Cpl. Ernest Garcia was born on November 7, 1915, in Houston, Texas, to Mike Garcia and Mary Mariens-Garcia. Some records indicate his name was actually Ernesto James Garcia. He resided at 227 West 17th Street, Port Arthur, Texas, with his sister and step-brother. He married Juanita Garcia on April 11, 1936, and became the father of two sons and a daughter. On October 16, 1940, he registered for Selective Service and named his mother as his contact person. He indicated he worked for B. Wyde Lumber Company. He was inducted into the Army on March 18, 1941, and indicated he was divorced with children. It is believed he did his basic training at Fort Knox, Kentucky.
The 192nd Tank Battalion took part in the Louisiana maneuvers in September 1941. After the maneuvers, the battalion members expected to return to Ft. Knox but received orders to report to Camp Polk, Louisiana. It was on the side of a hill the battalion learned that they had been selected to go overseas, but the decision to send the battalion overseas appeared to have been made well before the maneuvers.
According to one story, the decision for this move – which had been made on August 13, 1941 – was the result of an event that took place in the summer of 1941. A squadron of American fighters was flying over Lingayen Gulf, in the Philippines, when one of the pilots, who was flying at a lower altitude, noticed something odd. He took his plane down, identified a flagged buoy in the water, and saw another in the distance. He came upon more buoys that lined up, in a straight line for 30 miles to the northwest, in the direction of Taiwan which had a large radio transmitter. The squadron continued its flight plan south to Mariveles and returned to Clark Field. When the planes landed, it was too late to do anything that day. The next day, when another squadron was sent to the area, the buoys had been picked up by a fishing boat – with a tarp on its deck covering the buoys – which was seen making its way to shore. Since communication between the Air Corps and the Navy was difficult, the boat escaped. It was at that time the decision was made to build up the American military presence in the Philippines.
Many of the original members of the battalion believed that the reason they were selected to be sent overseas was that they had performed well during the maneuvers. The story was that they were personally selected by Gen. George S. Patton – who had commanded the tanks of the Blue Army during the maneuvers including the 192nd and 191st tank battalions – to go overseas. Although Patton did praise the battalion’s performance, and the 191st’s performance, there is no evidence that he had anything to do with the battalion being selected to go overseas.
The National Guardsmen who were 29 years old or older, married with dependents, who had other dependents, or whose enlistments in the National Guard would end while the 192nd was overseas were allowed to resign from federal service. Many of these men were replaced by men from the 753rd Tank Battalion, but other men who joined the 192nd came from the 3rd Armor Division, Camp Polk, and the 32nd Armor Regiment stationed at Camp Beauregard, Louisiana. He may have joined the battalion from one of these units.
The fact was that the battalion was part of the First Tank Group which was headquartered at Ft. Knox and operational by June 1941. During the maneuvers, they even fought as part of the First Tank Group with the 191st. Available information suggests that the tank group had been selected to be sent to the Philippines early in 1941. Besides the 192nd, the group was made up of the 70th and 191st Tank Battalions – the 191st had been a medium National Guard tank battalion while the 70th was a regular army medium tank battalion – at Ft. Meade, Maryland. The 193rd Tank Battalion was at Ft. Benning, Georgia, and the 194th Tank Battalion at Ft. Lewis, Washington. The 192nd, 193rd, and 194th had been National Guard light tank battalions. It is known that the military presence in the Philippines was being built up at the time and evidence shows that the entire tank group had been scheduled to be sent to the Philippines. The buoys being spotted by the pilot may have sped up the transfer of the tank battalions to the Philippines with only the 192nd and 194th reaching the islands but it was not the reason why they were sent there. It is known that the 193rd Tank Battalion was on its way to the Philippines when Pearl Harbor was attacked. When the battalion arrived in Hawaii, it was held there. One of the two medium tank battalions – most likely the 191st – was on 48-hour standby orders for San Francisco and the Philippines.
The battalion had expected to receive brand-new tanks but for some unknown reason, it didn’t. Instead, the battalion received M3A1 tanks – from the 753rd and the 3rd Armor Division – to replace their M2A2 tanks. Many of the tanks they received were within 5 hours of their required 100-hour maintenance which made them “new” only to the battalion.
Over four different train routes the battalion was sent west to San Franciso, California. Two companies went west through the southwestern states, two went west – over different train routes – through the middle of the country, and one went west along the Canadian border. When they arrived in San Francisco, they were ferried, by the U.S.A.T. General Frank M. Coxe, to Ft. McDowell on Angel Island. When they got near Alcatraz, a soldier on the boat said to them, “I’d rather be here than going where you all are going.”
On the island, they were given physicals by the battalion’s medical detachment. Men found to have minor health issues were held back and scheduled to rejoin the battalion later. Other men were simply replaced with men who had been sent to the island as replacements. Ernest may have joined the 192nd on the island as a replacement. It is known that the 757th Tank Battalion was at Ft. Ord, California and that men from the battalion joined the 192nd to replace men who failed their final physicals. It was also at this time that Col. James R. N. Weaver became the commanding officer of the 192nd.
The 192nd boarded the U.S.A.T. Gen. Hugh L. Scott and sailed on Monday, October 27th. During this part of the trip, many tankers had seasickness and also had a hard time walking on deck until they got their “sea legs.” It was stated that about one-tenth of the battalion showed up for inspection the first morning on the ship. Once they recovered they spent much of the time training in breaking down machine guns, cleaning weapons, and doing KP. The ship arrived at Honolulu, Hawaii, on Sunday, November 2nd, and had a four-day layover, so 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. 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.
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 U.S.S. Louisville, and, another transport, the U.S.A.T. President Calvin Coolidge. 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.
During this part of the voyage, 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. 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.
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 rest of the battalion rode a train to Ft. Stotsenberg.
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. D Company was scheduled to be transferred to the 194th Tank Battalion so when they arrived at the fort, they most likely 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 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.
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.
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. Men were given the opportunity to be allowed to go to Manila in small groups.
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 a large number of ham radio operators and shortly 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 were able to send 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. 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. 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 process of transferring D Company to the 194th was started. This would give each tank battalion three letter companies.
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 actually worked until 4:30 in the afternoon.
It is known that during this time the battalions 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.
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. 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. On December 1st, the tankers were ordered to the perimeter of Clark Field to guard against Japanese paratroopers. From this time on, two tank crew members remained with each tank at all times and were fed from food trucks.
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. 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 Gen. Jonathan Wainwright, they concluded that he had no idea how to use tanks and would have thrown them away in battle. 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. The next day Weaver visited every tank company of the tank group.
It was the men manning the radios in the 192nd communications tent who were the first to learn of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on the morning of December 8 at 7:00 a.m. Major Ted Wickord, the battalion’s commanding officer, Gen. James Weaver, and Major Ernest Miller, the CO of the 194th Tank Battalion, read the messages of the attack. Miller left the tent and informed the officers of the 194th about the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. All the members of the tank crews were ordered to their tanks which were joined by the battalion’s half-tracks.
News reached the tankers that Camp John Hay had been bombed at 9:00 a.m. All morning 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. At 12:45 p.m., as they stood in line to be fed they watched as 54 planes approached the airfield from the northwest. Men commented that the planes must be American Navy planes. That was until someone saw Red Dots on the wings and then saw what looked like “raindrops” falling from the planes. When bombs began exploding on the runways the tankers knew the planes were Japanese. It was stated that no sooner had one wave of planes finished bombing and were returning to Formosa than another wave came in and bombed. The second wave was followed by a third wave of bombers. One member of the 192nd, Robert Brooks, D Co., was killed during the attack and several tankers were wounded.
