Lawton, 1st/Sgt. Dale E.

1st/Sgt. Dale E. Lawton was born on January 18, 1912, to Troy W. Lawton and Emma Huston-Lawton in North Dakota. His father worked for the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad, so the family moved for his job. With his two brothers and sister, he grew up at 35 State Street in LaFarge, Wisconsin, and was a 1931 graduate of LaFarge High School. Looking for work, he moved to Janesville in 1933 and worked at Chevrolet Plant. With his brother, Vernon, who was a Janesville policeman, and Vernon’s family, he lived at 1108 South Bouchard Avenue. Apparently, after arriving in Janesville in 1933, he enlisted in the  Wisconsin National Guard’s tank company that was headquartered there. By the time the unit was federalized in November 1940, he was a Staff Sergeant.

After the German tank divisions rolled through Europe in 1939 and 1940, the Army created the U.S. Armored Forces on July 10, 1940. Included in the force were the National Guard GHQ tank battalions. The GHQ battalions were still considered infantry and created a “buffer” between the armor forces and infantry to protect the regular army tank battalions from being used by the infantry when they wanted tanks. This would allow the Armor Force to develop into a real fighting force. To do this the National Guard tank battalions were called to federal service and available to the infantry.

The members of the company, on November 25 at 7:00 AM, were inducted into the U.S. Army and given physicals; By noon the same day, two men had failed their physicals and been released from federal service. Later that day, another two men were released from service. The next day, the 26th, the officers went to Chicago where they were given physicals. Two officers failed. One was released and the other, 1st Lt. Russell Thorman, who recently had major surgery was allowed time to recover and later rejoined the company. A 24-hour guard was posted outside the armory and the men lived in the armory and spent their time drilling. One day they had a snowball fight.

During this time, four men were sent to Camp Williams, Wisconsin, to pick up additional equipment while two other men traveled to Camp Douglas, Wisconsin, to pick up additional clothing. At the same time, a three-man detail was sent to Danville, Illinois, where another detachment of soldiers would spend the night at an armory there. A detachment under Lt. Fred Bruni and 23 soldiers left the armory at 7:00 A.M. on November 27 in nine trucks carrying the company’s baggage. It is known that the roads were ice-covered so the trip was slow and the conditions resulted in one truck hitting a civilian’s car causing $100.00 in damages. No other information is available about the incident. The roads improved the further south the convoy traveled. The soldiers spent the night at the armory in Danville, before heading south to Ft. Knox arriving there sometime later in the afternoon. 

Between 4:00 and 5:00 P.M. on November 28, the main detachment of soldiers marched from the armory to the Milwaukee Road train station in Janesville in heavy snow. By the time they boarded the train, they were covered in white since they stood outside for a half-hour. A crowd of 200 friends and family members watched as they boarded special cars that had been added to the Marquette to Chicago train. One was a flatcar with the company’s two tanks on it. At some point, the train cars were uncoupled from the train and switched onto the Chicago & Northwestern line that went into Maywood, Illinois. There, the members of B Company boarded the train and their equipment – including their two tanks – was loaded onto the train. In Chicago, the soldiers disembarked the train and rode busses to the Illinois Central Station. The train cars were switched onto the Illinois Central Railroad. During the trip south it was noted that there was no snow on the ground the further south they got. Once they crossed the Ohio River, the train ran alongside the river and the soldiers saw distilleries and tobacco warehouses before arriving at Ft. Knox around 8:00 A.M. When they arrived, trucks were waiting at the station to take them to the fort. The battalion had a total of eight tanks that the crews were ordered not to abuse. 

Their first housing was small unpainted temporary barracks – away from the regular army – since their barracks were not finished. The men assigned to the company from selective service lived in tents next to the company’s two barracks. It is known that 25 men lived on each floor of the barracks. The bunks were set up along the walls and alternated so that the head of one bunk was next to the foot of another bunk allowing for more bunks to be placed in the least amount of space allowing for 25 men to sleep on each floor. To the surprise of the men, the bunks were already made. The first sergeant, staff sergeant, and master sergeant had their own rooms. There was also a supply room, an orderly room – where the cooks could sleep during the day – and a clubroom.

The one problem they had was that the barracks had four, two-way speakers in it. One speaker was in the main room of each floor of the barracks, one was in the first sergeant’s office, and one was in the Capt. Walter Write’s office. Since by flipping a switch, the speaker became a microphone, and the men watched what they said. Newspapers from the time state that the barracks were air-conditioned. The area outside the barracks was described as muddy and dusty most of the time. An attempt was made to improve the situation by bringing in crushed to build walkways and roads around the barracks.

During their free time during the week, the men could go to one of the three movie theaters on the outpost. The movies were newer, but they were never the latest films. They sat around and talked, played basketball, bowled, and played football. As the weather got warmer, the men tried to play baseball as often as possible in the evenings. At 9:00 P.M., when lights went out, most went to sleep. On weekends, men with passes frequently went to Louisville which was 35 miles north of the fort, while others went to Elizabethtown sixteen miles south of the fort. Those men still on the base used the dayroom to read since it was open until 11:00 P.M.

A typical day for the soldiers started at 6:15 with reveille, but most of the soldiers were up by 5:45 since they wanted to wash and dress. After roll call, breakfast was from 7:00 to 8:00 A.M., followed by calisthenics from 8:00 to 8:30. Afterward, the tankers went to various schools within the company. The classes consisted of .30 and .50 caliber machine guns, pistols, map reading, care of personal equipment, military courtesy, and training in tactics. At 11:30 the soldiers stopped what they were doing and cleaned up for mess which was from noon to 1:00 P.M. After lunch, the soldiers went back to work. At 4:30, the soldiers called it a day and returned to their barracks and put on dress uniforms, and at five held retreat and followed by dinner at 5:30. After they ate they stood in line to wash their mess kits since they had no mess hall. On January 12, 1941, their mess hall opened and they ate off real plates with forks and knives. They also no longer had to wash their own plates since that job fell on the men assigned to Kitchen Police.  After dinner, they were off duty and lights were out at 9:00 P.M., but they did not have to turn in until 10:00 when Taps was played. 

The lack of equipment was a major problem for the battalion. Many of the tanks were castoffs from the regular army or pulled from the junkyard at Ft. Knox and rebuilt by the tank companies. The tanks were also restricted in where they could be driven and very little training was done with the infantry. On December 2, each company received four additional tanks. According to information from the time, each company was scheduled to receive 17 tanks, three half-tracks, four motorcycles, two motorcycles with passenger cars, four, two-and-a-half-ton trucks, and a half-ton pickup truck. The battalion was attached to the 69th Armored Regiment, 1st Armored Division, and received its training under the 69th. This was true for the tank crews and reconnaissance units who trained with the regiment’s tanks and reconnaissance units and later trained with their own companies. 

It also seemed to rain constantly during December, and it was said the mud around the barracks was two inches deep. The men also took a six-mile hike in the mud and rain on the 13th. 149 draftees were also assigned to the battalion from the home states of each company but lived away from the battalion with the 69th Armored Regiment.

It is known he was promoted to First Sergeant for the company and that he was not one of the soldiers who went home for Christmas. Those soldiers paid $12.00 each and left Ft. Knox at about 1:00 P.M. on Saturday, December 21 – by chartered bus – and arrived in Janesville at about 3:00 A.M. on Sunday, December 22. For those who remained at Ft. Knox, the base was decorated with lighted Christmas trees along its streets, and each night Christmas carols were sung by a well-trained choir that went from barracks to barracks. The sight was said to be beautiful as the soldiers entered the camp from the ridge north of their barracks. The workload of the soldiers was also reduced for the holidays. Christmas dinner consisted of roast turkey, baked ham, candied sweet potatoes, snowflake potatoes, giblet gravy, oyster dressing, cranberry sauce, pickle relish, grapes, oranges, rolls, fruit cake, ice cream, bread, butter, and coffee. After dinner, cigars, cigarettes, and candy were provided.

Those who went home remained in Janesville until the afternoon of Christmas Day when they boarded the chartered bus for the return trip to Ft. Knox. After they arrived at Ft. Knox at 5:55 A.M. on December 26, Dale was waiting for them having been given the job of picking men to be transferred to the soon-to-be-formed HQ Company. Men were picked for the company because they had special training. Many of these men received promotions and because of their rating received higher pay. After the transfer of the men, promotions were given to men in A Company to fill vacated positions. 

The biggest task at Ft. Knox facing the members of the 192nd, was that each company had to get used to the other. During this process of adjustment, the members of the different companies often were involved in fistfights. As time passed, the fights ended as the members of the battalion became friends. Each company was made up of three platoons of thirty men and each company had the same number of tanks assigned to it. The one exception was Headquarters Company which had three assigned tanks. It was also at this time that all the battalion had 16 operational tanks and the first men from selective service were assigned to the company. On January 10, these men took their first tank ride and all of them had the chance to drive the tanks and would permanently join the company in March 1941. 

Winter finally arrived on January 4, when the high for the day was 24 degrees and it snowed for the first time. Those on guard duty at night were happy they had been issued long-Johns but wished they had on two pairs. It was also in January that the companies had their first target practice and each company spent one week at the firing range learning to use their thirty caliber and fifty caliber machine guns as well as forty-five caliber pistols. This took place at the 1st Cavalry Test range where the tanks could be maneuvered and the guns fired at the same time. All those holding the rank of Private First Class were sent to motorcycle class at the Armored Force where they were taught the functions and duties of a motorcyclist in a garrison and in combat. Ten members of the company were sent to radio school from 8:00 to 11:30 A.M. They also received their government-issued toiletries. Each man received two face towels and one bath towel, a razor, tooth and shaving brushes, and another pair of pants which completed their compliment of clothing.

Most of the men were attending the various schools they were assigned to on January 13 taking classes lasting until May 31. The tankers went through intensive training in the various classes at the Armored Force School which taught classes in gunnery, radio communications, tank maintenance, vehicle maintenance, tank driving, as well as other classes. The entire battalion on January 28, took part in a one-day problem that had to do with the deployment of large units of tanks and to put into practice what they had learned in the classroom. They were up at 5:00 A.M. and reported to the tank parks of the 1st and 13th Armor Regiments. It was a long tough day for all the soldiers, but they all believed they had learned more in that one day than they had learned in an entire week of school. It was also at this time that each company had a tent so they could make minor repairs to their tanks. It was noted that the men from every company seemed to enjoy working on their own tanks. They were also taking the tanks out on the trails and obstacle driving which resulted in the companies developing many good tank crews.

