were relieved.
In the pockets, C Company lost one tank that had gone beyond the area controlled by the defenders. The tank was disabled by a thermite mine. It appeared that some of the crew were killed by a hand grenade thrown into the tank as they attempted to evacuate it. When the tank was recovered, it was put on its side and it was found at least one member of the crew was still alive when the Japanese filled the tank with dirt from the foxhole they dug under it.
In another incident, a tank from B Company became wedged between two trees after its driver was blinded by a flame thrower. The crew was ordered out of the tank and told to run. As they ran, the Japanese machine-gunned them. The tank commander was killed instantly, while the other three men made it into a sugarcane field. Only one of the three men was found the next day and was sent to the hospital where he recovered from his wounds. Another man was taken prisoner, while the last man was never heard from again and died from his wounds or was killed. It appears that this tank was also recovered.
The tankers, from A, B, and C Companies, were able to clear the pockets by February 18th. But before this was done, one C Company tank that had gone beyond the American perimeter was disabled and the tank just sat there. When the sun came up the next day, the tank was still sitting there. During the night, its crew had attempted to escape the tank through the hatch and grenades were thrown into the tank. The Japanese then decided to dig a foxhole under it. and filled the tank with dirt from the foxhole. When the Japanese had been wiped out, the tank was turned on its side to remove the dirt and recover the bodies of the crew. The tank was put back into use. It was for their performance during this battle that the 192nd Tank Battalion would receive one of its Presidential Unit Citations
The 192nd unlike other units had arrived in the Philippines just before the start of the war, so they did not have the opportunity to stockpile food. The soldiers were hungry and began to eat everything they could get their hands on to eat. The Carabao were tough but if they were cooked long enough they could be eaten. They also began to eat horse meat provided by the 26th U.S. Cavalry. During this time the soldiers ate monkeys, snakes, lizards, horses, and mules. To make things worse, the soldiers’ rations were cut in half again on March 1, 1942. This meant that they only ate two meals a day. The Japanese also were dropping surrender leaflets with the picture of a scantily clad blond on them. They would have been more successful at getting the Americans to surrender if the picture had been a hamburger since the men were so hungry that they most likely would have surrendered for a good meal.
The amount of gasoline in March was reduced to 15 gallons a day for all vehicles except the tanks. This would later be dropped to ten gallons a day. It was during this time that Gen Wainwright wanted to turn the tanks into pillboxes. Gen Weaver pointed out to Wainwright that they did not have enough tanks to effectively do this, and if they did, they soon would have no tanks. Gen. Weaver suggested to Gen. Wainwright that a platoon of tanks be sent to Corregidor, but Wainwright declined.
By this point, the tankers knew that there was no help on the way. Many had listened to Secretary of War Harry L. Stimson on short wave. When Stimson was asked about the Philippines, he said, “There are times when men must die.” The soldiers cursed in response because they knew that the Philippines had already been lost.
It was also at this time that the Self Propelled Mounts joined the tanks on the line. By doing this, the tanks became a favorite target of the Japanese receiving fire on trails and while hidden in the jungle where they could not fight back. The situation was so bad that other troops avoided being near the tanks, and the 26th Cavalry turned down a tank company’s offer of assistance in a counter-attack.
Also in March, Gen Douglas MacArthur had given orders to Gen. King and Gen. Wainwright that they were not to surrender and fight to the last man. At some point during this time, the Pentagon had sent a message to MacArthur that if either Gen. King or Gen. Wainwright believed that surrendering was his only and best option each man had permission to surrender his forces. MacArthur chose not to forward this message to them.
The reality was that the same illnesses that were taking their toll on the Bataan defenders were also taking their toll on the Japanese. American newspapers wrote about the lull in the fighting and the building of defenses against the expected assault that most likely would take place. The soldiers on Bataan also knew that an assault was coming, they just didn’t know when it would take place. The newspapers in the US wrote about the lull in Bataan and the preparations for the expected offensive.
Having brought in combat-harden troops from Singapore, the Japanese launched a major offensive on April 3rd supported by artillery and aircraft. The artillery barrage started at 10 AM and lasted until noon and each shell seemed to be followed by another that exploded on top of the previous shell. At the same time, wave after wave of Japanese bombers hit the same area dropping incendiary bombs that set the jungle on fire. The defenders had to choose between staying in their foxholes and being burned to death or seeking safety somewhere else. As the fire approached their foxholes those men who chose to attempt to flee were torn to pieces by shrapnel. It was said that arms, legs, and other body parts hung from tree branches. A large section of the defensive line at Mount Samat was wiped out. The next day a large force of Japanese troops came over Mt. Samat and descended the south face of the volcano. This attack wiped out two divisions of defenders and left a large area of the defensive line open to the Japanese.
Gen. Wainwright sent this dispatch to Washington from his headquarters on Corregidor.
"Fresh Japanese troops are continuing their forward drive in Bataan with great vigor. A heavy attack on our new position is now in progress. Dive bombers and attack aircraft are bombing and machine-gunning our front lines. Heavy bombers are continuing their attacks on our rear areas near the southern extremity of the Bataan peninsula.
"The present Japanese attack is the longest sustained drive of the enemy since operations began in Bataan. Waves of shock troops have attacked almost continuously, without regard to casualties, which have been heavy on both sides. Our forces have stubbornly resisted every advance."