The bombers were quickly followed by Japanese fighters that sounded like angry bees to the tankers as they strafed the airfield. The tankers watched as American pilots attempted to get their planes off the ground. As they roared down the runway, Japanese fighters strafed the planes causing them to swerve, crash, and burn. Those that did get airborne were barely off the ground when they were hit. The planes exploded and crashed to the ground tumbling down the runways. The Japanese planes were as low as 50 feet above the ground and the pilots would lean out of the cockpits so they could more accurately pick out targets to strafe. The tankers said they saw the pilots’ scarfs flapping in the wind. One tanker stated that a man with a shotgun could have shot a plane down.
The Coast Artillery had trained with the latest anti-aircraft guns while in the States, but the decision was made to send them to the Philippines with older guns. They also had proximity fuses for the shells and had to use an obsolete method to cut the fuses. This meant that most of their shells exploded harmlessly in the air.
The Zeros strafed the airfield and headed toward and turned around behind Mount Arayat. One tanker stated that the planes were so low that a man with a shotgun could have shot a plane down. It was also stated that the tankers could see the scarfs of the pilots flapping in the wind as they looked for targets to strafe. When the Japanese were finished, there was not much left of the airfield. The soldiers watched as the dead, dying, and wounded were hauled to the hospital on bomb racks, and trucks, and anything else that could carry the wounded was in use. Within an hour the hospital had filled to capacity. As the tankers watched the medics placed the wounded under the building. Many of these men had their arms and legs missing. The battalion members set up cots under mango trees for the wounded and even the dentist gave medical aid to the wounded.
After the attack, the tank crews spent much of the time loading bullets by hand from rifle cartridges into machine gun belts since they had gone through most of their ordnance during the attack. That night, since they did not have any foxholes, the men used an old latrine pit for cover since it was safer in the pit than in their tents. The entire night they were bitten by mosquitoes. Without knowing it, they had slept their last night on a cot or bed, and from this point on, the men slept in blankets on the ground.
After hearing the news about the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Capt. Altman called his company together and ordered the remaining members of the tank crews to their tanks. The half-tracks were also ordered to tank up positions next to the tanks. The members of the company not assigned to a tank or a half-track remained in the battalion’s bivouac.
After the attack 194th was sent to a bivouac three kilometers north of Clark Field. They spent their time loading ammunition belts because they had fired so much during the attack on Clark Field. On the night of the 12th, the battalion was ordered to bivouac south of San Fernando near the Calumpit Bridge. Attempting to move the battalion at night was a nightmare, and they finally arrived at their new bivouac at 6:00 A.M. on December 13th. It was also stated the battalion was sent to Batangas in southern Luzon for about two weeks. During this time, little happened, but the tankers were strafed a few times by Japanese planes. The tanks spent much of their time doing reconnaissance and hunting down fifth columnists who used flares at night and mirrors during the day to show Japanese planes where ammunition dumps were located. They were ordered back north to the Agno River. On the 15th, the battalion received 15 Bren gun carriers but turned some over to the 26th Cavalry, Philippine Scouts. These were manned by grounded Air Corps men and used to test the ground to see if it could support the weight of tanks.
C Company was ordered to Muntinlupa near Bilibid Prison and made the 40-mile move at night. When dawn came, they made a dash to the barrio. The battalion’s reconnaissance half-tracks were assigned to defend Batangas Bay, Balayan Bay, and Tayabas Bay. The company remained at Muntinlupa from December 14th to 24th and did reconnaissance patrols and hunted fifth columnists who used flares at night and mirrors during the day near ammunition dumps. On one occasion, they saw someone signaling with a flashlight from a building. The tanks opened fire on the building. When they entered the building, there was no one in it, but they also had no more problems with fifth columnists. The battalion received 15 Bren gun carriers on the 15th but turned some over to the 26th Cavalry, Philippine Scouts. The Bren gun carriers were manned by grounded Air Corps personnel and were used to test the ground to see if the ground could support tanks.
On December 22nd, A Company and D Company, 192nd, were ordered to the Agno River near Carmen. C Company remained behind at Batangas. The tankers at 2:15 P.M. started the more than 150-mile movement north to meet the Japanese at an area 85 miles northwest of Manila. When they got close to their objective, to protect the battalion from strafing, most of the battalion went to the left on Route 3 toward Tarlec and the river while A Company was sent down Route 5 toward Cabanatuan and San Jose and then along the river until it rejoined the rest of the battalion. When the tanks passed through the barrio of San Jose, they saw the dead bodies of Filipino men, women, and children who had mistaken Japanese Zeros for American planes. When they came out to wave at the planes, they were strafed.
The tank battalions formed a defensive line along the southern bank of the Agno River with the tanks of the 192nd holding the Agno River from Carmen to Tayug, and the 194th holding the line on the Carmen-Alcala-Bautista Road. The tanks were about five yards apart. It was on the 26th that the Japanese artillery fire began landing near the tanks. The Self-propelled mounts of the Filipino Scout would take positions between the tanks fire several rounds and move to another position. Shells began landing around the tanks, so the crews buttoned themselves in their tanks. The tanks did not have anti-personnel shells to use against infantry, but the tankers used the tanks’ 37-millimeter guns against armored vehicles and their machine guns against infantry. The fire stopped the Japanese advance for a while but the Japanese brought up more artillery and resumed the attack.
D Company’s tanks were near a ridge, so many of the tankers climbed to the top, where they found defending troops, ammunition, and guns. The soldiers were just sitting there watching the Japanese ships in the Gulf since they had received orders not to fire. The tankers walked down the ridge and waited until they received orders to drop back and let the Japanese occupy the ridge. They watched as the Japanese brought their equipment to the top of the ridge. The Americans finally received orders to launch a counterattack which failed.
Two volunteers were needed to set up machine guns at the far end of the bridge to harass the Japanese. Pvt. Gerald Bell and Pvt. August Bender, A Co., who were assistant tank drivers, volunteered to take two antiaircraft machine guns from the tanks to the far end of the bridge and set up machine gun nests. It was stated that Bell and Bender held their position and died after being surrounded. The Japanese attempted to cross the river in several places. The tankers fired on them with their machine guns killing as many as 500 enemy troops and knocking out three tanks with the support of two divisions of the Philippine Army. According to Capt. John Riley, most of the men had already concluded they would lose the battle for Luzon, but they also made the decision that they would tie up the Japanese as long as possible. Men stated that the U.S. had asked them to hold out for six months.
The tanks formed a new defensive line was formed known as the Santa Ignacia-Gerona-Santo Tomas- San Jose line on December 26th. When they dropped back from the line, all the platoons withdrew, except one which provided cover, as the other platoons from the area. One tank went across the line receiving fire and firing on the Japanese. At Bayambang, Lt. Petree’s platoon lost a tank. At some point, the two Filipino Army Divisions withdrew leaving the tank battalions alone to face the Japanese. The tankers held up the Japanese as long as possible before withdrawing. The 192nd received the order to withdraw and relayed it to the 194th but the tank commander – of the tank with the SCR-506 radio that received the order – did not relay the message to withdraw to the other tanks of the battalion. The battalion finally received the order to withdraw. First Lt. Harold Costigan informed the members of A Company, and D Company, 192nd, that they would have to fight their way out. The tanks fought their way through Carmen losing two tanks but saving the crews except for Capt. Edward Burke who had been hit by enemy fire. He was presumed dead but had been captured by the Japanese.
Capt. Jack Altman, D Co., withdrew his tanks to the bridge that the company was supposed to use to cross the river and found it had been destroyed. He met with his officers and they made the decision to follow the river hoping they would be able to cross. After coming to several other destroyed bridges, Altman made the decision to abandon the tanks. Since he hoped they would be recovered, he had the crews disable them. One tank commander refused to abandon his tank and went a few hundred yards from the bridge where he found a place that the tank could possibly cross. With his handgun pointed at the back of his driver’s head, he took the tank across the river. The tank commander received the Silver Star for saving the tank. Because of the heavy dust, the lead tank of the A Company, 194th, tanks that were with D Company missed where the D Company tanks turned off and went straight. They apparently successfully crossed the river. The abandoned tanks were repaired and put into use in Bataan by the Japanese.