Capt Walter Write, during February, commanded a composite tank unit made of men from all the companies of the battalion. The unit left Ft. Knox on a problematic move at  9:00 A.M. and consisted of three motorcycles, two scout cars, sixteen tanks, one ambulance, and supply, fuel, and kitchen trucks. The route was difficult and chosen so that the men could become acquainted with their equipment. They also had to watch out for simulated enemy planes. Bridges were avoided whenever it was possible and they had to ford the rivers. At noon, the column stopped for a short rest, and for lunch that did not materialize. A guide had failed to stay at one of the crossings until the kitchen truck arrived there, so instead of turning into the woods, the truck went straight. After the break, Capt. Write ordered the men back to Ft. Knox without having been fed.

Most of the men were attending the various schools they were assigned to on January 13 taking classes lasting until May 31. The tankers went through intensive training in the various classes at the Armored Force School which taught classes in gunnery, radio communications, tank maintenance, vehicle maintenance, tank driving, as well as other classes. The entire battalion on January 28, took part in a one-day problem that had to do with the deployment of large units of tanks and to put into practice what they had learned in the classroom. They were up at 5:00 A.M. and reported to the tank parks of the 1st and 13th Armor Regiments. It was a long tough day for all the soldiers, but they all believed they had learned more in that one day than they had learned in an entire week of school. It was also at this time that each company had a tent so they could make minor repairs to their tanks. It was noted that the men from every company seemed to enjoy working on their own tanks. They were also taking the tanks out on the trails and obstacle driving which resulted in the companies developing many good tank crews.

In late March 1941, the entire battalion was moved to new larger barracks at Wilson Road and Seventh Avenue at Ft. Knox. The barracks had bathing and washing facilities in them and a day room. The new kitchens had larger gas ranges, automatic gas heaters, large pantries, and mess halls. The tankers also painted their tanks a dull green-gray with blue numbers on the running boards. Around the turrets near the bottom, they painted red and blue stripes. According to the soldiers, this made it easier to camouflage the tanks. They also took part in a 15-mile hike during the month.

The men from selective service permanently joined the battalion on April 9. Many members of the battalion went home for Easter in April. The only men left on the base were those attending schools; in particular, those assigned to radio school. The men who remained behind also had performed all the duties expected of them, such as guard duty. While doing these things, they still started their day at 4:00 A.M. They also washed the tanks in Salt River which was 14 miles from their barracks.

The battalion finally received all its tanks and the soldiers were told to, “beat the hell out of them.”  On June 14 and 16, the battalion was divided into four detachments composed of men from different companies. Available information shows that C and D Companies, part of HQ Company and part of the Medical Detachment left on June 14, while A and B Companies, and the other halves of HQ Company and the Medical Detachment left the fort on June 16. These were tactical maneuvers – under the command of the commanders of each of the letter companies. The three-day tactical road marches were to Harrodsburg, Kentucky, and back. Each tank company traveled with 20 tanks, 20 motorcycles, 7 armored scout cars, 5 jeeps, 12 peeps (later called jeeps), 20 large 2½-ton trucks (these carried the battalion’s garages for vehicle repair), 5, 1½-ton trucks (which included the companies’ kitchens), and 1 ambulance.

The detachments traveled through Bardstown and Springfield before arriving at Harrodsburg at 2:30 P.M. where they set up their bivouac at the fairgrounds. The next morning, they moved to Herrington Lake east of Danville, where the men swam, boated, and fished. The battalion returned to Ft. Knox through Lebanon, New Haven, and Hodgenville, Kentucky. At Hodgenville, the men were allowed to visit the birthplace of Abraham Lincoln. The purpose of the maneuvers was to give the men practice at loading, unloading, and setting up administrative camps to prepare them for the Louisiana maneuvers. 

The 192nd Tank Battalion was sent to Louisiana, in the late summer of 1941, to take part in maneuvers. About half of the battalion left Ft. Knox on September 1st in trucks and other wheeled vehicles and spent the night in Clarksville, Tennessee, 160 miles south of Ft. Knox. By 7:00 A.M. the next morning, the detachment was on the move. On the second day, the soldiers saw their first cotton fields which they found fascinating.  They spent the night in Brownsville, Tennessee, and were again on the move the following morning at 7:00 A.M. At noon, the convoy crossed the Mississippi River which they found amazing, and spent the night in Clarksdale, Mississippi. At noon the next day, the convoy crossed the lower part of Arkansas and arrived at Tallulah, Louisiana, where, they washed, relaxed, and played baseball against the locals. It also gave them a break from sitting on wooden benches in the trucks. The remaining soldiers, the tanks, and other equipment were sent by train and left the base on September 3rd. When they arrived at Tremont, Lousiana, the men, and trucks who had driven to Louisiana were waiting for them at the train station.

The battalion was assigned to the Red Army, attached to the Fourth Cavalry, and stationed at Camp Robinson, Arkansas. Two days later it made a two-day move, as a neutral unit, to Ragley, Louisiana, and was assigned to the Blue Army. The battalion’s bivouac was in the Kisatchie National Forest, near DeRidder, Louisana, where the soldiers dealt with mosquitoes, snakes, wood ticks, snakes, and alligators. They described the land as swamps, woods, and shacks. They also heard they were going to North Carolina on October 6th.

During the maneuvers, tanks held defensive positions and usually were held in reserve by the higher headquarters. For the first time, the tanks were used to counter-attack, in support of infantry, and held defensive positions. Some men felt that the tanks were finally being used like they should be used and not as “mobile pillboxes.”  The maneuvers were described by other men as being awakened at 4:30 A.M. and sent to an area to engage an imaginary enemy. After engaging the enemy, the tanks withdrew to another area. The crews had no idea what they were doing most of the time because they were never told anything by the higher-ups. A number of men felt that they just rode around in their tanks a lot. 

While training at Ft. Knox, the tankers were taught that they should never attack an anti-tank gun head-on. One day during the maneuvers, their commanding general threw away the entire battalion doing just that. After sitting out a period of time, the battalion resumed the maneuvers. The major problem for the tanks was the sandy soil. On several occasions, tanks were parked and the crews walked away from them. When they returned, the tanks had sunk into the sandy soil up to their hauls. To get them out, other tanks were brought in and attempted to pull them out. If that didn’t work, the tankers brought a tank wrecker from Camp Polk to pull the tank out of the ground.

It was not uncommon for the tankers to receive orders to move at night. On October 1st at 2:30 A.M., they were awakened by the sound of a whistle which meant they had to get the tanks ready to move. Those assigned to other duties loaded trucks with equipment. Once they had assembled into formations, they received the order to move, without headlights, to make a surprise attack on the Red Army. By 5:30 that morning –  after traveling 40 miles in 2½ hours from their original bivouac in the dark – they had established a new bivouac and set up their equipment.  They camouflaged their tanks and trucks and set up sentries to look for paratroopers or enemy troops. At 11:30, they received orders and 80 tanks and armored vehicles moved out into enemy territory. They engaged the enemy at 2:38 in the afternoon and an umpire with a white flag determined who was awarded points or penalized. At 7:30 P.M., the battle was over and the tanks limped back to the bivouac where they were fueled and oiled for the next day.

The one good thing that came out of the maneuvers was that the tank crews learned how to move at night. At Ft. Knox this was never done. Without knowing it, the night movements were preparing them for what they would do in the Philippines since most of the battalion’s movements there were made at night. The drivers learned how to drive at night and to take instructions from their tank commanders who had a better view from the turret. A number of motorcycle riders from other tank units were killed because they were riding their bikes without headlights on which meant they could not see obstacles in front of their bikes. When they hit something they fell to the ground and the tanks following them went over them. This happened several times before the motorcycle riders were ordered to turn on their headlights.

Snake bites were also a problem and at some point, it seemed that every other man was bitten by a snake. The platoon commanders carried a snake bite kit that was used to create a vacuum to suck the poison out of the bite. The bites were the result of the nights cooling down and snakes crawling under the soldiers’ bedrolls for warmth while the soldiers were sleeping on them.

It is known that John Spencer was bitten by a rattlesnake but had no serious effects, while another man killed one. To avoid being bitten, men slept on the two-and-a-half-ton trucks or on or in the tanks. To avoid being bitten, men slept on the two-and-a-half-ton trucks or on or in the tanks. Another trick the soldiers learned was to dig a small trench around their tents and lay rope in the trench. The burs on the rope kept the snakes from entering the tents. The snakes were not a problem if the night was warm.

There was one multicolored snake – about eight inches long –  that was beautiful to look at, but if it bit a man he was dead. The good thing was that these snakes would not just strike at the man but only struck if the man forced himself on it. When the soldiers woke up in the morning they would carefully pick up their bedrolls to see if there were any snakes under them. 

They also had a problem with the wild hogs in the area. In the middle of the night while the men were sleeping in their tents they would suddenly hear hogs squealing. The hogs would run into the tents pushing on them until they took them down and dragged them away. 

What made the maneuvers worse was that the rainy season started and the men found themselves living in it. On one occasion the battalion was bivouac near a canal and the next morning the men found themselves in water over their shoes trying to dig ditches for drainage. The members of B Company captured a medium size alligator in their bivouac and pulled it around at the end of a leash made from a rope.

The food was also not very good since the air was always damp which made it hard to get a fire started. Many of their meals were C ration meals of beans or chili that they choked down. Washing clothes was done when the men had a chance. They did this by finding a creek, looking for alligators, and if there were none, taking a bar of soap and scrubbing whatever they were washing. Clothes were usually washed once a week or once every two weeks.

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. Those men who were married before their companies were federalized, 29 years old or older, or whose National Guard enlistments were about to end, were allowed to resign from federal service. Officers too old for their rank, including the 192nd’s commanding officer, were also released. The enlisted men and some officers were replaced by men from the 753rd Tank Battalion. Both new and old members of the battalion were given leave home to say their goodbyes. They returned to Camp Polk and prepared for duty overseas. 

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 15, 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 and 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 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 men believed that the reason they were selected to be sent overseas was that they had performed well on the maneuvers. The story was that they were personally selected by General George S. Patton who had commanded the tanks of the Blue Army to go overseas. There is no evidence that this was true.

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. 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 National Guard medium tank battalion while the 70th was a Regular Army medium tank battalion – at Ft. Meade, Maryland. The 193rd was at Ft. Benning, Georgia, and the 194th was 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, so in all likelihood, the entire tank group had been scheduled to be sent to the Philippines.