A Company was attached to the 194th Tank Battalion and was on beach duty with A Co., 194th. When the breakthrough came, the two tank companies were directly in the path of the advance. When the Japanese attempted to land troops, their smoke screen blew into their troops causing them to withdraw. C Company, 194th, was attached to the 192nd and had only seven tanks left. A counter-attack was launched – on April 6th – by the 57th Infantry, Philippine Scouts which was supported by tanks. Its objective was to restore the line, but Japanese infiltrators prevented this from happening. Other tanks of C Company tanks were supporting the 2nd Battalion, 45th Infantry, Philippine Scouts, which was moving east on Trail 8 toward Limay. It was about 5:00 A.M. at the junction of Trails 8 and Trail 6 when the battalion was ambushed by a large number of Japanese. The 1st Platoon of Company C was acting as part of the point when the lead tank was knocked out by anti-tank fire and the following tank was forced off the trail.
On April 7th, the 57th Infantry, Philippine Scouts, supported by tanks, attempted to restore the line, but Japanese infiltrators prevented this from happening. During this action, one tank was knocked out but the remaining tanks successfully withdrew. C Company, 194th, which was attached to the 192nd, had only seven tanks left. The Japanese attacked the line held by American troops on April 8th. It was said that the Japanese made what the Americans called "A Bridge of Death" where the Japanese threw themselves on the barbed wire until there were enough bodies on it so the following troops could walk over it. The defenders were not only defending against a frontal attack, but they also were defending against attacks on their flanks and rear.
It was the evening of April 8th that Gen. King decided that further resistance was futile, since approximately 25% of his men were healthy enough to fight, and he estimated they would last one more day. In addition, he had over 6,000 troops who were sick or wounded and 40,000 civilians who he feared would be massacred. His troops were on one-quarter rations, and even at that ration, he had two days of food left. Companies B and D, 192nd, and A Company, 194th, were preparing for a suicide attack on the Japanese in an attempt to stop the advance. At 6:00 P.M. tank battalion commanders received this order: “You will make plans, to be communicated to company commanders only, and be prepared to destroy within one hour after receipt by radio, or other means, of the word ‘CRASH’, all tanks and combat vehicles, arms, ammunition, gas, and radios: reserving sufficient trucks to close to rear echelons as soon as accomplished.”
That evening, Capt. Harold Collins, C Company’s commanding officer, gave his men the news of the surrender. He told the sergeants what they should do to disable the tanks. They drained the oil out of some of the jeeps and trucks and ran them to burn up the engines. In the case of other vehicles, they poured sand into the motors and ran them. They also took their guns apart and scattered the pieces so that they would not be found. He emphasized that they all were to surrender together.
It was at 10:00 P.M. that the decision was made to send a jeep – under a white flag – behind enemy lines to negotiate terms of surrender. The problem soon became that no white cloth could be found. Phil Parish, a truck driver for A Company realized that he had bedding buried in the back of his truck and searched for it. The bedding became the “white flags” that were flown on the jeeps. At 11:40 P.M., the ammunition dumps were destroyed.
At midnight Companies B and D, and A Company, 194th, received an order from Gen. Weaver to stand down. At 2:oo A.M. April 9th, Gen. King sent a jeep under a white flag carrying Colonel Everett C. Williams, Col. James V. Collier, and Major Marshall Hurt to meet with the Japanese commander about terms of surrender. (The driver was from the tank group.) Shortly after daylight Collier and Hunt returned with word of the appointment. It was at about 6:45 A.M. that tank battalion commanders received the order “crash.” As Gen. King left to negotiate the surrender, he went through the area held by B Company and the 17th Ordnance Company and spoke to the men. He said to them, “Boys. I’m going to get us the best deal I can. When you get home, don’t ever let anyone say to you; you surrendered. I was the one who surrendered.” Gen. King with his two aides, Maj. Wade R. Cothran and Captain Achille C. Tisdelle Jr. got into a jeep carrying a large white flag. Another jeep followed them – also flying another large white flag – with Col. Collier and Maj. Hurt in it. As the jeeps made their way north, they were strafed and small bombs were dropped by a Japanese plane. The drivers of both jeeps managed to avoid the bullets and while POWs would receive Silver Stars. The strafing ended when a Japanese reconnaissance plane ordered the fighter pilot to stop strafing.
At about 10:00 A.M. the jeeps reached Lamao where they were received by a Japanese Major General who informed Gen. King that he reported his coming to negotiate a surrender and that an officer from the Japanese command would arrive to do the negotiations. The Japanese officer also told him that his troops would not attack for thirty minutes while King decided what he would do. No Japanese officer had arrived from their headquarters and the Japanese attack had resumed.
King sent Col. Collier and Maj. Hunt back to his command with instructions that any unit in the line of the Japanese advance should fly white flags. After this was done a Japanese colonel and interpreter arrived and King was told the officer was Homma’s Chief of Staff who had come to discuss King’s surrender. King attempted to get assurances from the Japanese that his men would be treated as prisoners of war, but the Japanese officer – through his interpreter – accused him of declining to surrender unconditionally. At one point King stated he had enough trucks and gasoline to carry his troops out of Bataan. He was told that the Japanese would handle the movement of the prisoners. The two men talked back and forth until the colonel said through the interpreter, “The Imperial Japanese Army are not barbarians.” King found no choice but to accept him at his word.
Unknown to Gen. King, an order attributed to Gen. Masaharu Homma – but in all likelihood from one of his subordinates – had been given. It stated, “Every troop which fought against our army on Bataan should be wiped out thoroughly, whether he surrendered or not, and any American captive who is unable to continue marching all the way to the concentration camp should be put to death in the area of 200 meters off the road.”