It was at this time that D Company lost all their tanks, except one, because the bridge they were supposed to cross had been destroyed. The company commander, Lt. Jack Altman, could not bring himself to totally destroy the tanks, so they removed the alternators. The Japanese repaired them and used them in Bataan. The sergeant of the one tank, which had not been abandoned, found a place to ford the river a few hundred yards from the bridge. The tank commander received the Silver Star.
That day, the tank battalions were also given the job of holding the line against enemy armor and major thrusts until 5:00 A.M. on December 27th. Col. Ernest Miller – being the senior officer – was given authority to withdraw both tank battalions before 5:00 A.M. if he felt it was necessary. The tanks held the line but withdrew at 7:30 P.M. before the bridges they needed to cross were blown up at 11:30 P.M. that night. The 192nd and part of the 194th fell back to form a new defensive line the night of December 27th and 28th. Arrangements had been made for the tanks to pick up their rations at Tarlac Depot. From there they fell back to the south bank of the BamBan River which they were supposed to hold for as long as possible. The tankers found their tanks being used as “mobile pillboxes.” The tanks were at Santo Tomas near Cabanatuan on December 28th and 29th serving as a rear guard against the Japanese.
The tank battalions, on the 31st, were holding open two bridges at Calumpit so that the Southern Luzon forces could withdraw toward Bataan. It was noted that convoys of trucks would pass the tanks carrying absolutely nothing. It was then that Lt. Col. Miller sent out detachments of trucks to warehouses and had the men load them with ammunition, food, and high-octane fuel that was used by the tanks. It was stated that one detachment went all the way to Ft. Stotsenburg. The trucks returned carrying 6 tons of canned food and 12,000 gallons of fuel.
The 194th, at 2:00 AM the morning of January 1st, crossed a bridge over the San Fernando River which was destroyed since all Filipino and American units had already crossed. They were now on the main road into Bataan. A defensive line was set up from Guagua to Porac to the swamps along Pampanga Bay. The bridge on a side road that ran from Guagua to Sexmoan and back onto Route 7 was destroyed. At 4:00 AM on January 1, 1942, A Co. dug into new positions. They listened to Japanese troop movements and heard the sound of tanks. They watched 5 Japanese 89A medium tanks come into view in an open field. The tanks stopped because no reconnaissance had been done in the area. Within minutes, there were 5 destroyed Japanese tanks
That same day, conflicting orders were received by the defenders who were attempting to stop the Japanese advance down Route 5. Doing this would allow the Southern Luzon Forces to withdraw toward Bataan. General Wainwright was unaware of the orders since they came from Gen. MacArthur’s chief of staff. Because of the orders, there was confusion among the Filipinos and American forces defending the bridge, over the Pampanga River, about withdrawing from the bridge and half of the defenders withdrawing. Due to the efforts of the Self-Propelled Mounts, the 71st Field Artillery and a frenzied attack by the 192nd Tank Battalion the Japanese were halted and the Southern Luzon forces escaped.
From January 2nd to 4th, the 192nd held the road open from San Fernando to Dinalupihan so the Southern forces could escape while the 194th held the bridge open. On January 3rd a platoon of C Company tanks were driven back to Guagua from Betis and Guagua began receiving fire from Japanese artillery. The bridge on a side road that ran from Guagua to Sexmoan and back onto Route 7 was destroyed. Holding the roadblock stopped the Japanese from overrunning the new defensive line that was being put in place. When enemy fire became too intense the battalion dropped back. The tanks and Self Propelled Mounts were the only units that held the line against the Japanese south of Guagua on January 5th. That night, the tank battalion was holding a position north of Lubao. It was about 2:00 in the morning when one of the battalion’s outposts challenged approaching soldiers. The soldiers turned out to be a 500-man Japanese battalion with artillery. When they attacked, the Japanese were mowed down by the guns of the tanks. The Japanese sent up flares to show where the American tanks were located and charged toward the tanks, through an open field and were mowed down. When the Japanese disengaged at 3:00 A.M., there were large numbers of Japanese dead and wounded in front of the tanks. It was estimated they had lost half their troops.
The night of January 6th the tanks withdrew into the peninsula with the 192nd holding its position so that the 194th Tank Battalion could leapfrog past it, cross the bridge, and then cover the 192nd’s withdrawal over the bridge making the 192nd the last American unit to enter Bataan before the engineers blew up the bridge at 6:00 A.M. It was at this time that the tank companies were reduced to three tanks each. This was done to provide tanks to D Company, while those crews still without tanks were used as replacements. It was on the 7th, that the food ration was cut in half, and not too long after this was done malaria, dysentery, and dengue fever began hitting the soldiers.
A composite tank company was formed on the 8th under the command of Capt. Donald Hanes, B Co., 192nd. Its job was to protect the East Coast Road north of Hermosa open and to stop Japanese tanks attempting to use it to overrun the next defensive line that was forming. While in this position, the tanks were under constant enemy artillery fire. The rest of the tanks were ordered to bivouac south of the Abucay-Hacienda Road.
The remainder of the tanks were ordered to bivouac south of Aubucay Hacienda Road. While there, the tank crews had their first break from action in nearly a month. The tanks, which were long overdue for maintenance, were serviced by 17th Ordnance. It was also at this time that tank companies were reduced to ten tanks, with three tanks in each platoon. This was done so that D Company would have tanks. It was on January 9th that the Japanese launched a major offensive on what was called the Aubucay Hacienda line that stretched from Aubucay on the east coast of Bataan to the China Sea on the west.
The Japanese attacked through the Aubucay Hacienda Plantation which was the location of most of the fighting took place. The defenders stated that the bodies of the dead Japanese piled up in front of them and actually made it more difficult for the next Japanese troops to advance against the line. One tanker from B Co., 192nd, said that when they walked among the Japanese dead, they found hypodermic needles on them. To him, this explained why they kept coming at the tanks even after they had been hit by machine gun fire. The defenders’ artillery was so accurate that the Japanese later stated the defenders were using artillery pieces like they were rifles. The biggest problem was that the defenders had no air cover so they were bombed and stated constantly and were constantly harassed by snipers. The tanks often had the job of protecting the artillery. None of the tank companies liked doing this job since after the guns fired a few rounds it didn’t take the Japanese long to zero in on where the guns were located. It didn’t take long for the gun crews to learn how to “shoot and scoot.”
On January 12th, Co. D, 192nd, and Co. C, 194th, were sent to Cadre Road in a forward position with little alert time. Land mines were planted on January 13th by ordnance to prevent the Japanese from reaching Cadre Road. C Co., 194th, was sent to Bagac to reopen the Moron Highway which had been cut by the Japanese on January 16th. At the junction of Trail 162 and the Moron Highway, the tanks were fired on by an anti-tank gun which was knocked out by the tanks. They cleared the roadblock with the support of infantry.
General Weaver also issued the following orders to the tank battalions around this time: “Tanks will execute maximum delay, staying in position and firing at visible enemy until further delay will jeopardize withdrawal. If a tank is immobilized, it will be fought until the close approach of the enemy, then destroyed; the crew previously taking positions outside and continuing to fight with the salvaged and personal weapons. Considerations of personal safety and expediency will not interfere with accomplishing the greatest possible delay.”
During this time, the tanks often found themselves dealing with officers who claimed they were the ranking officer in the area and that they could change the tank company’s orders. Most wanted the tanks to kill snipers or do some other job the infantry had not succeeded at doing. This situation continued until Gen Weaver gave a written order to every tank commander that if an officer attempted to change their orders, they should hand the officer the order. When the officer looked up at the tank commander, the tank commander had his handgun aimed at the officer. Gen Weeaver had ordered the tank commanders to shoot any officer attempting to change their orders. This ended the problem.