On August 13, 1941, Congress voted to extend federalized National Guard units’ time in the regular Army by 18 months. Two days later, on August 15, the 194th received its orders to go overseas. 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 for the battalions going to the Philippines. It is also known that the 193rd Tank Battalion had sailed for Hawaii – on its way to the Philippines – when Pearl Harbor was attacked. After it arrived in Hawaii, the battalion was held there. The 70th and 191st never received orders for the Philippines because of the war. It is known at least one heavy tank battalion had been scheduled to be sent, but the Army had no heavy tank and no heavy tank battalion existed at the time. Some military documents from the time show the name of the Provisional Tank Group in the Philippines as the First Provisional Tank Group.

The battalion spent 20 days at Camp Polk and its new M3 tanks came from the 753rd and the 3rd Armor Division. This happened because there was a problem with the battalion receiving brand new tanks. Many of the tanks that it received were within four hours of their required 100-hour maintenance which made them new only to the battalion. During this time, the soldiers put cosmoline on any weapon that might rust while they were at sea.

At 8:30 A.M. on October 20, over different train routes, the companies were sent to San Francisco, California. A Company rode the train with HQ Company and took the southern route through Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and up the west coast of California to San Francisco. When the train stopped at one station, Native Americans enter the car selling beads, and the soldiers knocked each over attempting to buy them. After the train pulled out of the station someone noticed the beads were made in Japan. One train carried the tankers while a second train, following the first train, carried the company’s tanks. At the end of the second train, were a freight car and a passenger car that some of the tankers rode.

When they arrived in San Francisco, they were ferried, on the U.S.A.T. General Frank M. Coxe, to Ft. McDowell on Angel Island, where they received inoculations and physicals. Those men who were found to have treatable medical conditions remained behind on the island and were scheduled to rejoin the battalion at a later date. Other men were simply replaced by men sent to the island as replacements. During this time, the soldiers loaded the tanks onto the ship. It is also believed the battalion’s half-tracks – that replaced its reconnaissance cars – were waiting in San Francisco. So were its new jeeps and motorcycles, which were Indian motorcycles, and had all their controls on the opposite side from the Harley-Davidsons they had learned to ride at Ft. Knox.

The 192nd was boarded onto the U.S.A.T. Gen. Hugh L. Scott and sailed on Monday, October 27. During this part of the trip, many tankers had seasickness, but 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 2, 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.

On Thursday, November 6, the ship sailed for Guam but took a southerly route away from the main shipping lanes. It was at this time the ship was joined by the U.S.S. Louisville and, the transport, U.S.A.T. President Calvin Coolidge. The ships headed west following a zig-zag pattern. The night of Sunday, November 9, the ships crossed the International Dateline, and when the soldiers awoke it was Tuesday, November 11.

During this part of the voyage, the soldiers spent their time attending lectures, playing craps and cards, reading, writing letters, and sunned 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. In addition, there was always KP. On Saturday, November 15, 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 16, 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 20, 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 someone 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 the base.

At the fort, they were greeted by Gen. Edward P. King Jr. who apologized that the men had to live in tents along the main road between the fort and Clark Field. He made sure that had what they needed and that they all received Thanksgiving dinner – stew thrown into their mess kits – before he went to have his own dinner. If they had been slower leaving the ship, they would have had a complete turkey dinner. Ironically, November 20 was the date that the National Guard members of the battalion had expected to be released from federal service.

The members of the battalion pitched the ragged World War I tents in an open field halfway between the Clark Field Administration Building and Fort Stotsenburg. The tents 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. The area was near the end of a runway used by B-17s for takeoffs. The planes flew over the tents at about 100 feet blowing dirt everywhere and the noise from the engines as they flew over was unbelievable. At night, they heard the sound of Japanese reconnaissance planes flying over the airfield. In addition, the khaki uniforms they had been issued also turned out to be a heavy material which made them uncomfortable to wear in the tropical heat. 

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, they set up a communications tent that was in contact with 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 them frequencies to use. Men were able to send messages home to their families that they had arrived safely. 

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,” that they borrowed from the 194th Tank Battalion, meant they actually worked until 4:30 in the afternoon.

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 do the work on the tanks. The 192nd followed the example of the 194th 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 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, 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. Many men wrote home and told their families about how hot the weather was, the kind of food they were eating, about the countryside, and about the Filipinos.

Ten days before the attack on Pearl Harbor, the reconnaissance pilots reported that Japanese transports were milling around in a large circle in the South China Sea. On December 1, the tankers were ordered to the perimeter of Clark Field to guard against Japanese paratroopers. The 194th Tank Battalion was assigned the northern half of the airfield and the 192nd was assigned the southern half of the airfield. From this time on, two tank crew members remained with each tank at all times and were fed from food trucks. 

It was the men manning the radios in the 192nd’s communications tent who were the first to learn of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on the morning of December 8. 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. The officers of the 192nd were called to the tent and informed of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Wickord called the officers of the 192nd to the tent and informed them of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

After hearing the news, Capt. Write went to his company and informed his men that Japan had bombed Pearl Harbor. To an extent, the news of the war was no surprise to the men, and many had come to the conclusion it was inevitable. The remaining members of the tank crews, not with their tanks, went to their tanks at the southern end of the Clark Field. The battalion’s half-tracks joined the tanks and took up positions next to them.

Around 8:00 A.M., the planes of the Army Air Corps took off and filled the sky. All morning long American planes could be seen in every direction. At noon the planes landed and were lined up in a straight line to be refueled near the pilots’ mess hall. While the planes were being worked on, the pilots went to lunch. At 12:45 in the afternoon on December 8, 1941, just ten hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the tankers lived through the Japanese attack on Clark Field.

The tankers were eating lunch when they saw planes approaching the airfield from the north. Many of the men believed they were American planes and had enough time to count 54 planes in formation. As they watched, what appeared to be raindrops – because they shimmered in the sun – appeared under the planes. With the thunderous explosions of the bombs exploding on the runways, the tankers knew that the planes were Japanese. The smoke and dust from the bombs blotted out the sun and made it impossible for the tankers to see more than a few feet. One bomb hit the mess hall where the pilots were eating. 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 straf. The tankers said they saw the pilots’ scarfs flapping in the wind.

While the attack was going on, the Filipinos who were building the 192nd’s barracks took cover. After the attack, they went right back to work on the barracks. This happened several times during the following air raids until the barracks were destroyed by bombs during an air raid. According to the members of the battalion, it appeared the Filipino contractor really wanted to be paid; war or no war. 

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, trucks, and anything that could carry the wounded was in use. When the hospital filled, they watched the medics place the wounded under the building. Many of these men had their arms and legs missing. 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.

The next morning the decision was made to move the battalion into a tree-covered area. Those men not assigned to a tank or half-track walked around Clark Field to look at the damage. As they walked, they saw there were hundreds of dead. Some were pilots who had been caught asleep, because they had flown night missions, in their tents during the first attack. Others were pilots who had been killed attempting to get to their planes. The members of the company lived through another air raid on the 10th.

The next morning the decision was made to move the battalion into a tree-covered area. Those men not assigned to a tank or half-track walked around Clark Field to look at the damage. As they walked, they saw there were hundreds of dead. Some were pilots who had been caught asleep, because they had flown night missions, in their tents during the first attack. Others were pilots who had been killed attempting to get to their planes.

The members of the company lived through another air raid on the 10th. After the attack on December 12, the company was sent to the Barrio of Dau so it could protect a highway and railroad from sabotage. From there, the company was sent to join the other companies of the 192nd just south of the Agno River on December 22. There, the battalion, with A Company, 194th, held the position. From this time on the tanks took the role of holding a position until all other troops had withdrawn and then fell back to a new defensive line. On December 25, the tanks of the battalion held the southern bank of the Agno River from Carmen to Tayung, with the tanks of the 194th holding the line on the Carmen-Alcala-Bautista Road. A Company lost the company commander, Capt. Walter Write on December 26 when the landmine he was planting exploded in his hands mortally wounding him. After he died, they buried him and put a native red flower on his grave since he had asked them to put roses on his grave. After he was buried, the tankers made an end run to get south of Agno River. As they did this, they ran into Japanese resistance early in the evening but successfully crossed the river in the Bayambang Province. From there, the company was sent to join the other companies of the 192nd just south of the Agno River. On December 25, the tanks of the battalion held the southern bank of the Agno River from Carmen to Tayung, with the tanks of the 194th holding the line on the Carmen-Alcala-Bautista Road. The tanks held the position until 5:30 in the morning on December 27.

On a road east of Zaragoza, on December 30, the company was bivouacked for the night and posted sentries. The sentries heard a noise on the road and woke the other tankers who grabbed Tommy guns and manned the tanks’ machine guns. As they watched, a Japanese bicycle battalion rode into their bivouac. When the last bicycle passed the tanks, the tankers opened upon them. When they stopped firing, they had completely wiped out the bicycle battalion. To leave the area, the tankers drove their tanks over the bodies. At Gumain River, from the night of December 31 to the morning of January 1st, the tank companies formed a defensive line along the south bank of the river. When the Japanese attacked the position at night, they were easy to see since they were wearing white t-shirts. The Japanese were taking heavy casualties, so they attempted to use smoke to cover their advance, but the wind blew the smoke into the Japanese. When the Japanese broke off the attack, they had suffered fifty percent casualties.

On January 1, the tanks were holding the Calumpit Bridge allowing the Southern Luzon Forces to cross the bridge toward Bataan. General Wainwright was attempting to hold the main Japanese force coming down Route 5 to prevent the troops from being cut off. General MacArthur’s chief of staff gave conflicting orders involving whose command the defenders were under which caused confusion. Gen. Wainwright was not aware these orders had been given. Because of the orders, there was confusion among the Filipinos and American forces defending the bridges over the Pampanga River. 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.

From January 2 to 4, the 192nd held the road open from San Fernando to Dinalupihan so the southern forces could escape. A Company was sent, in support of the 194th, to an area east of Pampanga. It was there that they lost a tank platoon commander, 2nd Lt. William W. Read. The tanks often were the last units to disengage from the enemy and form a new defensive line as Americans and Filipino forces withdrew toward Bataan.

On the night of January 7, the A Company was awaiting orders to cross the last bridge into Bataan. The engineers were ready to blow up the bridge, but the battalion’s commanding officer, Lt. Col. Ted Wickord, ordered the engineers to wait until he had looked to see if they were anywhere in sight. He found the company, asleep in their tanks because they had not received the order to withdraw across the bridge. The company was the last American unit to enter Bataan. After they had crossed, the bridge was destroyed.