On the morning of April 9, 1942, the members of C Company destroyed their equipment. They drained the oil out of some of the jeeps and trucks and ran them to burn up the engines. In the case of other vehicles, they poured sand into the motors and ran them. They also took their guns apart and scattered the pieces so that they would not be found. They then waited for the Japanese to make contact with them. The company was on the west side of Bataan when the surrender came and the Japanese did not make contact with them until April 11th. They were officially Prisoners of War and were ordered to assemble with their possessions in front of them. As they stood there, the Japanese took what they wanted from the POWs.
The tankers had removed all tanker insignia from their uniforms since the tanks had done a lot of damage to the Japanese and they had heard a rumor that the Japanese were looking for them. All during the time that they were POWs in the Philippines, Japanese guards would ask, “You tanker?” It was said that anyone found with a tanker insignia or admitting to being a member of a tank battalion disappeared or was killed, but this has not been confirmed.
The Japanese ordered the company to Mariveles at the southern tip of Bataan. After they arrived there, they found themselves on a beach for two or three days facing Corregidor. They were finally ordered to form 100 men detachments. As they stood there, the Japanese searched them for what they called contraband. This included guns, knives, jewelry, other valuables, money, watches, and whatever else that the Japanese wanted to take. Japanese officers walked among the prisoners looking for Filipinos. The officers pulled the Filipinos out of the group and shot them in their temples. After they fell to the ground, the Japanese kicked their bodies into the ditches alongside the road.
C Company and the 192nd's Medical Detachment made their way to Mariveles at the southern tip of Bataan. There, they were searched again and stripped of blankets and other materials of use to the Japanese Army. They were mixed in with other Prisoners Of War and began what they called "the Hike" or "the March." American newspapers would call it the Bataan Death March in 1944. The POWs were placed in columns of four and twenty-five rows deep. Men stated that the first guards were combat veterans who looked at them as combat veterans and treated them better than later guards. Depending on the detachment, the guards were said to let the POWs get water from the artesian wells and rest. One detachment that tankers were in was allowed to take a swim. After the guards changed, things changed for the POWs. The new guards were mean for no apparent reason and did things to the POWs because they could do them. Men were beaten, kicked, or bayoneted. Men also pointed out that one guard would beat a POW while five minutes later another guard would give the same POW a cigarette. Men stated that if they offered a guard a cigarette, the guard usually would offer them one. Still, some guards killed POWs for no reason.
The guards were assigned to march a certain distance so they often made the POWs march at a faster pace so they could finish their assigned section as fast as possible. Those men who were sick and had a hard time keeping up were bayoneted or shot if they fell. POWs who attempted to help these men were also shot or bayoneted. When the distance was covered, the column was stopped and allowed to rest and the guards were replaced. The new guards also wanted to complete their assigned distance, so the POWs again found themselves moving at a fast pace.
The lack of food and water was also a major issue for the POWs. It was stated that the members of C Company went nine days without water. The POWs were amazed by the courage of the Filipino people who openly defied the Japanese by giving food and water to the POWs. It was said that every 200 or 300 yards were artesian wells, but the POWs were not allowed to drink from them. As men became more desperate, they would run to the wells only to find that the Japanese had sent advance teams ahead who shot or bayoneted those attempting to get water from them. The further north they marched the more bloated dead bodies they saw. The ditches along the road were filled with water, but many also had dead bodies in them. The POWs’ thirst got so bad they drank the water. Many men would later die from dysentery.
On the first day of the march, they were marched until well after sundown. When they were finally given a rest it was already late. After midnight, it began to rain. Although the rain lasted for about one-half hour, the prisoners attempted to catch the rain on their tongues or lick the drops off their lips and hands. Some men stated it felt like the water was being absorbed into their skin. The rain was the first drink the prisoners received on the march.
The column of POWs was often stopped and pushed off the road and made to sit in the sun for hours which was intentional. Men commented that they did most of the march at night. While they sat there, the guards would shake down the POWs and take any possession they had that they liked. When they were ordered to move again, it was not unusual for the Japanese passing by them in trucks to entertain themselves by swinging at the POWs with their guns or with bamboo poles.
When the prisoners reached Cabcaben Airfield, they saw that the Japanese had set up guns and were firing on Corregidor. The marchers had to get past the guns that were firing on Corregidor. As it turned out, this was a dangerous undertaking. It was about this time that the American guns on Corregidor began to pinpoint the location of the Japanese guns. Shells were landing on the road that the POWs were marching on so they ran to get away from the battle. Men stated that a Japanese officer was directing a gun crew when there was a flash. After the smoke cleared the Japanese gun and its crew had vanished.
The POWs made their way north against the flow of Japanese horse artillery and trucks which were moving south. At times, they would slip on something wet and slippery which were the remains of a man killed by Japanese artillery the day before. When dawn came, the walking became easier, but as the sun rose it became hotter and the POWs began to feel the effects of thirst. It was at this time that the POWs saw a group of Filipinos being marched by the Japanese. Looking at them, they realized that they had been hungry, but the Filipinos had been starving.
As they crossed the Lamao River, they smelled the sweet smell of death. The Japanese had heavily bombed the area causing many casualties and many of the dead lay partially in the river. The Air Corps POWs in front of them ran to the river and drank. Many would later die from dysentery at Camp O’Donnell.
The further north they marched the more bloated dead bodies they saw. The ditches along the road were filled with water, but many also had dead bodies in them. The POWs’ thirst got so bad they drank the water. Many men would later die from dysentery. The column of POWs was often stopped and pushed off the road and made to sit in the sun for hours. While they sat there, the guards would shake down the POWs and take any possession they had that they liked. When they were ordered to move again, it was not unusual for the Japanese riding past them in trucks to entertain themselves by swinging at the POWs with their guns or with bamboo poles.