On January 20th, A Company was sent to save the command post of the 31st Infantry. On the 24th, they supported the troops along the Hacienda Road, but they could not reach the objective because of landmines that had been planted by ordnance. The battalion held a position a kilometer north of the Pilar-Bagac Road with four self-propelled mounts. At 9:45 A.M., a Filipino warned the tankers that a large force of Japanese was on their way. When they appeared the battalion and self-propelled mounts opened up with everything they had. The Japanese broke off the attack, at 10:30 A.M., after losing 500 of their 1200 men. It was also at this time that the Japanese ended the assault and waited for fresh troops to arrive.
The defenders were ordered to withdraw on the 25th to a new line known as the Pilar-Begac Line. The tanks covered the withdrawal with the 192nd covering the withdrawing troops in the Aubucay area and the 194th covering the troops in the Hacienda area. At 6:00 PM the withdrawal started over the only two roads out of the area which quickly became blocked, and the Japanese could have wiped out the troops but did not take advantage of the situation.
The tank battalions, on January 28th, were given the job of protecting the beaches. The Japanese later admitted that the tanks guarding the beaches prevented them from attempting landings. The tank battalions, on their own, took up the job of protecting the airfields at Cabcaban, Bataan, and Mariveles, since Japanese paratroopers were known to be available. The tanks and half-tracks were well hidden in the jungle around the airfields and different plans were in place to be used against Japanese forces. One night, the Japanese attempted to land troops on a beach guarded by B Co., 192nd. There was a tremendous firefight, but the next morning not one Japanese soldier landed on the beach. The Japanese later told the tankers that the tanks were the reason why they attempted no other landings. While doing this job, the tankers noticed that each morning when the PT boats were off the coast of Bataan they were attacked by Japanese Zeros. The tank crews made arrangements with the PT boats to be at a certain place at a certain time and waited for the Zeros to arrive and attack. This time they were met by machine gun fire from the boats but also from the machine guns of the tanks and half-tracks. When the Zeros broke off the attack, they had lost nine of twelve planes.
The battalions took on the job of guarding the airfields in Bataan in February which had been constructed because of the belief that aid would be coming by air. Throughout the Battle of Bataan, men held the belief that aid would arrive. The Japanese bombed the airfields during the day and at night the engineers would repair them. 50-gallon drums were placed around the airfields to mark the runways, and at night fires could be lit in them to outline the landing strip. The well-camouflaged tanks surrounded the airfield and had several plans on how they would defend the airfields from paratroopers.
The Battle of the Points also took place at this time. The Japanese landed Marines behind the main line of defense in an attempt to cut the supply lines from Mariveles to Baguio. After they had landed they were quickly trapped on a point sticking out into the China Sea. When the Japanese attempted to reinforce the point, they landed on another point, and the second group was quickly trapped. The Army Air Corps men converted to infantry, the 45th and 57th Philippine Scouts. and companies from the 192nd and 194th Tank Battalion were involved in the elimination of the points. When the Japanese attempted to send in a third detachment of reinforcements, the last three P-40s appeared and strafed the barges. The strafing ended the Japanese attempt to reinforce their troops. Through a coordinated attack by the infantry and the tanks, the Japanese were pushed back to the caves below the points before being wiped out.
Tanks parts were now rare and 17th Ordnance made repairs however they were able to make them. Tanks that had damaged main guns often had the barrels cut down – similar to a sawed-off shotgun – to keep them firing. 17th Ordnance also provided anti-personnel by converting WWI shells from the Philippine Ordnance Department so that they could be fired by the tanks. The company also had to deal with the fact the tane tanks’ suspension systems were locking up after being near or in salt water. The information was sent to the War Department which replaced the suspension system on all vehicles using it.
On March 1st, the soldiers had their rations cut in half again and the men were starving since they were only being fed meals that were mostly rice twice a day. It was said that if an animal could be eaten, the defenders of Bataan ate it. Only monkeys were hard to eat since their faces made them look human. The Japanese also were dropping surrender leaflets with a 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 and more likely would have surrendered for a good meal. Since the leaflets were printed on tissue paper, they made good toilet paper. The amount of gasoline was reduced to 15 gallons a day for all vehicles except the tanks. This would later be dropped to ten gallons a day except for the tanks. There was only one major alert in March when 73 Japanese planes came over on their way to the Dutch East Indies. Also at this time, Gen. Weaver suggested to Gen. Wainwright that a platoon of tanks be sent to Corregidor, but Wainwright declined this suggestion.
During this time, two tanks had gotten stuck in the mud, and the crews were working to free them. While they were doing this, a Japanese regiment entered the area. Lt. Colonel Ernest Miller ordered his tanks to fire on the Japanese at point-blank range. He also ran from tank to tank directing the crew’s fire. The Japanese were wiped out. On March 21st, the last major battle was fought by the tanks.
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. 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 a.m. and lasted until noon. 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 down 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. A Company was on beach duty that night and the Japanese brought up barges with artillery set up on them that began shelling the beach. The company returned fire which resulted in the barges withdrawing.
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. He also believed his troops could fight for one more day. 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.”
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 Co., 192nd, 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 9, 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.” Capt. Arthur Root, the company commander, ordered the crews to destroy their tanks. They cut the gas lines and threw torches into the tanks. Within minutes, the ammunition inside the tanks began exploding. Most of the company waited in their bivouac for the Japanese to make contact, while others attempted to reach Corregidor which had not surrendered.
Col. Miller gathered the members of all the companies together and told them of the surrender. He stated that Gen. King surrendered because he wanted to prevent the needless slaughter of his men. He then instructed them to destroy their tanks and half-tracks. An officer from the finance department showed up and each man received about $15.00 in pesos as partial payment for the last four months, Men gambled it away while others made wisecracks about how they were going to spend it.
Capt Jack Altman told the tankers the news of the attack on Pearl Harbor and ordered all the members of the tank crews to their tanks. He also ordered his half-tracks to take up positions next to the tanks. Those men not assigned to tanks or half-tracks remained in the company’s bivouac.
According to a member of HQ Co., 194th, Gen. King spoke to the men and said, “I’m the man who surrendered you, men. It’s not your fault.” He also spoke to the members of the 17th Ordnance Company and B Company, 192nd, and told them something similar. King ordered them to surrender and threatened to court-martial anyone who didn’t. Gen. King with his two aides, Maj. Cothran and Captain Achille C. Tisdelle Jr. got into a jeep carrying a large white flag. They were followed by another jeep – 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 and the jeeps were provided by the tank group and both men managed to avoid the bullets. 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.”
After hearing the order to surrender, Ernest and other members of the company made the decision that they would attempt to escape to Australia. They found a boat and managed to get the engine working. It is known that nineteen members of D Company were on the boat. The men decided that they would not attempt to escape until after dark. As they waited, they were warned by a Filipino that there were Japanese on the cliffs above them.
Before they sailed, they picked up an American captain and three soldiers. They told the captain of their plan. He pulled out his handgun and told them that they were going to Corregidor. Being that he had them by gunpoint, they went to Corregidor. As they attempted to reach the island, the Japanese shelled them and planes dropped bombs at them.
Once on Corregidor, they were told that the Japanese had the mouth of the bay blocked with cruisers that would blow them out of the water. Ernest volunteered to go to Ft. Drum after an officer came looking for volunteers. One reason he may have done this was that he believed that duty at the fort was better than sitting in the Malinta Tunnel while the island was shelled. After arriving, he took a shower and was given new clothes and shoes. He was assigned to the 59th Coast Artillery but it is not known what job he had. The one thing the tankers noticed about the men at Ft. Drum was how pale they were.
At Ft. Drum, the soldiers asked for food. The mess sergeant, at the fort, said that the twenty of them ate as much as 120 men. They were treated extremely well by the other Americans and referred to as, “the Bataan Veterans.”