A composite tank company was formed under the command of Capt. Donald Hanes, B Co., 192nd the next day. Its job was to protect the East Coast Road north of Hermosa open and to stop Japanese tanks from attempting to use it to overrun the next defensive line that was forming. They were also to support the 31st Infantry. 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. When word came that a bridge was going to be blown, all the tanks were ordered out of the area, which included the composite company. This could have resulted in a catastrophe, but the Japanese did not take advantage of the situation.

It was at the Pilar-Bigac area on January 14, 17th Ordnance had the opportunity to do long overdue tank maintenance. Six carloads of parts, ammunition, and fuel for the tanks had been sent into Bataan in November which allowed the company to replace worn-out tracks and engine parts. The tanks were sent back into action as they became available. In addition, the tanks received ammunition. While American and Filipino forces were withdrawing from Pilar-Bigac Line, the battalion prevented the Japanese from overrunning the position and cutting off the withdrawing troops.

Sgt. Owen Sandmire of the A Company said that because of the jungle canopy the nights on Bataan were so dark that the tankers could not see after dark. It was at night that the Japanese liked to attack. When the attacks came, if the tankers were lucky they were able to use their tanks’ machine guns on them. They could not use the turret machine guns since the guns could not be aimed at the ground. If the tank commander had attempted to use his pistol standing in the turret, he was an easy target, so the tanks would simply withdraw from the position.

Around this time, drivers were needed for the Self Propelled Mounts, and tank drivers were reassigned to the SPMs. The SPMs had a crew of an American driver, a Filipino Scout sergeant who commanded the SPM, and a gun crew from the Philippine Army. The drivers were replaced by other members of the battalions who could drive tanks. 

It was at this time the tank battalions received these orders which came from Gen. Weaver: “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.”

The 192nd was spread out from the eastern edge of the main battle position to the south to secure the east coast flank on January 24. The battalion withdrew from this position on the Abucay and East Coast Roads on the 25th at 6:00 A.M. and dropped back to the new line along the Balanga-Cadre Road.

On the morning of January 27, a new battle line had been formed and all units were supposed to be beyond it. That morning, the tanks were still holding their position six hours after they were supposed to have withdrawn. While holding the position, the tanks, with self-propelled mounts, ambushed, at point-blank range, three Japanese units causing 50 percent casualties.

The tank battalions, on January 28, were given the job of protecting the beaches. The 192nd was assigned the coastline from Paden Point to Limay along Bataan’s east coast, while the battalion’s half-tracks were used to patrol the roads. The Japanese later admitted that the tanks guarding the beaches prevented them from attempting landings.

While doing this job, the members of B Company noticed that each morning when the PT boats were off the coast they were attacked by Japanese Zeros. The tank crews made arrangements with the PT boats at a certain place at a certain time. The Zeros arrived and attacked. This time they were met by 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 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. There was only one major alert in March when 73 Japanese planes came over.

Part of the battalion took part in the Battle of the Points from January 27, 1942, until February 13, 1942. The Japanese had landed on two points and been cut off. The tankers were sent in to wipe out these positions. According to Capt. Alvin Poweleit, the battalion’s surgeon, the tanks did a great deal of damage. 

At the same time, there was another battle taking place known as the Battle of the Pockets which lasted from January 23 until February 17, 1942. Japanese troops had been caught off behind the battleline. Tanks from B and C Companies were sent in to wipe out the Japanese in the Big Pocket.

The Japanese landed troops but ended up trapped. When they attempted to land reinforcements, they landed in the wrong place. One was the Lapay-Longoskawayan points from January 23 to 29, the Quinauan-Aglaloma points from January 22 to February 8, and the Sililam-Anyasan points from January 27 to February 13. The Japanese had been stopped, but the decision was made by Brigadier General Clinton A. Pierce that tanks were needed to support the 45th Infantry Philippine Scouts, so he requested tanks from the Provisional Tank Group.

On February 2, tank platoons from A and C Companies were ordered to Anyasan and Quinauan Points where the Japanese had landed troops. The tanks arrived at about 5:15 P.M. The C Company tank platoon commander did a quick reconnaissance of the area, and after meeting with the commanding infantry officer, made the decision to drive tanks into the edge of the Japanese position and spray the area with machine-gun fire. The progress was slow but steady until a Japanese .37 milometer gun was spotted in front of the lead tank, and the tanks withdrew. It turned out that the gun had been disabled by mortar fire, but the tanks did not know this at the time.

The Japanese, also in January, also launched an attack against the Orion-Bagac Line, but the advance was pushed back leaving two pockets of Japanese soldiers trapped behind the restored defensive line. The two pockets became known as Big Pocket and Little Pocket and tanks were sent in to help exterminate the pockets. The battle took place at the same time as the Battle of the Points and lasted from January 23 to February 17.

The tanks entered the pockets one at a time to replace a tank in the pocket. Another tank did not enter the pocket until a tank that had been relieved exited the pocket. Doing this was so stressful that the tank companies were pulled out and rested. The tanks of the company were replaced by the tanks of another company that had been held in reserve. 

In the pockets, two methods were used to wipe out the Japanese. The first was to have three Filipino soldiers ride on the back of the tank. As the tank approached, the Japanese dove into the foxholes and the tank went over the foxholes. As the tank passed over a foxhole, the Filipinos dropped three hand grenades into the foxhole. Since the grenades were from WWI, one out of three usually exploded. The other method used to kill the Japanese was to park a tank with one track over the foxhole. The driver gave the other track power resulting in the tank going around in a circle dragging the unpowered track and grinding its way down into the foxhole. The tankers slept upwind of their tanks because of the rotting flesh in them.

The Japanese sent soldiers, with cans of gasoline, against the tanks who attempted to jump onto the tanks, pour gasoline into the vents on the back of the tanks, and set the tanks on fire. If the tankers could not machine gun the Japanese before they got to a tank, the other tanks would shoot them as they stood on the tank. The tankers did not like to do this because of what it did to the crew inside the tank. When the bullets hit the tank, its rivets would pop and wound the men inside the tank. Since the stress on the crews was tremendous, the tanks rotated into the pocket one at a time. A tank entered the pocket and the next tank waited for the tank that had been relieved to exit the pocket before it would enter. This was repeated until all the tanks in the pocket were relieved. 

What made this job of eliminating the Japanese so hard was that they had dug “spider holes” among the roots of the trees. Because of this situation, the Americans could not get a good shot at the Japanese. Since the stress on the crews was tremendous, the tanks rotated into the pocket one at a time. A tank entered the pocket and the next tank waited for the tank that had been relieved to exit the pocket before it would enter. This was repeated until all the tanks in the pocket were relieved. 

In the pockets, C Company lost one tank that had gone beyond the area controlled by the defenders. The tank was disabled by a thermite mine. It appeared that some of the crew were killed by a hand grenade thrown into the tank as they attempted to evacuate it. When the tank was recovered, it was put on its side and it was found at least one member of the crew was still alive as the Japanese filled the tank with dirt from the foxhole they dug under it. 

In another incident, a tank from B Company became wedged between two trees after its driver was blinded by a flame thrower. The crew was ordered out of the tank and told to run. As they ran, the Japanese machine-gunned them. The tank commander was killed instantly, while the other three men made it into a sugarcane field. Only one of the three men was found the next day and was sent to the hospital where he recovered from his wounds. Another man was taken prisoner, while the last man was never heard from again and died from his wounds or was killed. It appears that this tank was also recovered. It was for their performance during this battle that the 192nd Tank Battalion would receive one of its Distinguished Unit Citations.

Companies A and C were ordered to the west coast of Bataan while B Company – which was held in reserve – and 17th Ordnance held the southern shore of Bataan. The tankers were awake all night and attempted to sleep under the jungle canopy, during the day, which protected them from being spotted by Japanese reconnaissance planes. During the night, they were kept busy with repeated threats both on and offshore.

It seemed to the members of A Company that they always seemed to have the job of protecting the 155-millimeter howitzers that the Army used in batteries of six guns. The guns were mobile and could be hooked up to the tanks with a special vehicle and moved to another location. It was recalled that moving them took preparation and setting them up also took preparation. The tankers didn’t like this duty because the guns attracted Japanese fire. Whenever the guns started firing, the Japanese would send up Recon Joe to try to locate them. Shortly after this happened, the dive bombers came in and peppered the hell out of the position. On February 3, near Bambang, Limay, at KM 144, A Company’s bivouac was near a 155-millimeter artillery battery that was attacked by Japanese planes which came in low. During the strafing and bombing, Sgt. Ivan Wilmer was attempting to reach his tank when he was hit by shrapnel from a Japanese bomb killing him instantly.

The Americans quickly learned that the strafing of the batteries could be prevented if the guns were set up on a temporary basis and fired as much as possible before being quickly moved to another position before the Japanese found them. The result of this was the damage done to the Japanese was limited, but it improved the defenders’ morale since it caused havoc with the Japanese who never knew where the guns were located. 

The 192nd unlike other units had arrived in the Philippines just before the start of the war, so they did not have the opportunity to stockpile food. The soldiers were hungry and began to eat everything they could get their hands on to eat. The Carabao were tough but if they were cooked long enough they could be eaten. They also began to eat horse meat provided by the 26th U.S. Cavalry. During this time the soldiers ate monkeys, snakes, lizards, horses, and mules. To make things worse, the soldiers’ rations were cut in half again on March 1, 1942. This meant that they only ate two meals a day. The Japanese also were dropping surrender leaflets with the picture of a scantily clad blond on them. They would have been more successful at getting the Americans to surrender if the picture had been a hamburger since the men were so hungry that they most likely would have surrendered for a good meal.

The amount of gasoline in March was reduced to 15 gallons a day for all vehicles except the tanks. This would later be dropped to ten gallons a day. It was during this time that Gen Wainwright wanted to turn the tanks into pillboxes. Gen Weaver pointed out to Wainwright that they did not have enough tanks to effectively do this, and if they did, they soon would have no tanks. Gen. Weaver suggested to Gen. Wainwright that a platoon of tanks be sent to Corregidor, but Wainwright declined. 

The company’s last bivouac area was about twelve kilometers north of Marivales and looking out on the China Sea. By this point, the tankers knew that there was no help on the way. Many had listened to Secretary of War Harry L. Stimson on short wave. When asked about the Philippines, he said, “There are times when men must die.” The soldiers cursed in response because they knew that the Philippines had already been lost.