North of Hermosa the POWs reached pavement which made the march easier. They received an hour break, but any POW who attempted to lay down was jabbed with a bayonet. After the break, they marched and reached Orani by the time the sun began to rise. There they were herded into a filthy pen that had been used by other prisoners before them and left to bake in the sun for the rest of the day. At the end of each portion of the march, the POWs would be put into another pen. Since his group was not the first to use them, they were filled with human waste. Often there were decaying bodies of American soldiers still inside the pens. The prisoners also had to deal with Blue Bottle flies, mosquitos, and maggots.
They continued the march, they were marched through Layac and Lubao. It was at this time that a heavy shower took place and many of the men opened their mouths in an attempt to get water. The guards allowed the POWs to lie on the road. The rain revived many of the POWs and gave them the strength to complete the march.
At San Fernando, they were herded into a bullpen, surrounded by barbed wire, and put into groups of 200 men. One POW from each group went to the cooking area which was next to the latrine and got food for the group. Each man received a ball of rice and four or five dried onions. Water was given out with each group receiving a pottery jar of water to share. The area where the POWs sat was covered in human feces from the POWs who had occupied the bullpen before them. How long the man remained in the bullpen varied from hours to days. Some men remained in it for four or five days.
The POWs were ordered to form detachments of 100 men and marched to the train station. There, they were packed into small wooden boxcars that were used to haul sugarcane. The cars were about thirteen feet long and ten feet wide and known as “forty or eights” since each car could hold forty men or eight horses. Since the detachments had 100 men in them, the Japanese put 100 men into each boxcar and closed the doors. Since the POWs were packed in so tightly, men suffocated from the lack of air but could not fall to the floors since there was no room to fall. At Capas, the living left the boxcars and the dead fell to the floors as they left the boxcars. The POWs walked the eight kilometers to Camp O’Donnell which was an unfinished Filipino Army Training Base that the Japanese pressed into use as a POW camp on April 1, 1942. The POWs were held in two camps with the Americans held on one side of the road while the Filipinos were held on the other side of the road.
When they were north of Hermosa, the POWs reached pavement which made the march easier. They received an hour break, but any POW who attempted to lay down was jabbed with a bayonet. After the break, they marched through Layac and Lubao. It was at this time that a heavy shower took place and many of the men opened their mouths in an attempt to get water. The guards allowed the POWs to lie on the road. The rain revived many of the POWs and gave them the strength to complete the march.
At San Fernando, the POWs were put in another bullpen. In one corner was a slit trench that was the washroom for the POWs. The surface of it moved from the maggots. It is not known how long he was held in the bullpen and if he was fed while there. At some point, the POWs were ordered to form detachments of 100 men and were taken to the train station. There they were packed into small wooden boxcars used to haul sugarcane. The cars were known as “forty or eights” since they could hold forty men or eight horses. Since each detachment had 100 POWs in it, the Japanese put 100 POWs into each boxcar. The POWs were packed in so tightly that those who died remained standing since there was no room for them to fall to the floors of the cars. At Capas, the POWs disembarked and the dead fell to the floors of the cars. When the prisoners got off the train, there were Japanese offering them money to buy food. The POWs had no idea why they were doing this. From Capas, the POWs walked the last miles to Camp O’Donnell which was an unfinished Filipino training base that the Japanese pressed into use as a POW camp on April 1, 1942, because the Japanese believed the camp could hold 15,000 to 20,000 POWs. The POWs were held in two camps with the Americans held on one side of the road while the Filipinos were held on the other side of the road.
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The camp hospital had no soap, water, or disinfectant. When the ranking American doctor at the camp wrote a letter to the camp commandant, Capt. Yohio Tsuneyoshi, asking for medical supplies. He was told never to write another letter. The Archbishop of Manila sent a truckload of medical supplies to the camp, but the Japanese commandant refused to allow the truck into the camp. When the Philippine Red Cross sent medical supplies to the camp the Japanese took 95% of the supplies for their use. When a second truck was sent to the camp by the Red Cross, it was turned away. The Manila Society – which was a branch of the Philippine Red Cross – collected a great quantity of clothing, medicines, powdered milk, marmalade, and oatmeal and delivered it to the Red Cross which was under Japanese control. They were told they could help make juices and packages of sweet coconut for the POWs and did so. When they were finished, the Japanese stated that it was too good for the Americans and that the packages would be given to their soldiers.
The POWs in the camp hospital lay on the floor elbow to elbow and only one medic – out of the six medics assigned to care for 50 sick POWs – was healthy enough to care for them. It was stated that most of the men in the hospital had no clothing. When a representative of the Philippine Red Cross stated they could supply a 150-bed hospital for the camp, he was slapped in the face by a Japanese lieutenant. The Japanese camp commander was asked by an American lieutenant colonel and a chaplain, who had a copy of the Geneva Convention with him asked if he would permit them to leave the camp to purchase drugs and get help, the commandant responded that he knew "all about the Geneva Convention" and "all he wanted to know about the Americans is their name and their numbers when they died."
Each morning, the bodies of the dead were found all over the camp and were carried to the hospital and placed underneath it. The bodies lay there for two or three days before they were buried in the camp cemetery by other POWs who were suffering from dysentery and/or malaria. To clean the ground under the hospital, the bodies were moved to one side, the ground was scraped and lime was spread over it. The bodies were placed in the cleaned area, and the area they had lain was scraped and lime was spread over it. At one point, 80 bodies lay under the hospital awaiting burial.