He remained there until Gen. Wainwright ordered all forces to surrender on May 6. The Americans lined up on top of the fort and waited until the Japanese arrived in small boats. As they stood there, the Japanese set up machine guns. the POWs believed they were going to be executed, but the Japanese simply took what they wanted from them. The POWs were searched several times. The POWs boarded boats and according to some men they were taken to a warehouse near Manila where they were housed. At 4:00 P.M. they formed ranks and went out the men were put to work near the Wawa Dam on the Marikina River. The POWs worked repairing a dock that had been damaged during the battle by filling bomb craters with rocks. The POWs worked all night, all the next day, and all night again. While they worked, the guards drank water but made no effort to give any to the POWs. When a Japanese officer arrived, he made sure they were treated better. They also worked in the area of the dam repairing roads and moving large rocks. They did this work until the detail ended on May 18th, and they were sent to Bilibid Prison.
In May, his parents received a message from the War Department.
“Dear Mrs. M. Garcia:
“According to War Department records, you have been designated as the emergency addressee if Corporal Ernest Garcia, 38,054,390, 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
J. A. Ulio (signed)
Major General
The Adjutant General”
From May 26th to 28th, the Japanese marched 2,000 POWs a day from Bilibid to the train station in Manila where they boarded freight cars. Each car held 75 to 80 men. In the cars, the POWs were taken to the barrio of Cabanatuan where they lived in an old schoolhouse for the night. The next morning, the POWs formed 100 men detachments and then ordered them to march. The march to the camp was 15 to 20 miles, and the POWs were warned that anyone who fell would be killed. When the first POW fell a guard ran up to him and aimed his rifle at him, but the man got up and ran back into the column. This happened several times until a POW fell and could not get up. The guard aimed his gun at the man, but when he still didn’t get up, the guard raised his arm, and in his hand was a red flag. A truck pulled up and the POW was put into it. When the prisoners saw this, it wasn’t very long until many of them were falling out and were not able to get up so they could get a ride to the camp.
The POWs walked almost six miles and passed Cabanatuan #1 – which had not opened – where the men who were captured on Bataan and took part in the death march were held. They next passed Cabanatuan #2 which was about four miles past Camp #1. The camp did not have an adequate water supply and was closed, but it later reopened and housed Naval POWs. They continued to Cabanatuan 3 which was about seven miles from Camp #1 and was where those men captured on Corregidor were taken. The POWs arrived at Camp #3 from May 26th to May 29th in detachments of 1500 to 2,000 men which meant the total number of POWs in the camp was about 6,000 men.
Four POWs walked away from the camp on May 30th. After they escaped, the men realized that they had no place to go, so they attempted to surrender themselves to the Japanese. The Japanese tied them to posts and left them to hang in the sun. They also beat the POWs with boards. The Japanese also showed the men water but would not give them any to drink. The next day, while the POWs were eating dinner, the Japanese marched the men to where the prisoners were eating. They had the men dig their own graves and gave each man a cigarette and water. They also offered blindfolds to the men. All the men took a blindfold except one. That man spat at the Japanese before they shot him. After they were shot, the men fell backward into the graves. When one man who had survived the execution attempted to crawl out of the grave, a Japanese officer shot him with his pistol. He next shot each man to make sure they were dead.
Meals at first consisted of an onion soup without any onions in it. Later, the meals consisted of 16 ounces of rice for each man each day, and 4 ounces of top greens (similar to spinach) were issued. Once a week, one ounce of carabao meat was issued. Two ounces of coconut were issued and this was used with cornstarch and sugar to make a pudding. Also, once per week for one month, one small banana was issued and this was also used for pudding. It appears that during the first month in the camp, the POWs also received 15 limes.
Filipino guerrillas ambushed a convoy that had POWs in it on June 16. Four POWs were wounded and one died the next day. The “Blood Brother Rule” was put into effect on June 21. If one POW escaped, the other nine men in his group would be executed. The Japanese allowed the first church services on June 28th. The next day, the POWs organized a morale program. The POWs played volleyball, basketball, softball, ping pong, and created singing groups, and a band.
The next day, while the POWs were eating dinner, the Japanese marched the men to where the prisoners were eating. They had the men dig their own graves and gave each man a cigarette and water. They also offered blindfolds to the men. All the men took a blindfold except one. That man spat at the Japanese before they shot him. After they were shot, the men fell backward into the graves. When one man who had survived the execution attempted to crawl out of the grave, a Japanese officer shot him with his pistol. He next shot each man to make sure they were dead.
The first meal the POWs received was an onion soup that had no onions on it or carrots in it. After the initial meal, the daily meal for the POWs was squash, mongo beans, and greens (which were the tops of native sweet potatoes) for soup, and rice. They also received Carabao meat about once a week. Other sources state a whistle weed soup with rice in it was the main meal. Men in the camp reported that most meals were 1½ cups of rice and a watery soup.
The American officers convinced the Japanese, on June 8th, to allow them to hand out punishments for minor offenses. The POWs organized themselves into administration groups on June 14th. Since the Army had the largest number of POWs, it was divided into Groups I and II while Group III was Naval personnel. An Army major was the adjutant for both Groups I and II and there were officers that did various jobs under him. Each group had a number of officers who dealt with the enlisted men. Thorman and Burholt were in Group II and they were two of seven officers assigned to administer the group.
On June 17th, trucks left the camp on a lumber detail. The trucks were ambushed by Filipino guerrillas resulting in three POWs in one truck being wounded. The fourth POW from the truck was not found. One of the three wounded men later died.
On June 21st the Japanese initiated the “Blood Brother” rule. The POWs were placed in groups of ten men. The men worked together, lived in the same barracks, and slept together. If one man of the group escaped from the camp, the other nine would be executed. To prevent escapes, the day before this took effect, the POWs organized a patrol that walked the inside perimeter of the camp fence. The POWs went out on work details.
The first church services were held in the camp on June 28th. To improve morale among the POWs, on June 29th, the officers organized activities for the men. Softball teams, basketball teams, volleyball teams, and ping-pong teams were formed as well as singalong groups to provide entertainment. The POWs were joined by 151 civilians in the camp on July 6th. The Japanese handed out a limited number of shoes, shirts, trousers, and blankets on July 17th. It is not known how it was determined who would receive any of the clothing.
POWs during this time were sent out on details and returned to the camp. On July 14th, 100 POWs were sent to Manila. 26 sick POWs were transferred to Camp 1 on July 20th. Three Hundred Sixty POWs left the camp, on July 24th, for a work detail in Manila. Another group of 150 men was sent there on July 30th. Dysentery was a real problem in the camp and to slow the spread of dysentery, a program was started to catch flies on August 17th. Any POW who turned in a full milk can of flies received two biscuits and a few cigarettes. They also dug deep latrines, which were 18 feet deep, to slow the spread of disease.
On September 1st, 198 POWs were transferred to the Manila detail which was followed by another 120 men on September 8th. Also on that date, 120 returned to the camp from the Field Labor Detail. Another detachment of 198 men on September 1st was sent to Manila. One hundred POWs left the camp on an unnamed work detail on September 23rd, followed by another 100 POWs the next day. Another 32 men were sent to the detail at Manila on September 28th followed by 119 POWs the next day. It should be mentioned that during this time Virginia Burholt joined the Women’s Auxiliary Corps and left for Des Moines, Iowa on September 2nd for training.
The transfers continued in October. On October 4th, 374 POWs were sent to Manila and were joined by 526 POWs from Camp 1. The Japanese gave physicals to 344 POWs whom they referred to as “producers” and were sent to Japan. (The term producer meant the POWs had training in areas that the Japanese wanted to exploit.) Before they left the camp, Col. Mori, the Japanese Commanding Officer of the camp gave a speech to them and said, “You men will be taken to a better place, will have better food, and you will meet your friends from Wake and Guam Islands.” On October 5, 1942, another 676 POWs were transferred to Manila. They marched to Camp 1 and were joined by 123 men from that camp. From available information, it appears that a total of 1700 POWs were sent to Manila. The Japanese intended to give each man 2 bananas, 2 egg sandwiches, 5 biscuits, 2 rice balls, and 1 roll. The only problem was they did not have enough to go around. The POWs were taken to Manila to be sent to Japan.