The Japanese launched an all-out attack, on April 3, supported by artillery and aircraft. A large force of Japanese troops came over Mount 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. The Japanese broke through the east side of the main defensive line on Bataan on April 7. C Company was pulled out of its position along the west side of the line and ordered to reinforce the eastern part of the line. Traveling south to Mariveles, the tankers started up the eastern road but were unable to reach their assigned area due to the roads being blocked by retreating Filipino and American forces. The tanks became a favorite target of the Japanese receiving fire on trails and while hidden in the jungle. and could not fight back. The situation was so bad that other troops avoided being near the tanks, and the 26th Cavalry turned down a tank company’s offer of assistance in a counter-attack.

It was the evening of April 8 that Gen. Edward P. King decided that further resistance was futile, since approximately 25% of his men were healthy enough to fight, and he estimated they would last one more day. In addition, he had over 6,000 troops who were sick or wounded and 40,000 civilians who he feared would be massacred. His troops were on one-quarter rations, and even at that ration, he had two days of food left. Companies B and D, 192nd, and A Company, 194th, were preparing for a suicide attack against the Japanese in an attempt to stop the advance. At 6:00 P.M. the 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 Company realized that he had bedding buried in the back of his truck and searched for it. The bedding became the “white flags” that were flown on the jeeps. At 11:40 P.M., the ammunition dumps were destroyed. At midnight Companies B and D, and A Company, 194th, received an order from Gen. Weaver to stand down. At 2:oo A.M. April 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.” The tank crews circled their tanks. Each tank fired an armor-piercing shell into the engine of the tank in front of it. They also opened the gasoline cocks inside the tank compartments and dropped hand grenades into the tanks. To prevent the battalion’s American flag from becoming a war trophy, it was soaked in gasoline and put inside a tank before the grenades were dropped into the crew compartment. Most of the company waited in their bivouac for the Japanese to make contact, while others attempted to reach Corregidor which had not surrendered.

As Gen. King left to negotiate the surrender, he went through the area held by B Company and spoke to the men. He said to them, “I’m going to get us the best deal I can. When you get home, don’t ever let anyone say to you, you surrendered. I was the one who surrendered.” He also told them that he was ordering them to surrender and that anyone who refused to do so would receive a court-martial. Gen. King with his two aides, Maj. Wade R. Cothran and Captain Achille C. Tisdelle Jr. got into a jeep carrying a large white flag. 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 managed to avoid the bullets and bombs. The strafing ended when a Japanese reconnaissance plane ordered the fighter pilot to stop strafing.

About 10:00 A.M. the jeeps reached Lamao where they were received by a Japanese Major General who informed King that he reported his coming to negotiate a surrender and that an officer from 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. After a half-hour, 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 line with the Japanese advance should fly white flags.

After this was done a Japanese colonel and interpreter arrived. and King was told the officer was Homma’s Chief of Staff who had come to discuss King’s surrender. King attempted to get assurances from the Japanese that his men would be treated as prisoners of war, but the Japanese officer – through his interpreter – accused him of declining to surrender unconditionally. At one point King stated he had enough trucks and gasoline to carry his troops out of Bataan. He was told that the Japanese would handle the movement of the prisoners. The two men talked back and forth until the colonel said through the interpreter, “The Imperial Japanese Army are not barbarians.” King found no choice but to accept him at his word.

Unknown to Gen. King, an order attributed to Gen. Masaharu Homma – but in all likelihood from one of his subordinates – had been given. It stated, “Every troop which fought against our army on Bataan should be wiped out thoroughly, whether he surrendered or not, and any American captive who is unable to continue marching all the way to the concentration camp should be put to death in the area of 200 meters off the road.”

On April 9, 1942, Dale became a Prisoner of War when Bataan surrendered to the Japanese. The tankers waited until April 11 for the Japanese to make contact with them. When they did, the tankers were ordered to Mariveles where they were searched and anything of use to the Japanese was taken from them. When they ordered to move, they had no idea that they had started what they called “the march.”

The first five miles of the march were uphill which was hard on men suffering from malaria, dysentery, dengue fever, and starvation. It was made worse by the guards who were assigned a certain distance to walk and wanted to complete it as fast as possible, so they made the POWs do double time. The sick could not keep up and were bayoneted or shot after they fell. Once the guards completed their assigned portion of the march, the POWs were rested while the guards were changed. The new guards often made the POWs complete their part of the march as fast as possible. 

At the end of the second day of the march the POWs were put in a pen. He recalled, “We spent the night near a town and from then on there was no water, no food e were forced to sit out under the blazing hot sun, supposedly to rest and wait for further orders.  We had no idea where we were going. When no orders came would go in search of shade but as we started to move around we would get the orders to move again.

It was at Cacaben, on April 13, the members of A Company witnessed an artillery battle between Japanese guns and American guns on Corregidor. The Japanese guns were set up along the road the POWs were used to make their way out of Bataan. The Japanese intentionally used the POWs as human shields against the American guns. The A Company men found an American truck that had been abandoned by the Japanese because it would not start. One A Company member hot-wired the truck and got it to start. Other members of the company climbed into the back and they drove past the guns as shells fell around them. According to Abel Ortega, after the truck was full, the remaining members of the company who could not fit on the truck ran behind the truck. They did this so that they would not be separated from the rest of the company. 

He also said, “Along the march there were quite a few wells and the men would gang up around thembut to make them move on, they would ck the bayonet about an inch into a man resulting in wounds that made walking difficult.  

“By this time malaria and dysentery began to set in because of lack of American food and some of the men were dying along the road. Some men gave up and were clubbed or shot to death by the Jap privates.”

He recalled that the Japanese would “stick” the POWs with their bayonets to encourage them to move. “Some of the Janesville boys were stuck with bayonets. I remember that Sgt. Lewis Wallisch and PFC Melvin Buggs were. They were’t badly hurt but became stiff and sore, making the walk much tougher for them. None of the boys were shot but many had malaria and dysentery.  Other Janesville boys, who had not been wounded or sick, assisted their buddies and all were able to continue.”

When they were north of Hermosa, the POWs reached pavement, making the march easier. They received an hour break, but any POW who attempted to lay down was jabbed with a bayonet. After the break, they marched through Layac and Lubao. It was at this time that a heavy shower took place and many of the men opened their mouths in an attempt to get water. The guards allowed the POWs to lie on the road. The rain revived many of the POWs and gave them the strength to complete the march. Most of the places they were allowed to rest were covered with human feces from other POWs who had rested there before them. Dale said, “Some of the men sat in it. Malaria and dysentery began to take their toll. Men with malaria went out of their heads and staggered off the road only to be shot or stabbed by the guards.” Dale stated that most of the POWs killed on the march were Filippino and not Americans. He also stated that the real abuse of the POWs came from the Japanese enlisted men and not the officers.

About the march, he said, “Most men will tell you the same thing. I wouldn’t do it again but for experience, I wouldn’t give a million dollars for it. You wouldn’t believe what a man’s body can take. It’s hard to believe you can survive with so little food or water.”

With Dale did the march with Sgt. Forrest Knox and Sgt. Herb Durner of his company. As Dale made his way to San Fernando, he and the other POWs had no food and no water. He saw men bayoneted for trying to get water from the artesian wells that flowed across the road along the way. Dale recalled that he and the other prisoners were allowed to sit in the sun for hours while the Japanese awaited orders. In his case, this was done in a dry rice paddy. This became known as the sun treatment. When the POWs had enough and began finding shade to sit in, the Japanese would order them to start marching.

He recalled, “We finally arrived at what we called the big tin shed.  It was an abandoned Filipino warehouse and we were given some food here; the first we had received in several days. They gave us a little rice once a day, and I stayed an extra day for the extra portion of rice. At this point, many Filipinos were shot and bayoneted to death because it was discovered that they had picked some rice on the way.  (to the compound.)  They were discovered when they built fires to cook it.  

At San Fernando, they were herded into a bullpen, surrounded by barbed wire, and put into groups of 200 men. One POW from each group went to the cooking area which was next to the latrine and received a ball of rice and four or five dried onions. Water was given out with each group receiving a pottery jar of water to share.

About this, he said, “We left that point in groups of 1,000 to walk to San Fernando Pampanga Province.  By this time the boys were in pretty bad shape and after spending the night there we were jammed into boxcars to continue the trip.  On that northward trip in the boxcars, friendly Filipinos threw some food in the open doors of the boxcars but it was not enough for the large number in each car.  

At some point, the POWs were organized into detachments of 100 men. From the compound, they were marched to the train station, where they were packed into small wooden boxcars known as “forty or eights.” Each boxcar could hold forty men or eight horses, but since there were 100 men in each detachment, the Japanese packed 100 men into each car and closed the doors. The POWs were packed in so tightly that the dead could not fall to the floor. At Capas, as the living left the cars and those who had died fell to the floors of the cars. As the POWs left the cars, the Filipino civilians threw bananas, mangos, rice cakes, and sugarcane to the POWs and gave the POWs water without the guards stopping them. The POWs walked the last eight kilometers to Camp O’Donnell an unfinished Filipino Army Training Base that the Japanese pressed into use as a POW camp on April 1, 1942. Dale figured that it took him three to five days to complete the march.

Of this, he said, “The next stop was a little town called Capas in Tarlac Province.  We marched the next eight miles to Camp O’Donnell, a one-year-old Filipino army camp, where we met up with all our buddies and learned we had lost Lt. Bloomfield on the march.  We talked over the whole trip while we were being classified for work gangs during the first three days after our arrival. 

Once in the camp, they were taken into a large field where they were counted and searched and all extra clothing that they had was taken from them and not returned. Blankets, knives, and matches were taken from them. If a man was found to have Japanese money on them, they were taken to the guardhouse.  Finally, the camp commandant came out, stood on a box, and told them that they were enemies of Japan and would always be Japan’s enemies. He also told them that they were captives and not prisoners of war and would be treated accordingly. After the speech, the prisoners were allowed to go to their barracks. Over the next several days, gunshots were heard to the southeast of the camp as the POWs who had Japanese items on them were executed for looting. 

There was not enough housing for the POWs and most slept under buildings or on the ground. The barracks were designed for 40 men and those who did sleep in one slept in one with as many as 80 to 120 men. Most of the POWs slept on the ground under the barracks. There was no netting to protect the men from malaria-carrying mosquitos as they slept, so many men soon became ill with malaria. The ranking American officer was slapped after asking for building materials to repair the buildings.