The dead were carried to the cemetery in litters and placed in a grave with four other POWs. It was not unusual for a POW working this detail to die and be put into the grave with the other dead. Before they were buried, the dead were stripped of their clothing, which was boiled in hot water and then given to another POW who needed clothing.
When the POWs returned to the cemetery in the morning to dig graves for the men who had died during the night, they found the arms and legs of the dead sticking out of the ground and wild dogs pulling on them. The men would chase off the dogs, knock the arms and legs down, and rebury them.
A Japanese clerk, Mr. Nishimura, was in charge of giving work details assignments to the POWs. It was stated he was the camp interpreter and a member of the diplomatic corps. Work details were sent out on a daily basis. Each day, the American doctors gave a list of names to the Japanese of the POWs who were healthier enough to work. If the quota of POWs needed to work could not be met, the Japanese put those POWs who were sick but could walk, to work. When these men returned to the camp many died. The death rate among the POWs reached 50 men dying a day.
Documents from after the war state that some of the Japanese assigned to the camp had drug problems which may have contributed to the abusive treatment of the POWs. POWs stated that they noticed that at times the guards had glassy eyes and seemed that their speech was slurred. It also was stated that the Japanese government ordered those soldiers caught abusing drugs be executed. The document also stated that the Japanese government went to great lengths to cover the problem up.
The American cemetery was located about 400 yards from the camp. In the center of the cemetery was a large white wooden cross with the words, "in remembrance of Americans who died here." erected by the Imperial Japanese Army, 1942. The front part of the cemetery was labeled "Officers Plot" which had white painted crosses. The officers were buried in 25 rows of graves with 15 graves to a row. The crosses had names, but most had the words, "rest in peace" hacked into the wood. The names were put on the crosses with ink, some names were burned into the wood, while other were carved into it. Behind the officers' plot and surrounding the large cross were smaller crosses marking the enlisted graves. These crosses were made of unpainted laths of wood with the dog tags of dead fixed to the back of the crosses. This section had 30 additional rows of larger burial mounds that were divided into plots and grouped into 39 sections.
John’s parents on May 9, 1942, received a postcard from him that he wrote on March 6th. All he said on the card was “well.” This was the first word they had from him since December 1941.
It is known that around May 22nd, his family received a message from the War Department.
Dear Mrs. R. Hay:
According to War Department records, you have been designated as the emergency addressee if Second Lieutenant John F. Hay, O,422,340, who, according to the latest information available, was serving in the Philippine Islands at the time of the final surrender.
I deeply regret that it is impossible for me to give you more information than is contained in this letter. In the last days before the surrender of Bataan, there were casualties which were not reported to the War Department. Conceivably the same is true of the surrender of Corregidor and possibly other islands of the Philippines. The Japanese Government has indicated its intention of conforming to the terms of the Geneva Convention with respect to the interchange of information regarding prisoners of war. At some future date, this Government will receive through Geneva a list of persons who have been taken prisoners of war. Until that time the War Department cannot give you positive information.
The War Department will consider the persons serving in the Philippine Islands as “missing in action” from the date of surrender of Corregidor, May 7, 1942, until definite information to the contrary is received. It is to be hoped that the Japanese Government will communicate a list of prisoners of war at an early date. At that time you will be notified by this office in the event that his name is contained in the list of prisoners of war. In the case of persons known to have been present in the Philippines and who are not reported to be prisoners of war by the Japanese Government, the War Department will continue to carry them as “missing in action” in the absence of information to the contrary, until twelve months have expired. At the expiration of twelve months and in the absence of other information the War Department is authorized to make a final determination.
Recent legislation makes provision to continue the pay and allowances of persons carried in a “missing” status for a period not to exceed twelve months; to continue, for the duration of the war, the pay and allowances of persons known to have been captured by the enemy; to continue allotments made by missing personnel for a period of twelve months and allotments or increase allotments made by persons by the enemy during the time they are so held; to make new allotments or increase allotments to certain dependents defined in Public Law 490, 77th Congress. The latter dependents generally include the legal wife, dependent children under twenty-one years of age, and dependent mother, or such dependents as having been designated in official records. Eligible dependents who can establish a need for financial assistance and are eligible to receive this assistance the amount allotted will be deducted from pay which would otherwise accrue to the credit of the missing individual.
Very truly yours
(signed)
J. A. ULIO
Major General
The Adjutant General
The POWs formed detachments of 100 men each, on June 1st, and were marched to Capas. There, they were put in steel boxcars with two Japanese guards. At Calumpit, the train was switched onto another line which took it to Cabanatuan. The POWs disembarked and were taken to a schoolyard where they were fed cooked rice and onion soup. From there, they were marched to Cabanatuan Camp #1 which had been the headquarters of the 91st Philippine Army Division and was known as Camp Pangatian. The transfer of the healthier POWs to the camp was completed on June 4th.
The camp was three camps. Cabanatuan #1 housed most of the POWs who had been captured on Bataan and held at Camp O’Donnell. Cabanatuan #2 was two miles from Camp 1 and was closed because it lacked an adequate water supply. It was later reopened and held Naval POWs. Cabanatuan #3 was eight miles from Camp 1 and six miles from Camp 2. It housed most of the POWs from Corregidor and was closed on October 30th and the POWs were sent to Camp 1. Once in the camp, the POWs were allowed to run the camp. The Japanese only entered if they had an issue they wanted to deal with. To prevent escapes, the POWs set up a detail that patrolled the fence of the camp. The reason this was done was that those who did escape and were caught were tortured before they were executed while the other POWs were made to watch. It is believed that no POW successfully escaped from the camp.