Rumors in the camp began to spread that the POWs were being sent to Mindanao or out on work details. In late September 1942, the names of 800 POWs were posted in the camp. The POWs gathered at 2:00 A.M. on October 6th and were given rice coffee, lugow rice, and a big rice ball. After eating and packing their kits, the POWs marched out of the camp at 2:30 A.M. and received two buns as they marched through the gate to the barrio of Cabanatuan which they reached at 6:00 A.M. There, 50 men were boarded onto each of the small wooden boxcars waiting for them at about 9:00 A.M. It was then that they heard that they were being sent to Japan. The trip to Manila lasted until 4:00 P.M. and because of the heat in the cars, many POWs passed out.
They rode the train to the train station in Manila and from there they marched to Pier 5 in the Port Area of Manila. As they made their way to the pier, it was said the Filipino faces showed that they had left them down. Some of the Filipinos flashed the “V” for victory sign to show they knew the Americans would be back. The detachment arrived at 5:00 P.M. and was tired and hungry and was put in a warehouse on the pier. Other POWs were sent to the pier from Bilibid Prison outside Manila. The Japanese fed them rice and salted fish and let them eat as much as they wanted. They also were allowed to wash. They then went to a building and found places to sleep. It was there they met other POWs going to Japan.
Before boarding the Tottori Maru on October 7th, the prisoners were divided into two groups. One group was placed in the holds while the other group remained on deck. The conditions on the ship, for those in the holds, were indescribable, and those POWs on deck were better off. The ship did not sail until the next day at 10:00 A.M. and passed the ruins of Corregidor at noon. In addition, there were sick Japanese and soldiers on the ship. That night some POWs slept in the holds, but a large number slept on the deck. The ship was at sea when two torpedoes fired by an American submarine missed the ship. It was stated that the Japanese soldiers who were in another part of the hold tramped over the POWs to get out of it. The ship fired a couple of shots where it thought the sub was located, but these also missed. A while later, the ship passed a mine that had been laid by the submarine. The POWs were fed three bags of buns biscuits, with some candy, each day and received water daily.
The ship arrived at Takao, Formosa, on October 12th. Since most were sick with something, the line to use the latrines went around the ship. The POWs also were allowed to take a bath. The American doctors had no medicine to help the sick, and some were seen as benefiting from the sick. It was at this time that the POWs on the ship, from Mindanao, were moved to a second hold putting 500 POWs in each hold. During this time, the POWs were allowed on deck to bathe. On October 14th, foodstuffs were loaded onto the ship, and each POW got two candy bags of hardtack and one meal of rice and soup each day. The ship sailed on October 15th at 7:30 A.M. but turned around at 3:30 P.M. and arrived back at Takao at 10:30 P.M. It was believed the ship had turned around because American submarines were in the area.
The ship sailed again on October 18th and arrived at the Pescadores Islands at 5:00 P.M. There it dropped anchor off the Island of Mako, Pescadores Islands, where it remained anchored until October 27th when it returned to Takao. During this time, the quality of food deteriorated and was barely edible. Two POWs died and their bodies were thrown into the sea at 4:00 P.M. The ship sailed again on the 27th and returned to Takao the same day. While it was docked foodstuffs were again loaded onto the ship.
The next day, the POWs were taken ashore and bathed with seawater at the same time the ship was cleaned. They were again put into the holds and the ship and remained there until the ship sailed on October 29th. At 5:00 P.M. it again arrived at Makou, Pescadores Islands. During this time the POWs were fed two meals a day of rice and soup. The ship sailed on the 31st, as part of a seven-ship convoy. During this part of the voyage, it rode out a typhoon for five days on its way to Fusan, Korea. The storm kept submarines away from the ships. On November 3rd, three more POWs died. On the 5th, one of the ships was sunk by an American submarine, and the other ships scattered.
The ship arrived at Fusan on November 7th, but the 1400 POWs leaving the ship did not disembark until the 8th and were issued fur-lined overcoats and new clothing. Those POWs who were too ill to continue the trip to Mukden, Manchuria, remained behind at Fusan. Those who died were cremated and had their ashes placed in small white boxes with their names on them that were sent to Mukden. The remaining POWs marched through the streets to the train station and were spit on by the civilians. At the station, they boarded a train for a two-day trip to the camp. The 400 men still on the ship were sent to Japan.
Rumors in the camp began to spread that the POWs were being sent to Mindanao or out on work details. In late September 1942, the names of 800 POWs were posted in the camp. The POWs gathered at 2:00 A.M. on October 6th and were given rice coffee, lugow rice, and a big rice ball. After eating and packing their kits, the POWs marched out of the camp at 2:30 A.M. and received two buns as they marched through the gate to the barrio of Cabanatuan which they reached at 6:00 A.M. There, 50 men were boarded onto each of the small wooden boxcars waiting for them at about 9:00 A.M. It was then that they heard that they were being sent to Japan. The trip to Manila lasted until 4:00 P.M. and because of the heat in the cars, many POWs passed out.
They rode the train to the train station in Manila and from there they marched to Pier 5 in the Port Area of Manila. As they made their way to the pier, it was said the Filipino faces showed that they had left them down. Some of the Filipinos flashed the “V” for victory sign to show they knew the Americans would be back. The detachment arrived at 5:00 P.M. and was tired and hungry and was put in a warehouse on the pier. Other POWs were sent to the pier from Bilibid Prison outside Manila. The Japanese fed them rice and salted fish and let them eat as much as they wanted. They also were allowed to wash. They then went to a building and found places to sleep. It was there they met other POWs going to Japan.
Before boarding the Tottori Maru on October 7th, the prisoners were divided into two groups. One group was placed in the holds while the other group remained on deck. The conditions on the ship, for those in the holds, were indescribable, and those POWs on deck were better off. The ship did not sail until the next day at 10:00 A.M. and passed the ruins of Corregidor at noon. In addition, there were sick Japanese and soldiers on the ship. That night some POWs slept in the holds, but a large number slept on the deck. The ship was at sea when two torpedoes fired by an American submarine missed the ship. It was stated that the Japanese soldiers who were in another part of the hold tramped over the POWs to get out of it. The ship fired a couple of shots where it thought the sub was located, but these also missed. A while later, the ship passed a mine that had been laid by the submarine. The POWs were fed three bags of buns biscuits, with some candy, each day and received water daily.
The ship arrived at Takao, Formosa, on October 12th. Since most were sick with something, the line to use the latrines went around the ship. The POWs also were allowed to take a bath. The American doctors had no medicine to help the sick, and some were seen as benefiting from the sick. It was at this time that the POWs on the ship, from Mindanao, were moved to a second hold putting 500 POWs in each hold. During this time, the POWs were allowed on deck to bathe. On October 14th, foodstuffs were loaded onto the ship, and each POW got two candy bags of hardtack and one meal of rice and soup each day. The ship sailed on October 15th at 7:30 A.M. but turned around at 3:30 P.M. and arrived back at Takao at 10:30 P.M. It was believed the ship had turned around because American submarines were in the area.
The ship sailed again on October 18th and arrived at the Pescadores Islands at 5:00 P.M. There it dropped anchor off the Island of Mako, Pescadores Islands, where it remained anchored until October 27th when it returned to Takao. During this time, the quality of food deteriorated and was barely edible. Two POWs died and their bodies were thrown into the sea at 4:00 P.M. The ship sailed again on the 27th and returned to Takao the same day. While it was docked foodstuffs were again loaded onto the ship.
The next day, the POWs were taken ashore and bathed with seawater at the same time the ship was cleaned. They were again put into the holds and the ship and remained there until the ship sailed on October 29th. At 5:00 P.M. it again arrived at Makou, Pescadores Islands. During this time the POWs were fed two meals a day of rice and soup. The ship sailed on the 31st, as part of a seven-ship convoy. During this part of the voyage, it rode out a typhoon for five days on its way to Fusan, Korea. The storm kept submarines away from the ships. On November 3rd, three more POWs died. On the 5th, one of the ships was sunk by an American submarine, and the other ships scattered.