The POWs received three meals, mainly rice, a day. For breakfast, they were fed a half cup of soupy rice and occasionally some type of coffee. Lunch each day was a half of a mess kit of steamed rice and a half cup of sweet potato soup. They received the same meal for dinner. All meals were served outside regardless of the weather. By May 1, the food had improved a little with the issuing of a little wheat flour, some native beans, and a small issue of coconut oil. About once every ten days, 3 or 4 small calves were brought into the camp. When meat was given out, there was only enough for one-fourth of the POWs to receive a piece that was an inch square. A native potato, the camote, was given to the POWs, but most were rotten and thrown out. The POWs had to post guards to prevent other POWs from eating them. The camp had a Black Market and POWs who had money could buy a small can of fish from the guards for $5.00.

There was only one water faucet in the camp, and the prisoners stood in line for two to eight hours waiting for a drink. The Japanese guards at the faucet would turn it off for no reason and the next man in line would stand as long as four hours waiting for it to be turned on again. This situation improved when a second faucet was added by the POWs who came up with the pipe, dug the trench, and ran the waterline. Just like the first faucet, the Japanese turned off the water when they wanted water to bathe, but unlike the first water line, the POWs had the ability to turn on the water again without the Japanese knowing it. There was no water for washing clothes, so the POWs would throw out their clothing when it had been soiled. In addition, water for cooking had to be carried three miles from a river to the camp, and mess kits could not be washed. The slit trenches in the camp were inadequate and were soon overflowing since most of the POWs had dysentery. The result was that flies were everywhere in the camp including in the POW kitchens and in the food.

The camp hospital had no soap, water, or disinfectant. When the ranking American doctor at the camp wrote a letter to the camp commandant, Capt. Yohio Tsuneyoshi, asking for medical supplies. He was told never to write another letter. The Archbishop of Manila sent a truckload of medical supplies to the camp, but the Japanese commandant refused to allow the truck into the camp. When the Philippine Red Cross sent medical supplies to the camp the Japanese took 95% of the supplies for their own use. When a second truck was sent to the camp by the Red Cross, it was turned away. The POWs in the camp hospital lay on the floor elbow to elbow and only one medic – out of the six medics assigned to care for 50 sick POWs – was healthy enough to care for them. When a representative of the Philippine Red Cross stated they could supply a 150-bed hospital for the camp, he was slapped in the face by a Japanese lieutenant.

Each morning, the bodies of the dead were found all over the camp and were carried to the hospital and placed underneath it. The bodies lay there for two or three days before they were buried in the camp cemetery by other POWs who were suffering from dysentery and/or malaria. To clean the ground under the hospital, the bodies were moved to one side, the ground was scraped and lime was spread over it. The bodies were placed in the cleaned area, and the area they had lain was scraped and lime was spread over it. At one point, 80 bodies lay under the hospital.

Work details were sent out on a daily basis. Each day, the American doctors gave a list of names to the Japanese of the POWs who were healthier enough to work. If the quota of POWs needed to work could not be met, the Japanese put those POWs who were sick but could walk, to work. The death rate among the POWs reached 50 men dying a day. 

 He commented, “During the first three or four days, more dysentery appeared as a result of the long march and many of the Janesville men were in no condition to be assigned to work details.”

Dale seeing the conditions in the camp decided that he had to get out of it, so when a work detail was created to gather scrap metal, he volunteered to go out on it. Ten men from each company of the 192nd were selected for the detail. ranking American officer on the detail was Lt. Col. Ted Wickord who had been the commanding officer of the 192nd. The members of the 192nd who remained in Camp O’Donnell were placed under the command of 1st Lt. John Bushaw. With Dale in his group were Philip Parish, John Wood, Ken Schoeberle, Forrest Teal, Donald Schultz, and Lewis Wallisch from A Company. There were also two captains from the 194th Tank Battalion. The POWs were taken back to Mariveles, but after arriving there it was decided that they would be sent to Calauan to rebuild bridges. 

The POWs quickly became ill. Dale stated, “Some of the men got beriberi, malaria, dysentery yellow jaundice.  I remember Sgt. Wallace was swollen from beriberi and had malaria and dysentery at the same time.  Pvt. Schultz had malaria, beriberi, and yellow jaundice all at the same time.”

The Japanese captain who was the engineer in charge of the detail allowed the POWs to roam the barrio, but they could not leave the barrio. Of the Japanese engineer in charge of the detail, Dale said, “The best Jap we met at any time was the captain who had charge of our work detail and we also discovered another valuable friend, a Mrs. Schultz, who lived near our camp.

“The captain whose life had once been saved by a Filipino doctor, allowed the doctor and nurse to visit us each day and treat us for our various diseases.  Mrs. Schultz contacted sources in the Mainland was able to get some medicines for us but there was not enough.

“The Jap captain was very good to us though he made us realize that there was work do. He could speak English fairly well as could the lieutenant who served with him over our detail. They always allowed us to leave the camp at night if we were not too tired out after the day’s work.  They never sent a guard with us if we chose to take a walk. They also asked many questions about the United States and often asked us to sing American songs for them. Both were well educated but had never been to the United States.  (The fact was the captain had attended engineering school in the United States.)

Dale recalled that they were joined on the detail by PFC Joseph McCrea and Sgt Bill Nolan who it appears were sent to the barrio as replacements for POWs sent to Cabanatuan. This camp was open replacing Camp O’Donnell. They informed the members of A Company on the detail that Sgt. Osborne McDonald and S/Sgt. George Prueher had died.

When they arrived at the barrio, they were divided into 20 men details and sent to various locations to rebuild the nearby bridges. The Japanese engineers treated the POWs better than POWs on other details. They allowed the POWs to roam the barrio without guards but the POWs could not go beyond the boundaries of the barrio. The Japanese also did not stop the Filipinos from giving food to the POWs. The food was good but men still quickly came down with beriberi, dysentery, and yellow jaundice. A Filipino doctor was allowed to treat the sick every day, and the Japanese allowed the POWs to take part in two celebrations in the barrio. During these fiestas, the POWs were asked to sing songs and the Japanese also sang. 

The work was hard, and one of the hardest jobs on the detail was driving pilings into the river banks. This the men did by hand by cranking up a pile driver that dropped a weight onto the piling. By the end of the work day, the POWs were exhausted. The Japanese pressed into use the Filipinos to help do the work. The Japanese treated them just like they treated the POWs. One reason was that at night something always seemed to happen that slowed down the work on the bridge. Equipment that worked perfectly well the day before would malfunction for no reason or completely break down. The pile drivers were sabotaged so once the weight was in position, it could not be released.  

It is known that it was in this barrio that the POWs and Japanese played their first baseball game against each other. The Japanese engineer in charge of the detail played for both teams. No one seemed to recall who won the game, but it was said the POWs cheered for both teams.

While he was on the detail, his parents received two messages from the War Department. The first was received in May or early June 1942.

Dear Mr. T. Lawton:

        According to War Department records, you have been designated as the emergency addressee of First Sergeant Dale E. Lawton, 20,645,199, 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  

Sometime in July, they received a follow-up message. The following is an excerpt from it. 

THE LAST REPORT OF CASUALTIES RECEIVED BY THE WAR DEPARTMENT FROM THE PHILIPPINES ARRIVED EARLY IN THE MORNING OF MAY 6. THROUGH THIS DATE, FIRST SERGEANT DALE E LAWTON HAD NOT BEEN REPORTED AS A CASUALTY. THE WAR DEPARTMENT L CONSIDER THE PERSONS SERVING IN THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS AS “MISSING IN ACTION” FROM THE DATE OF SURRENDER OF CORREGIDOR, MAY 7, UNTIL DEFINITE INFORMATION TO THE CONTRARY IS RECEIVED. “EFFORTS TO SECURE PRISONER OF WAR LISTS FROM THE PHILIPPINES HAVE NOT BEEN SUCCESSFUL TO THIS DATE DUE TO THE LACK OF COMMUNICATION AND THE FAC THAT THE JAPANESE GOVERNMENT HAS NOT YET GIVEN PERMISSION FOR THE SWISS REPRESENTATIVE  AND THE INTERNATIONAL RED CROSS DELEGATES TO MAKE VISITS TO THE PRISONER OF WAR CAMPS IN THE ISLANDS. WHEN THE LIST OF PRISONERS ARE RECEIVED, WE WILL CLEAR THE NAME OF YOUR SON AND SEND YOU ANY ADDITIONAL INFORMATION THAT WE MAY HAVE.=  
      ULIO THE ADJUTANT GENERAL=

Just before the POWs were sent to Batangas to rebuild other bridges, an order of Catholic Sisters – who had been recently freed from custody – invited the Japanese commander and Lt. Col. Wickord and twelve POWs for a dinner the last night in the barrio. Wickord picked the twelve sickest-looking POWs he found for the dinner and selected six Protestant POWs and six Catholic POWs to attend the dinner. 

Dale and his group were next sent to Batangas. about the move, he said, “Conditions changed when we moved to Batangas into some old college buildings.  The food was very bad. had only rice and greens–a wild weed of some kind–and no salt.”  

The next bridges the POWs were sent to build were in Batangas. The POWs rode trucks for about 2½ hours to the barrio. Once in Batangas, the POWs went to a two-floor school. The Japanese lived on the first floor and the POWs lived on the second floor. Bernard Fitzpatrick, 194th, stated that the building was clean and the POWs could look out of the windows and see the harbor. He also said that the building had lush lawns around it and the POWs were allowed to sleep outside in good weather. Many of the POWs ended up with dysentery from the water. Once again, the people of the town did whatever they could to help the Americans. An order of Roman Catholic sisters brought the POWs food and clothing that they scrounged up. Because of the work, most of the uniforms of the POWs had disintegrated. 

When their work was finished on the bridge, the POWs boarded trucks and went to Candelaria to rebuild their final bridges. Unlike the other barrios, the Filipinos kept their distance from the POWs. The POWs slept in a coconut processing mill with a fence around it. During the nights, since they were locked in, the building grew hot. It was there that Dale states things changed again. “After we moved to Candelaria our older guards went home and younger fellows replaced them.  They were not so good to us but there was not so much sickness.”

The food at this time also deteriorated in its quality and many of the POWs came down with malaria, scurvy, and pellagra. The Japanese brought the Filipino doctor from Calauan to the work site and he told the Japanese to give the POWs limes. While the POWs worked, the Filipinos were allowed to bring them food which resulted in their health improving. 