The barracks in the camp were built to house 50 POWs, but most had between 60 to 120 POWs in them. It appears that the tankers initially lived with their own barracks. The POWs slept on double-deck bamboo shelves nine feet wide and eight feet long, without mattresses, bedding, or mosquito netting. Many developed sores and became ill. The POWs were assigned to barracks which meant that the members of their group lived together and went out on work details together since the Japanese had instituted the “Blood Brothers” rule. If one man escaped the other nine men in his group would be executed. POWs caught trying to escape were beaten. Those who did escape and were caught were tortured before being executed. It is not known if any POW successfully escaped from the camp. It was said that the Japanese guards would attempt to get the POWs assigned to guard the inside of the fence to come outside the perimeter of the fence. If the man did, he was shot and the guards told their commanding officer that the POW was “trying to escape.”
Rice was the main food given to the POWs fed to them as “lugow” which meant “wet rice.” The rice smelled and appeared to have been swept up off the floor. The other problem was that the men assigned to be cooks had no idea of how to prepare the rice since they had no experience in cooking it. During their time in the camp, they received few vegetables and almost no fruit. Once in a while, the POWs received corn to serve to the prisoners. From the corn, the cooks would make hominy. The prisoners were so hungry that some men would eat the corn cobs. This resulted in many men being taken to the hospital to have the cobs removed because they would not pass through the men’s bowels. Sometimes they received bread, and if they received fish it was rotten and covered with maggots.
To supplement their diets, the men would search for grasshoppers, rats, and dogs to eat. The POWs assigned to handing out the food used a sardine can to ensure that each man received the same amount. They were closely watched by their fellow prisoners who wanted to make sure that everyone received the same portion and that no one received extra rice.
The enlisted POWs were sent out on work details to cut wood for the POW kitchens. Other POWs worked in rice paddies. Each morning, as the POWs stood at attention and roll call was taken, the Japanese guards hit them across their heads. While working in the fields, the favorite punishment given to the men in the rice paddies was to have their faces pushed into the mud and stepped on by a guard to drive their faces deeper into the mud. A typical day on any detail lasted from 7:00 A.M. until 5:00 P.M. Returning from a detail the POWs bought or were given, medicine, food, and tobacco, which they somehow managed to get into the camp even though they were searched when they returned.
The burial detail was one the hardest details to work. The cemetery was in a swamp area less than a half-mile from the camp. The prisoners were divided into work crews. The first crew would dig the graves. The second crew would carry the dead in shoulder litters to the graves. A chaplain would conduct a service at the grave. Phil and the other prisoners would salute the man as he was lowered into the grave. Since the water table was high, the body would be held down while the POWs covered it with dirt. The next, just like Camp O'Donnell, the dead were often sitting up in the graves or dug up by wild dogs.
Six POWs were executed on June 26th by the Japanese after they had left the camp to buy food and were caught returning to camp. The POWs were tied to posts in a manner that they could not stand up or sit down. No one was allowed to give them food or water and they were not permitted to give them hats to protect them from the sun. The men were left tied to the posts for 48 hours when their ropes were cut. Four of the POWs were executed on the duty side of the camp and the other two were executed on the hospital side of the camp.
In the camp, the prisoners continued to die, but at a slower rate on the hospital side. The hospital was described as being horrible and beyond description. There was no water for washing and barely enough to drink. There were no blankets or any other coverings for the sick. The camp hospital consisted of 30 wards that could hold 40 men each, but it was more common for them to have 100 men in them. Each man had approximately an area of 2 feet by 6 feet to lie in. The POWs were sent to the hospital side of the camp not for treatment but to isolate them from the healthier POWs. The sickest POWs were put in “Zero Ward,” which was called this because it was missed by the Japanese when they counted barracks. There were two rolls of wooden platforms around the perimeter of the building. The sickest POWs were put on the lower platform which had holes cut into it so they could relieve themselves. The platform was covered in feces which was made worse by the excrement from the higher platform dripping down onto it. Most of those who entered the ward died. When a POW died, the POWs stripped him of his clothing, and the man was buried naked. The dead man’s clothing was washed in boiling water and given to a prisoner in need of clothing. The Japanese put a fence up around the building to protect themselves and would not go into the area.
During June, the first cases of diphtheria appeared in the camp, and by July, it had spread throughout the camp. The Japanese finally gave the American medical staff antibiotics to treat the POWs, but before it took effect, 130 POWs had died from the disease by August. For those POWs with tuberculosis who were in the hospital, their rations were reduced to 240 grams of rice, camote (made from camote peelings), and powdered dried fish. In addition, the POW doctors were given four twelve-ounce cans of milk for every 39 patients with malaria.
The medicine given to the POWs had to be divided between Cabanatuan and Bilibid. Cabanatuan received 50 percent of the medicine and Bilibid 50 percent. But when the large POW detachment was sent to Davao, Bilibid received only 30 percent and Davao 20 percent. By doing this division, medicine that would do the POWs good was divided into small quantities resulting in them having no real medical value.
The POWs had the job of burying the dead. To do this, they worked in teams of four men that carried a litter of four to six dead men to the cemetery where they were buried in graves containing 15 to 20 bodies. The water table was high so when the bodies were put into the graves, POWs held them down with poles until they were covered with dirt. The next day when the burials continued, the dead were often found sitting up in their graves or dug up by wild dogs.