The ship arrived at Fusan on November 7th, but the 1400 POWs leaving the ship did not disembark until the 8th and were issued fur-lined overcoats and new clothing. Those POWs who were too ill to continue the trip to Mukden, Manchuria, remained behind at Fusan. Those who died were cremated and had their ashes placed in small white boxes with their names on them that were sent to Mukden. The remaining POWs marched through the streets to the train station and were spit on by the civilians. At the station, they boarded a train for a two-day trip to the camp. The 400 men still on the ship were sent to Japan.
The POWs were given new clothes and a fur-lined overcoat before boarding a train for a two-day trip to Mukden. As they marched, the civilians in the town spit on them, hit them, and made fun of the POWs. The POWs reached a train station where they boarded a train and were given a little box that contained rice, pickled grasshoppers, and a little fish. They were sent on a two-day train trip north to Mukden, Manchuria, From Pusan, the POWs made a two-day train trip to Hoten Camp, Mukden, Manchuria.
The temperature was something that the prisoners had to deal with on a daily basis. The Japanese gave the POWs only a bucket of coal that was supposed to heat an entire barracks and last one day and night. The POWs were so cold that they snuck out of the barracks at night to the warehouse where the dead were stored. They would take a corpse out of a box and put it in a box with another corpse. They would take the box and break it up so they could burn it to keep warm. Cecil recalled that if a POW was the first to wake up in the morning and looked down the aisle of the barracks, every man would have his blanket pulled over his head for warmth.
The clothing issued to the POWs was adequate, but each man only received one change of clothing. There are discrepancies in what sleeping supplies the POWs received. Some sources state that each enlisted POW received two thin blankets to cover himself with at night. The report that was written after the war about the camp stated that each POW received six blankets, a pillowcase, sheets, and a straw mattress. If a POW was the first to wake up in the morning and look down the aisle of the barracks, every man would have his blanket pulled over his head for warmth. Temperatures during the winter averaged 40 degrees below zero resulting in 205 POWs dying the first winter. Since the ground was frozen, the bodies of the dead were stored in a warehouse until the ground had thawed. Officers were housed separately and each officer had one blanket and a mattress. In all, each barracks held 70 to 91 men.
The camp latrines were separate from the barracks and contained approximately twenty stalls and two urinal troughs in each latrine. In each stall, there was a twenty-four by six-inch slit in the floor headed by a splashboard. Unlike other camps, the latrines were cleaned by the Chinese.
The bathhouse in the camp had six tanks and was in a separate building. Each tank was 6 feet by 6 feet by 6 feet, but the POWs were not allowed in the tanks. Instead, buckets were used to remove water from the tanks so the POWs could wash. A dressing room was at one end of the building. Since there were a large number of POWs, the POWs were assigned a day each week to bathe.
The hospital at the camp was at first staffed by four Japanese doctors and four POW doctors. The facilities were inadequate and later expanded to include three additional barracks. The main hospital building contained the Japanese doctor’s office, the sick cell, a treatment room, and a pharmacy, but when the POWs arrived, the medical supplies were inadequate. Many of the POWs who died in the camp died due to illnesses caused by malnutrition. These men died from illnesses that could have been treated if the POW doctors had been given the medicine sent in the Red Cross boxes. 205 POWs died the first winter in the camp. Most died from malnutrition.
The POWs worked either at a machine shop or a sawmill from 7:30 A.M. until 5:30 or 6:00 P.M. each day. The machine shop never produced anything that was useful to the Japanese. Each morning, the POWs were marched three miles to the shop where they worked manufacturing weapons for the Japanese. To prevent the production of weapons, they committed acts of sabotage like pouring sand into the machine oiling holes. The Japanese usually blamed these acts of sabotage on the Chinese in the plant because they believed the Americans were not smart enough to commit the sabotage.
In July 1943, the POWs moved to a new permanent camp by marching four miles to the camp. The sick were taken there by truck. At the camp, the company built three new barracks which were more comfortable and had electricity – but the light bulbs were only 10 watts – and running water, but the heating situation remained the same. Heat in the barracks was provided by stoves known as “patchkas” – six-foot-tall stoves – at each end of the barracks. Each stove could heat two rooms, but the POWs still only received one shuttle of coal each day. The building was divided into 10 sections with five on the ground floor and five on the second floor. Each section was divided into four 20-foot-long double-decked sleeping bays with straw mattresses that held 8 men. In all, 48 men slept in a section that was infested with lice, fleas, and bedbugs. There was a shelf two feet higher than the platforms for the men’s clothing and personal items.
The latrines were located in three separate one-story buildings each connected at one end of the building to each barracks. To relieve themselves, the POWs used straddle-type holes in the floor. The Japanese had set up a latrine detail that was supposed to empty them twice a week, but they failed to enforce the rule so the latrines were unsanitary and very dirty. The building also contained washrooms with running cold water and concrete sinks. The latrines were separate from the barracks and contained approximately twenty stalls and two urinal troughs. In each stall, there was a twenty-four by six-inch slit in the floor headed by a splashboard. There was also a canteen where POWs could purchase cigarettes. Later they could also purchase combs, soybean jelly candy, and hair cream.
For bathing, there was a bathhouse in a separate building and this was considered to be the best thing about the camp. There were three concrete pools and 22 showers. The pools were ten feet square with one pool containing hot water while the other two pools had cool water. The hot water came from a small heating plant in a nearby building. The enlisted POWs could bathe every other day, but before they could bathe, they had to wash off outside the pools and rinse off. After doing this they were allowed in the pools. No heat was provided for the bathroom during the winter.
The mess hall was used only as a kitchen and bakery. Cooking was done in large caldrons and baking in three ovens. Meals were the same every day. For breakfast, they had cornmeal mush and a bun. Lunch was an hour long and consisted of maize and beans, and dinner was beans and a bun. The food was carried to each factory in buckets and given out to the POWs. The POWs had three meals a day. The food was good, but the POWs did not receive enough. Breakfast was always a cornmeal mush, soybean or maize, vegetable soup, and a bun. The buns were made of cornmeal and wheat flour. There was no rice and meat was provided once every two months. The vegetables came from the farm kept by the POWs with the excess vegetables stored in a cellar for future use. Water came from a well, but it had to be boiled for use. Since they were underfed, the POWs trapped wild dogs to supplement their meals of soybeans which usually came in the form of soup. They continued to trap dogs until – while marching to work – they saw a dog eating the corpse of a dead Chinese. With the arrival of the survivors of the Oryoku and Enoura Marus in 1945, the food rations were cut. This created animosity toward the new arrivals. After liberation, it was found that the camp warehouse had enough food to feed the POWs for three months.
The camp hospital was a two-story building that could house 150 POWs and was larger than the other buildings. On the second floor were the tubercular and isolations wards. There was also a recreation room. On the ground floor were an x-ray room, consultation rooms, a pharmacy, and a morgue. The equipment provided was the same as could be found in the Japanese hospital. There was a considerable amount of Red Cross medical supplies and they were issued very carefully in limited amounts. The POWs were vaccinated against smallpox, and they were also inoculated against dysentery, cholera, and paratyphoid. A Japanese doctor, Jiechi Kumashima, denied Red Cross medicine to the POWs and overruled the POW doctors on who was ill, so the sick were forced to work. He was later found guilty of war crimes and hanged. His Japanese medical staff consisted of three nurses and three soldier orderlies. Juro Oki was a Japanese civilian doctor who smuggled medicine into the camp for POWs. He did this knowing that he would have been shot if he had been caught. In addition, there was an American doctor, an Australian doctor, and 29 medics. POWs with problems with their teeth were not treated since there was no dentist until April 1945.