The POWs found themselves repairing a concrete bridge that had been extensively damaged. Instead of replacing it with a wooden bridge, they repaired the existing bridge. The sand and cement were brought to a large flat-bottomed box with wheelbarrows and dumped into the box. Water was dumped into it from buckets that were carried by the POWs to the box. They then mixed it by hand with Japanese shovels which was the hardest part of the job. When the work on this bridge was finished, they built a wooden bridge near the barrio. It was said they built 30 bridges while on the detail.

The Japanese held a ceremony commemorating the bridge and the POWs were in the audience. They then were taken to a market inSan Pablo where they were and the Japanese guards bought them fruit and sweet cakes that they put into their sacks. They then returned to the warehouse where they were given a week off to rest before they boarded the trucks and were taken to Cabanatuan. 

When they arrived at Cabanatuan, none of the POWs was searched because their bags had tags from the Japanese engineers that allowed them to be brought into the camp. Inside the bags, many of the POWs carried food and other items that would have been taken from them had they been searched.

On October 10, 1942, Dale came down with malaria, and he was also showing the first signs of beriberi. When Dale began to recover, he was expected to work on the burial detail. He and another first sergeant flipped a coin to see which one would work the detail. Dale won the coin toss and did not have to work the detail.

He recalled about arriving in the camp. “It was during the typhoon season and the death rate was at its peak when I got to Cabanatuan.  There were U.S. bals every day but I escaped the burial detail because I could hardly walk due to malaria and the beginning of beriberi wich caused my feet to ache and swell.  I flipped a coin with another barracks first sergeant and won to miss the burial detail.”

The POWs were allowed to run the camp. The Japanese only entered if they had an issue they wanted to deal with. To prevent escapes, the POWs set up a detail that patrolled the fence of the camp. The reason this was done was that those who did escape and were caught were tortured before being executed, while the other POWs were made to watch. It is believed that no POW successfully escaped from the camp.

In the camp, the Japanese instituted the “Blood Brother” rule. If one man escaped the other nine men in his group would be executed. POWs caught trying to escape were beaten. Those who did escape and were caught were tortured before being executed. It is not known if any POWs successfully escaped from the camp.

The barracks in the camp were built to house 50 POWs, but most had between 60 to 120 POWs in them. The POWs slept on bamboo slats, without mattresses, bedding, or mosquito netting. Many quickly became ill. The POWs were assigned to barracks which meant that the members of their group lived together, went out on work details together, and would be executed together since they were Blood Brothers.

The POWs were sent out on work details to cut wood for the POW kitchens. The two major details were the farm detail and the airfield detail which lasted for years. A typical day on any detail lasted from 7:00 A.M. until 5:00 P.M.

Rice was the main food given to the POWs fed to them as “lugow” which meant “wet rice.”  The rice smelled and appeared to have been swept up off the floor. The other problem was that the men assigned to be cooks had no idea of how to prepare the rice since they had no experience in cooking it. During their time in the camp, they received few vegetables and almost no fruit. Once in a while, the POWs received corn to serve to the prisoners. From the corn, the cooks would make hominy. The prisoners were so hungry that some men would eat the corn cobs. This resulted in many men being taken to the hospital to have the cobs removed because they would not pass through the men’s bowels. Sometimes they received bread, and if they received fish it was rotten and covered with maggots. To supplement their diets, the men would search for grasshoppers, rats, and dogs to eat. The POWs assigned to handing out the food used a sardine can to assure that each man received the same amount. They were closely watched by their fellow prisoners who wanted to make sure that everyone received the same portion and that no one received extra rice.

The camp hospital was known as “Zero Ward” because it was missed by the Japanese when they counted barracks. The sickest POWs were sent there to die. The Japanese put a fence up around the building to protect themselves, and they would not go into the building. There were two rolls of wooden platforms around the perimeter of the building. The sickest POWs were put on the lower platform which had holes cut into it so they could relieve themselves. Most of those who entered the ward died.

It was about this time that the first Americans were sent to Japan. According to Dale, the first POWs to be selected for transport were the generals. The Japanese next took other officers and finally enlisted men who were mechanics.

The Japanese announced to the POWs in the camp that on October 14, 1942, the daily food ration for each POW would be 550 grams of rice, 100 grams of meat, 330 grams of vegetables, 20 grams of fat, 20 grams of sugar, 15 grams of salt, and 1 gram of tea. In reality, the POWs noted that the meals were wet rice and rice coffee for breakfast, Pechi green soup and rice for lunch, and Mongo bean soup, Carabao meat, and rice for dinner. About the food in the camp, Dale stated, “I got my first bite of meat just before Thanksgiving when some Filipinos sold some caribou (water buffalo) to the camp. There was only enough for a bite apiece and it was a long time before any more came our war.”

He also said, “At about this time the first details were selected to go to Japan.  Generals were selected first and then the officers down the line of rank.  I could work at all by the time because my eyes had started to go bad and I was still suffering from beriberi.  By the end of December, 1942, I couldn’t see at all and I could barely walk and was taken to the hospital in the other half of the camp where the food was a little better.  We had a little meat, soy beans and rice.

“There was no known treatment for beriberi, from which I was suffering, but I was taken to an experimental ward for treatment  to my eyes and Amerian doctors brought back part of my sight.  While in the hospital for 14 months, I had everything except diphtheria and dysentery.”

Fr. Bruttenbruck, a German Catholic priest, came to the camp – assisted by Mrs. Escoda – with packages from friends and relatives in Manila on November 12. There was also medicine and books for the POWs. The POWs started a major clean-up of the camp on November 14 and deep latrines, sump holes for water only, and began to bury the camp’s garbage. Pvt. Peeter Lankianuskas was shot attempting to escape on November 16. Two other POWs were put on trial by the Japanese for aiding him. One man received 20 days in solitary confinement while the other man received 30 days in solitary confinement. Pvt. Donald K. Russell, on November 20, was caught trying to reenter the camp at 12:30 A.M. He had left the camp at 8:30 P.M. and secured a bag of canned food by claiming he was a guerrilla. He was executed in the camp cemetery at 12;30 P.M. on November 21. The Japanese gave out a large amount of old clothing – that came from Manila – to the POWs on November 22. On November 23, the Japanese wanted to start a farm and needed 750 POWs to do the initial work on it. It was noted that there were only 603 POWs healthy enough to work. 

The Japanese wanted the farm detail started which became one of the largest details in the camp. On November 23, they wanted 750 POWs to start work on the farm. The problem was there were only 603 POWs in the camp who were healthy enough to work. It was also one of the most brutal details. At some point, almost every POW in the camp worked the detail. The POWs would have to go to a shed each morning to get tools. As they left the shed, the Japanese guards thought it was great fun to hit them over their heads. The detail was under the command of “Big Speedo” who spoke very little English. When he wanted the POWs to work faster, he told the POWs “speedo.” Although he was known to have a temper, the POWs thought he was fair.

Another guard was “Little Speedo” who was smaller and also used “speedo” when he wanted the POWs to work faster. He punished the POWs by making them kneel on stones. “Smiley” was a Korean guard who always had a smile on his face but could not be trusted. He was the meanest of the guards and beat men up for no reason. He liked to hit the POWs with the club. Any prisoner who he believed was not working hard enough got knocked over with it. Each morning, after arriving at the farm, the POWs went into a tool shed to get their tools. As they left the shed, the guards hit them on their heads. This was considered the most abusive of the work details with the POWs receiving the worst beatings.

Fr. Bruttenbruck returned on December 10 without proper authorization from the authorities in Manila so he was turned away.  He had brought a truckload of medicine and food for the POWs. It was estimated by the POWs that he spent $300.00 for fuel to make the trip. He returned on December 24 with two truckloads of presents for the men and a gift bag for each. This time he was allowed into the camp. The next day, Christmas, the POWs received 2½ Red Cross boxes. In each box milk in some form, corn beef, fish, stew beef, sugar, meat and vegetable, tea, and chocolate. The POWs also received bulk corn beef, sugar, meat and vegetables, stew, raisins, dried fruit, and cocoa which they believed would last them three months. The POWs also were given four days off from work.

Since his diet was so poor, Dale began having vision problems. In addition, he was still suffering from dry beriberi. Other members of the company stated that Dale was in extreme pain and cried because it hurt so bad. Physically, he had reached the point that he was blind and unable to walk, so he was taken to the camp hospital and remained in the hospital from January 1, 1943. During his time in the hospital, Dale was taken to the experimental ward. The American doctors having few medical supplies attempted to find alternative methods to help the patients. The doctors were successful at getting some of Dale’s vision back.

Around this time, the Japanese also became interested in beriberi and the pain that came with it. They began to perform experiments on the POWs with B-1 vitamins and spinal punctures. Dale recalled that Carl Nickols received treatment and walked out without the cane he had been using to get around. Dale believed more POWs came out of the experiments in worse shape than they were in before they were treated.

His family received another message from the War Department in May 1943. 

REPORT JUST RECEIVED THROUGH THE INTERNATIONAL RED CROSS STATES THAT YOUR SON 1ST SGT DALE E LAWTON IS A PRISONER OF WAR OF THE JAPANESE GOVERNMENT IN THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS LETTER OF INFORMATION FOLLOWS FROM THE PROVOST
ULIO THE ADJUTANT GENERAL.

A few weeks after receiving this message, the family received another message from the War Department.

Troy Lawton
505 Doty
Mineral Point

The Provost Marshal General directs me to inform you that you may communicate with your son, postage free, by following the inclosed instructions:

It is suggested that you address him as follows:

1st Sgt. Dale E. Lawton, U.S. Army
Interned in the Philippine Islands
C/O Japanese Red Cross, Tokyo, Japan
Via New York, New York

Packages cannot be sent to the Orient at this time. When transportation facilities are available a package permit will be issued you.

Further information will be forwarded you as soon as it is received.

                                                                                                                                                Sincerely

                                                                                                                                               Howard F. Bresee
                                                                                                                                               Colonel, CMP
                                                                                                                                               Chief Information Bureau

Of his time in the hospital in 1943, Dale said, “At about this time the death rate began to drop and many of us stayed awake until midnight one night to celebrate the first day when no one died.  The next day one or two died but death came only occasionally after that as the food ration got better with some vegetables and meat and we were becoming better able to keep the rice down.