In the camp, the prisoners continued to die, but at a slower rate on the hospital side. The hospital was described as being horrible and beyond description. There was no water for washing and barely enough to drink. There were no blankets or any other coverings for the sick. The camp hospital consisted of 30 wards that could hold 40 men each, but it was more common for them to have 100 men in them. Each man had approximately an area of 2 feet by 6 feet to lie in. The POWs were sent to the hospital side of the camp not for treatment but to isolate them from the healthier POWs. The sickest POWs were put in “Zero Ward” which was called this because it was missed by the Japanese when they counted barracks. There were two rolls of wooden platforms around the perimeter of the building. The sickest POWs were put on the lower platform which had holes cut into it so they could relieve themselves. The platform was covered in feces which was made worse by the excrement from the higher platform dripping down onto it. Most of those who entered the ward died. When a POW died, the POWs stripped him of his clothing, and the man was buried naked. The dead man’s clothing was washed in boiling water and given to a prisoner in need of clothing. The Japanese put a fence up around the building to protect themselves and would not go into the area.
The medicine given to the POWs had to be divided between Cabanatuan and Bilibid. Cabanatuan received 50 percent of the medicine and Bilibid 50 percent. But when the large POW detachment was sent to Davao, Bilibid received only 30 percent and Davao 20 percent. By doing this division, medicine that would do the POWs good was divided into small quantities resulting in them having no real medical value.
The POWs had the job of burying the dead. To do this, they worked in teams of four men that carried a litter of four to six dead men to the cemetery where they were buried in graves containing 15 to 20 bodies. The water table was high so when the bodies were put into the graves, the POWs held them down with poles until they were covered with dirt. The next day when the burials continued, the dead were often found sitting up in their graves or dug up by wild dogs.
A POW was recaptured on September 17th who had escaped on August 7th was recaptured. He was placed in solitary confinement and during his time there, he was beaten over the head with an iron bar by a Japanese sergeant. The camp commandant, Col. Mori, would parade him around the camp and use the man as an example as he lectured the POWs. The man wore a sign that read, “Example of an Escaped Prisoner.”
Three POWs were recaptured on September 21st who had escaped on the 12th. The men were brought back to the camp and had their feet tied together and their hands were crossed behind their backs and tied with ropes. A long rope was tied around their wrists and they were suspended from a rafter with their toes barely touching the ground causing their arms to bear all the weight of their bodies. They were subjected to severe beatings by the Japanese guards while hanging from the rafter. The punishment lasted three days. They were cut from the rafter and they were tied hand and foot and placed in the cooler for 30 days on a diet was rice and water. One of the three POWs was severely beaten by a Japanese lieutenant but was later released.
On September 29th, the Japanese executed three POWs after they were stopped by American security guards while attempting to escape. The American guards were there to prevent escapes so that the other POWs in their ten-man group would not be executed. During the event, the noise made the Japanese aware of the situation and they came to the area and beat the three men who had tried to escape. One so badly that his jaw was broken. After two and a half hours, the three were tied to posts by the main gate, and their clothes were torn off them. They also were beaten on and off for the next 48 hours. Anyone passing them was expected to urinate on them. After three days they were cut down, thrown into a truck, driven to a clearing in sight of the camp, and shot.
The Japanese began issuing the POWs identification numbers beginning in September. It was at that time that John was given the number 1-09445.
According to records kept by the medical staff in the camp, John was admitted to the camp’s hospital on Friday, September 18, 1942, suffering from pellagra, dysentery, and edema. It was there that he died – according to the final report on the 192nd Tank Battalion by 1st Lt. Jacques Merrifield – of beriberi and dysentery. Two reports and John’s headstone indicate his date of death was Saturday, October 10, 1942. According to another report, his date of death was Wednesday, October 28, 1942, and the cause of death is listed as pellagra. Medical records kept by the American medical staff at the camp hospital gave the date of death as October 10, 1942, and the cause of death as pellagra. It also indicated he died at approximately 1:15 P.M. and was the 1,925 POW to die in the camp. His possessions at his time of death were an ID tag, a New Testament, and two prayer books. He was buried in the camp cemetery in Plot 2, Row 23, Grave 2960.
His parents received a telegram from the War Department on December 29, 1942, stating that John was a POW.
DOC S HAY
21 CHURCH ST MORRISTOWN TENN
REPORT JUST RECEIVED THROUGH THE INTERNATIONAL RED CROSS STATES THAT YOUR SON SECOND LIEUTENANT JOHN F HAY IS A PRISONER OF WAR OF THE JAPANESE GOVERNMENT IN PHILIPPINE ISLANDS LETTER OF INFORMATION FOLLOWS FROM THE PROVOST MARSHALL GENERAL=
ULIO THE ADJUTANT GENERAL=
This was followed by a letter from the War Department days later.
Dear Doctor Hay
Report had been received that your son, Second Lieutenant John F Hay, O,422,340, Infantry, is now a prisoner of war to the Japanese Government in the Philippine Islands. This is to confirm my telegram of December 29, 1942.
The Provost Marshall General, Prisoner of War Information Bureau, Washington, D. C., will furnish you the address to which mail may be sent. Any future correspondence in connection with his status as a prisoner of war should be addressed to that office.
Very truly yours
(signed)
J. A. ULIO
Major General
The Adjutant General
This was followed by a third letter.
Dear Doctor Hay:
The Provost Marshal General directs me to inform you that you may communicate with your son, postage free, by following the inclosed instructions:
It is suggested that you address him as follows:
2nd Lt. John F. Hay, U.S. Army
Interned in the Philippine Islands
C/O Japanese Red Cross, Tokyo, Japan
Via New York, New York
Packages cannot be sent to the Orient at this time. When transportation facilities are available a package permit will be issued you.