Red Cross boxes were sent to the camp but were raided by the Japanese. According to POWs, the Chinese who they worked with, told them that there was a warehouse full of Red Cross food. When the Red Cross visited the camp, the rations were larger and the sick were told to lounge around. None of the POWs were allowed to talk to the Red Cross representative. The POWs received their first Red Cross boxes in September 1944 when a single box was given for four men to share. A month later another box was issued for four men. This happened two more times so, in the end, each man received the equivalent of one Red Cross box. One result of this was that the death rate dropped to near zero. According to the POWs, the Chinese who worked with them told them there was a warehouse full of Red Cross food. When the International Red Cross visited the camp, food rations were larger and the sick were told to lounge around. None of the POWs were allowed to talk to the Red Cross representatives.
Some POWs from the camp were selected to be used in Japanese germ warfare experiments done by Unit 731. The POWs were injected with deadly diseases while some of these men were dissected alive. The Japanese also tan blood and feces. They also had parts of their bodies frozen and anthrax put into wounds. Still, others were infected with bacillus, cholera, dysentery, and typhoid. The POWs stated that in November 1942, Japanese wearing face masks sprayed a liquid into the faces of prisoners and administered injections. About 300 of these POWs died.
According to post-war reports, the enlisted POWs were allowed to send home three postcards a year. While the officers were allowed to write three letters and three postcards. The POWs received very little mail, and if they did get mail it was 7 to 8 months old. After the camp was liberated, 65 bags of mail were found in a warehouse. Some of the letters were two years old.
Stealing from the Japanese was a way of life, and the POWs stole the raw materials for what they needed on a daily basis. From the raw materials, they manufactured what they needed.
Punishments were given out for no reason or for violating a rule. Being slapped in the face was a common event. The POWs were beaten, hit with bamboo poles, kicked, hit with shoe heals, hit with clubs, punched with fists as they stood at attention. At other times, the camp’s food ration was cut in half because the Japanese believed a POW was not working as hard as he should have been, or someone had been caught smoking in an unauthorized area. The Japanese, on one occasion, made the POWs come out of their barracks and line up at attention as they searched the barracks. They had all the POWs stripped bare because they believed some POWs had bought cigarettes from the Chinese. A Lt Murado ordered the prisoners to remove their shoes. After they had, he hit each man in the face with the man’s shoes. All the POWs stood barefooted in the snow, for 45 minutes, as the Japanese searched 700 POWs. Another time, when three POWs escaped and were recaptured, the other POWs watched as they were hit on their heads, shoulders, and backs with sticks for hours. At other times, the POWs’ food rations were cut in half because the Japanese believed POWs were not working as hard as they should have been, or someone had been caught smoking in an unauthorized area. They would also withhold Red Cross packages.
One guard, Eiichi Nada, who was born, raised, and educated, in Berkley, California, was considered to be the worst abuser of the POWs. It was common while the POWs were lined up at morning assembly for him to hit men for no reason. He continued to hit them until they fell to the ground and said, “Get up, you yellow, white, son of a bitch.” Another guard walked through the barracks and hit the POWs, with a 3-foot club, for no real reason. On one occasion, Lt. Murado ordered the prisoners to remove their shoes. After they had, he hit each man in the face with his shoes.
The Japanese began splitting the POWs up into smaller groups and sent them in groups of 100 to different factories. The POWs were assigned to three branch camps. Each morning, the POWs were marched three miles to the shop where they worked manufacturing weapons for the Japanese. To prevent the production of weapons, they committed acts of sabotage like pouring sand into the machine oiling holes. When they were pouring a concrete floor, the POWs took parts from the machines and dropped them into the cement. The Japanese usually blamed these acts of sabotage on the Chinese in the plant because they believed the Americans were not smart enough to commit the sabotage. The one good thing about working in the factory was that it was well-heated. At Camp #1, 150 POWs worked at the MKK factory which attempted to airplane parts, tools, and dyes. The workdays – for the groups of POWs – was 7:30 A.M. until 5:30 or 6:00 P.M. each day. The POWs claimed that the machine shop never produced anything that was useful to the Japanese. At Camp #2, the 150 POWs worked at a textile mill, while 125 POWs worked at a combination steel and lumber mill.
On December 7, 1944, B-29s started bombing Mukden. The camp was accidentally bombed because it was lined up with military targets. Since the Japanese believed that the camp would not be bombed, they did not construct air raid shelters. Two of the bombs exploded inside the camp compound wounding over 30 POWs and killing 21 POWs. The other POWs were not angry, instead, they were happy to know that American forces were close enough for the planes to reach Manchuria. After this, the POWs were allowed to dig air raid trenches. After one air raid, the Japanese medical officer, Jiechi Kuwashima, asked the POWs, wounded from the bombings to write letters asking the Allies to stop the bombing of Mukden. The POWs did write the letters but told the Allies that they wouldn’t mind more frequent bombings.
On August 16, 1945, American OSS officers parachuted into the Mukden from a B-24. The team was intercepted by a Japanese detachment of soldiers who ordered them to stop and kneel. As they knelt, the Japanese made menacing gestures with their bayonets. One of the team produced a piece of paper and read to the guards the news of the surrender. They laughed when they heard it and refused to believe the war was over. Another OSS man produced a paper signed by Gen Wedemeyer stating they were an advance team bringing relief to the prisoners. At that moment, a Japanese officer rode up on horseback and spoke to the guards whose entire attitudes suddenly changed. Another officer arrived and apologized to the OSS team. News of the surrender had just been received at the camp. The Japanese were still cautious and blindfolded the members of the team and put them on a truck. They were taken to the local military police headquarters but still were denied access to the camp. After arguing with the Japanese for an hour, they were taken to the camp, but the camp commanding officer refused to give the team access to the POWs. The team protested, but he still did not give them access to the POWs. The team was taken to a local hotel for the night while the camp CO contacted his superiors.
The next day, August 17, 1945, the OSS team members were driven to the camp and met with the prisoners. The POWs were overjoyed and had a million questions. During the conversation, the team learned that Gen. Johnathan Wainwright and other high-ranking officers had been moved to another camp at Sian more than 100 miles away. The POWs at Mukden had been liberated. When the Russians entered Mukden on August 20th, one POW slipped around the guards, climbed over the camp wall, and saw Russian tanks passing the camp. A POW who could speak some Russian and Polish told the Russians that behind the wall were POWs. The Russians turned around one of the tanks and came through the camp’s gate. The tank stopped near the POWs and the crew disarmed the Japanese and gave the guns to the freed POWs. The Russian general made the Japanese go through a formal surrender ceremony where the camp was turned over to the former POWs. Shortly after this, B-29s dropped 50-gallon drums attached to parachutes to the men in an area marked by lit oil drums. The lead plane came down and saw the POWs. The pilot circled the plane and dropped medical supplies, food, and clothing to them. The planes also dropped walkie-talkies to the former POWs so that they could talk to aircrews. This allowed them to tell the aircrews what they needed. The planes dropped everything from ice cream to strings for a fiddle.
An American Recovery Team arrived at the camp on August 29th. Their job was to process the former POWs for transport. The really ill former POWs were flown out while the remaining men took a train to Darian, China. Most boarded the U.S.H.S. Relief and were taken to Okinawa. During the trip, the ship went through a terrible storm, and another shop in the group hit a mine resulting in one death. After arriving at Okinawa, the men were flown to the Philippines.
An American Recovery Team arrived at the camp on August 29th. Their job was to process the former POWs for transport. The really ill former POWs were flown out while the remaining men took a train to Darian, China. Most boarded the U.S.H.S. Relief and were taken to Okinawa. During the trip, the ship went through a terrible storm, and another shop in the group hit a mine resulting in one death. After arriving at Okinawa, the men were flown to the Philippines.
After receiving additional medical treatment, he returned to the U.S. where he received more medical treatment. He was discharged on May 16, 1946, and married Mary Rameriz. The couple became the parents of three daughters and four sons. To support his family, he worked as a railroad contractor.
Ernest Garcia died on April 18, 2003, and was buried at Memory Gardens Cemetery of Jefferson County, Nederland, Texas.