It was March 3, 1944, when Dale was discharged from the hospital. he stated, “After my 14 months in the hospital I was moved to the duty side of the prison camp and was put to work on the prison farm and later on an airport about eight miles away, to which we walked to work and back every day. None of us had shoes by this time and we were wearing only a g-string.  The only foot covering any of us had consisted of rags wrapped around the feet or woolen socks made from the plants.”

Since Dale was not selected for shipment to Japan, he presumed that even though he was healthier, he was still considered too ill for Japan. It was at this time that rumors spread among the prisoners that the Americans had landed in the Philippines.

Life in the camp was monotonous, and the POWs continued to go out on work details. On September 21, 1944, Dale saw his first American planes since before the surrender of Bataan. “Our first hint that the Americans were on their way back was when we saw the first U.S. Navy planes on September 21, 1944. I don’t know how many there were but to us, it seemed like thousands.  We were pleased but did not dare to let say it to the Jap guard that we knew they were American. They asked us if they were and we just answered that we didn’t know.  There was no demonstration of any kind.”

Other POWs stated that they weren’t sure that the planes were Americans, but when a dogfight took place above the camp and one plane flew low over the camp and they saw the “White Stars” on its wings and knew they were American and a loud cheer was heard throughout the camp. As they watched the dogfight a Japanese plane fell to the ground in flames. When it crashed, a second cheer went through the camp. Not long after this, 150 guards left the camp by truck for duty at other places.

The POWs heard a rumor from guards Americans were on Mindanao Island. It turned out the rumor was false. The POWs heard and saw the heavy bombing of Clark Field on October 29. The POWs learned from a map in a Japanese paper – on October 30 – that American troops were on southern Luzon. In addition, American planes flew over the camp that night.

About this time he stated, “By October of 1944, nearly all the officers had been sent from Cabanatuan to Manila and on to Japan, but I had dengue fever when the last of them left and because my eyes I had been placed on the Jap disability list.  Those who could walk and were not seriously sick were taken in that last trip before the liberation.”

The Japanese guards admitted, on November 2, to the POWs that American troops were on Leyte and Mindoro. On November 5, American bombers flew over the camp all day long. To see how close the Americans were, the POWs looked for land-based planes but saw none. The next day, the POWs watch two planes circle the camp. As they watched, the planes strafed and bombed Cabanatuan Airfield. The airfield was bombed and strafed three times that day. 

From talking to the guards, the POWs learned that there are only about 1000 American POWs left in the Philippines. The rest had been sent out on ships for Japan or other parts of the empire. The POWs knew there were 500 POWs at Cabanatuan.– approximately 500 at Cabanatuan so the remainder had to be at Bilibid Prison outside Manila.

By November 13, the POWs were no longer excited by American planes flying over the camp. What they wanted to know was where the troops and tanks were. On November 24, a large convoy of Japanese trucks passed the camp at night heading north.  The POWs also received mail that was postmarked in May and June 1944 which was the fastest they had ever received mail before. During this time the meals got worse and they received less rice and instead of fish, they were given fish powder.  The POWs’ breakfast was plain lugao. To supplement their meals they ate dog soup. From November to December food was the main focus of the POWs.

American planes again appeared over the camp on December 14 and bombed to the north and west of the camp. For the first time, the POWs believed the planes were land-based. The next day before dawn, American planes flew over on their way to bomb Clark Field. The POWs heard and saw anti-aircraft fire as the planes attacked Later that day, they saw more planes fly over and bombed the Cabanatuan Airfield twice in one day. On December 15, the POWs saw planes that looked too large to be from carriers. These were the first land-based planes they had seen. They watched and enjoyed it as the planes flew around in small groups as if they were looking for trouble. The next night, December 16, the POWs were sleeping when explosions from six bombs from an American plane dropped on a Japanese convoy on the road that ran past the camp woke them. At first, the POWs thought the camp was being bombed and took cover.  A few days later the POWs heard that 38 Japanese soldiers had been killed and 20 wounded during the attack. That same day at 8:00 P.M., the Japanese moved some tanks, armored trucks, and small artillery pieces into the camp and stored them in old barracks and mess halls that had been abandoned. 

The Japanese camouflaged the camp with nets, ropes, wires, and tree branches on December 18, and the next day the POWs heard the news that Americans had landed on Mindoro Island south of Luzon. It was at this time that two truckloads of Japanese troops and equipment entered the camp, as well as, several truckloads of lumber and supplies were brought into the camp. Approximately 100 Japanese troops with full combat gear entered the camp after dark. Food again was an issue, and the POWs noted their food was radish tops and some meat. When they received fish, the dried fish issued to them was mostly scales and bones since worms had eaten the meat.

The POWs watched heavy American bombers attacked by a single Japanese plane on December 22, and one plane crashed. The POWs hoped that it was the Japanese plane.  Dale stated. “In December we saw P-38s and knew that meant the Americans had some nearby airfields for land-based planes.” A few days later, on December 24, 21 American bombers flew over the camp on their way to bomb Clark Field. In the distance, the POWs heard the ack-ack fire from the Japanese anti-aircraft guns. As the planes flew over the camp on the way back from the bombing, the POWs counted that all 21 planes had survived the mission.

On Christmas Day, the POWs watched American fighters and bombers attack Clark Field. Again, they heard the bombs exploding and the fire from the anti-aircraft guns. The next day they heard a rumor that all the POWs at Bilibid had been sent to Japan. Two days later, on December 28, the POWs were awakened by the sound of Japanese tanks and trucks passing the camp. Someone was able to see that the Japanese soldiers were dressed as Filipino civilians. It was also in December 1944, that the last of the POWs who could walk and were not seriously sick were shipped to Japan from Cabanatuan.

On the morning of January 7, 1945, the Japanese abandoned the camp and told them they were no longer prisoners of war. Before they left, the camp commander told them that if they stayed in the camp they would be safe but if they went beyond the fence they would be shot. He also stated the POWs were being left 30 days of food.

About this, he said, “We were somewhat worried when the Japs left hurriedly on Jan. 7 and wondered if they intended to return to kill all of us.  They told us that we were no longer prisoners and would not be molested if we remained within the enclosure.  Otherwise, we would be treated like any Americans.  As there was no place to go anyway, we all stayed and three days later some crippled Jap soldiers were set up as guards.

“The cripples did not arrive however until we had raided the food warehouses for three sacks of sugar, canned milk they had taken from us on Bataan, beans, sweet potatoes, radishes, onions, their pigs, and even their experimental herd of cattle.  We got out first clothing since 1942 and obtained a radio for our first authentic news from the outside world.

“From that time on the average gain of weight was 14½ pounds per man”

The POWs on January 9, heard shelling from American guns in the distance. Many wondered when the troops and tanks would reach them. The next day, Japanese troops returned to the camp and posted guards who had been wounded in combat. They also returned the POWs to the hospital area of the camp. 

The U.S. 6th Rangers left on the mission to liberate the camp on January 28, and at 2:00 P.M. the Rangers crossed into Japanese territory. Dale recalled, “On January 30 lots of planes went over and a couple of them, small cabin planes, circled so low we were afraid they would crash into the enclosure.  We figured something was doing then but when no message was relayed we had no idea what it could be.”

They reached the camp on January 31, 1945, and by 5:45 P.M. they had taken positions around the camp.  At 7:40 P.M. the Rangers opened fired on guardhouses and by 8:15 P.M. the camp was secured and the POWs had been rescued without any POW casualties. Two POWs later died because of health issues. The Filipino guerrilla forces who held the bridge prevented the Japanese from reinforcing Cabanatuan. At 8:40  P.M., the Rangers signaled the guerrillas that all POWs had been rescued. The Rangers and former POWs reached Plateros at 10:00 P.M. and sent a radio message sent that all POWs had been rescued at 11:00 P.M. before leaving at 11:30 P.M. and left Plateros for American lines. From this point on, American planes protected the group which successfully reached American lines on February 1, 1945. 

Recalling the event, “None of us knew what was happening when the U.S. Rangers stormed the camp shortly after 7:30 P.M. Feb. 1 but it didn’t take long to find out when the big fellows came yelling, ‘We are Americans, you are free, head for the gates!’  All 511 men in the camp, including the bed patients, were out of the enclosure in 26 minutes from the time the first shot was fired until the all clear was announced.” In reality, one POW was left behind and was rescued by the Filipino guerrillas.

Dale remembered that after he was safely behind American lines, he was greeted by an American soldier from Janesville. He and the former POWs were treated as if they were heroes.

After reaching American lines, he commented after seeing lines of tanks and other vehicles. “This army is really something now, isn’t it? I sure wish we had a little bit of that stuff on Bataan.”

His parents received a telegram from the War Department on February 1, 1945.

TROY LAWTON

                                                505 DOTY MINERAL POINT=

OFFICIAL CONFIRMATION HAS NOW BEEN RECEIVED THAT YOUR SON FIRST SERGEANT DALE E LAWTON RETURNED TO MILITARY CONTROL THIRTY ONE JANUARY=

                                               J A ULIO THE ADJUTANT GENERAL

Dale returned to the United States on the U.S.S. General A. E. Anderson which sailed on February 11, 1945, from Tacloban, Leyte, Philippine Islands. The ship had a two-day layover at Hollandia, New Guinea, from February 18 to 20, before it sailed for the U.S. and arrived at San Francisco on March 8, 1945. He was the first member of A Company to return to Janesville. In many cases, he provided the families with the first news that they heard about their sons in three years.

The Janesville Gazette reported on April 18, 1945, that Lawton had received orders to report to Washington D.C. for temporary duty attached to the 2520th Service command unit reporting to the adjutant general’s office. He surmised that he was being called there to provide information on the members of his tank company. While in Cabanatuan, he had kept records — up to two weeks before he was freed — on every member of the company for the entire time he was held there. When he was rescued, he was unable to take the record with him, but he drew sketches of where in the camp the record was hidden. He believed that the record had been found and he was going to Washington to confirm what he had written. When he was finished, he spent five days in the Blue Ridge Mountains before returning to Janesville.

Dale was discharged from the army on July 30, 1946. In November 1946, Dale married Mary Nickols and the couple became the parents of three children. Although he was considered legally blind from the beriberi he had while a POW, he worked at the General Motors Assembly Plant in Janesville. There, he had the job of equipping outgoing cars with tool kits. He also served on the Janesville City Council and spent the rest of his life in Janesville.

Dale Lawton passed away on December 31, 1967, and was buried at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Janesville, Wisconsin.

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