Further information will be forwarded to you as soon as it is received.
Sincerely
(signed)
HOWARD F. BRESEE
Colonel, CMP
Chief Information Bureau
On July 4, 1943, Dr. Samuel Hay was officially notified by the Army that John had died as a Japanese POW.
WASHINGTON D. C. JULY 4
DOC SAMUEL H HAY
21 CHURCH STREET
MORRISTOWN, TENN
REPORT JUST RECEIVED THROUGH THE JAPANESE GOVERNMENT THROUGH THE INTERNATIONAL RED CROSS THAT YOUR SON, SECOND LIEUTENANT JOHN F. HAY WHO WAS PREVIOUSLY REPORTED A PRISONER OF WAR, DIED IN THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. THE SECRETARY OF WAR SHARES YOUR GRIEF AND EXTENDS HIS DEEP SYMPATHY, LETTER FOLLOWS=
ULIO THE ADJUTANT GENERAL=
A letter quickly followed.
Dear Doctor Hays:
It is with deep regret that you were notified by telegram on 4 July, 1943, of the death of your son, Second Lieutenant John F. Hay, O,422,340, Infantry.
The casualty report in his case shows he died at a Prisoner of War camp, Philippines, as a result of pellagra and dysentery, but fails to give the exact date of death. Efforts to obtain the information have not been successful. From the meager information obtainable from the Japanese Government regards him from being dead from the date of the dispatch of the reporting message. The reporting message was dated 4 July, 1943, and therefore, this date has been entered on the records of the War Department as the date of his death.
May the thought that he gave his life heroically in the service of his country be the sustaining comfort for you.
I extend to you my deepest sympathy.
Sincerely yours
(signed)
J. A. ULIO
Major General
The Adjutant General
When the POWs at Cabanatuan and Camp O’Donnell were liberated in January and February 1945, respectively, the death records kept by the POWs at Camp O’Donnell, Cabanatuan, Bilibid Prison, and on work details were recovered. It was from the death records that John’s true date of death, October 10, 1942, was learned. The War Department corrected the date on his records and his father was informed of his correct date of death in a letter.
Dear Doc. Hay:
Permit me to extend to you my heartfelt sympathy for the loss of your son, Second Lieutenant John F. Hay, O,422,340, who died on the tenth of October, 1942, from pellagra and dysentery at Cabanatuan Camp, Philippine Islands, while a prisoner of war of the Japanese.
The casualty reports received contain few details. They were of necessity meager, due to the inability of the persons confined by the Japanese to prepare and keep the necessary records. We do know, however, that he is buried on Luzon, Philippine Islands.
Anything I can say is scant consolation to you in your grief. It is my fervent hope that later, the knowledge that his courage and sacrifices contributed to the final victory may be of sustaining comfort to you.
Very truly yours
(signed)
C. W. MacELLVEN
Major, AGD
Ass’t Adj Gen
In early 1945, the American Graves Registration Service sent out teams to recover the dead at the POW camps. One of the teams sent to the Cabanatuan Camp cemetery reported that In Plot 6, Row 0, Grave 663, one of John’s government issued identification tags was found on the grave marker with the other ID tags of the men buried in the grave. His other ID tag was found with his remains in the grave. His remains were taken to the United States Armed Forces Cemetery #2, Manila, and buried in Plot 2, Row 23, Grave 2960. The cemetery was a holding area for the dead until dental records were available to confirm their identification. John was posthumously awarded the Silver Star for gallantry on April 12, 1946.
John’s father repeatedly contacted the Quartermaster General’s Office about the burial of his son. It was not until he received a letter from the Quartermaster General’s Office, dated April 24, 1947, that he was informed that John was buried in the UAFC #2, Manila, and given the location of his grave. He was also informed that he would be receiving another letter providing him with information of his options for John’s final burial. He received the next letter, dated November 19, 1947, telling him of his options for John’s final burial. He was asked to return an enclosed form indicating where he wanted John buried. The completed form was received by the QMC on December 8, 1947, indicating that his father wanted John’s remains returned to the United States and buried at the Jarnagin Cemetery, Morristown, Tennessee.
The casket containing the remains 2nd Lt. John F. Hay was placed on the USAT Sgt. Jack Pendleton on March 14, 1949, and the ship sailed the same day. The ship arrived at Ft. Mason in the San Francisco Port of Entry on April 2, 1949, and his casket was sent to the QMC’s Distribution Center in Oakland. By train, with a military escort, the casket was sent to the QMC’s Distribution Center #5 in Atlanta, Georgia, and arrived there on April 11th. His casket was put on the Southern Railroad’s train 46, on April 18th, and arrived in Morristown at approximately 8:20 am on April 19th. From the station, his casket was taken to Brooks Mortuary. On April 20, 1949, a funeral service at the First Presbyterian Church of Morristown was held for John. During the service, Col. Charles Steel told of his meetings with John during the fight against the Japanese and while they were POWs. His sister, Louisa, married on June 22, 1942. With her at his funeral were her husband and her son, John Hay Salders, who was born after the family learned John had died.
His parents, who later lived in Liberty Hill, South Carolina, had a marker placed at the Liberty Hill Methodist Cemetery where his father was the pastor. It appears that John may have been first buried at Emma Jarnagin Cemetery in Morristown but exhumed and moved after the deaths of his parents. Today, 2nd Lt. John F. Hay rests in Elmwood Memorial Gardens in Columbia, South Carolina, next to his parents.
