Melton M. Jackson, age 33, from Alabama, Washington county.
Service era: World War II
Military history: 36th Infantry Division
Date of death: Friday, September 17, 1943
Death details: Killed in action
Cemetery: Mobile National
Source: National Archives, grave marker
John S. Rodgers, age 33, from South Carolina, Williamsburg county.
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Sunday, July 26, 1942
Death details: Following the Allied surrender on the Bataan Peninsula on April 9, 1942, the Japanese began the forcible transfer of American and Filipino prisoners of war to various prison camps in central Luzon, at the northern end of the Philippines. The largest of these camps was the notorious Cabanatuan Prison Camp. At its peak, Cabanatuan held approximately 8,000 American and Filipino prisoners of war that were captured during and after the Fall of Bataan. Camp overcrowding worsened with the arrival of Allied prisoners who had surrendered from Corregidor on May 6, 1942. Conditions at the camp were poor, with food and water extremely limited, leading to widespread malnutrition and outbreaks of malaria and dysentery. By the time the camp was liberated in early 1945, approximately 2,800 Americans had died at Cabanatuan. Prisoners were forced to bury the dead in makeshift communal graves, often completed without records or markers. As a result, identifying and recovering remains interred at Cabanatuan was difficult in the years after the war. Corporal John S. Rodgers entered the U.S. Army from South Carolina and served with Company H of the 31st Infantry Regiment in the Philippines during World War II. He was captured in Bataan following the American surrender on April 9, 1942, and died of malaria and dysentery on July 26, 1942, at the Cabanatuan Prison Camp in Nueva Ecija Province. He was buried in a communal grave in the camp cemetery along with other deceased American POWs; however, his remains could not be associated with any remains recovered from Cabanatuan after the war. Today, Corporal Rodgers is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Harry E. Sloan, age 33, from Texas, Houston county.
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Sunday, July 19, 1942
Death details: Following the Allied surrender on the Bataan Peninsula on April 9, 1942, the Japanese began the forcible transfer of American and Filipino prisoners of war to various prison camps in central Luzon, at the northern end of the Philippines. The largest of these camps was the notorious Cabanatuan Prison Camp. At its peak, Cabanatuan held approximately 8,000 American and Filipino prisoners of war that were captured during and after the Fall of Bataan. Camp overcrowding worsened with the arrival of Allied prisoners who had surrendered from Corregidor on May 6, 1942. Conditions at the camp were poor, with food and water extremely limited, leading to widespread malnutrition and outbreaks of malaria and dysentery. By the time the camp was liberated in early 1945, approximately 2,800 Americans had died at Cabanatuan. Prisoners were forced to bury the dead in makeshift communal graves, often completed without records or markers. As a result, identifying and recovering remains interred at Cabanatuan was difficult in the years after the war. Staff Sergeant Harry E. Sloan entered the U.S. Army Air Forces from Texas and served in the 48th Materiel Squadron in the Philippines during World War II. He was captured in Bataan following the American surrender on April 9, 1942, and died of dysentery and cerebral malaria on July 19, 1942, at the Cabanatuan Prison Camp in Nueva Ecija Province. He was buried in a communal grave in the camp cemetery along with other deceased American POWs; however, his remains could not be associated with any remains recovered from Cabanatuan after the war. Today, Staff Sergeant Sloan is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Louis B. Calanchi, age 33, from New Mexico, Eddy county.
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Saturday, July 18, 1942
Death details: Following the Allied surrender on the Bataan Peninsula on April 9, 1942, the Japanese began the forcible transfer of American and Filipino prisoners of war to various prison camps in central Luzon, at the northern end of the Philippines. The largest of these camps was the notorious Cabanatuan Prison Camp. At its peak, Cabanatuan held approximately 8,000 American and Filipino prisoners of war that were captured during and after the Fall of Bataan. Camp overcrowding worsened with the arrival of Allied prisoners who had surrendered from Corregidor on May 6, 1942. Conditions at the camp were poor, with food and water extremely limited, leading to widespread malnutrition and outbreaks of malaria and dysentery. By the time the camp was liberated in early 1945, approximately 2,800 Americans had died at Cabanatuan. Prisoners were forced to bury the dead in makeshift communal graves, often completed without records or markers. As a result, identifying and recovering remains interred at Cabanatuan was difficult in the years after the war. Private Louis B. Calanchi joined the U.S. Army in New Mexico and served with the 200th Coast Artillery Regiment in the Philippines during World War II. After the Allied surrender, he and the other surviving members of his unit were forced on the Bataan Death March and eventually interned at the Cabanatuan Prison Camp, where PVT Calanchi died of dysentery on July 18, 1942. He was buried in a communal grave in the camp cemetery along with other deceased American POWs; however, his remains could not be associated with any remains recovered from Cabanatuan after the war. Today, Private Calanchi is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.
Cemetery: Manila American Cemetery
Source: National Archives, American Battle Monuments Commission, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Verle W. Murphy, age 33, from Taylor County Bedford, Iowa .
Parents: William B. Murphy
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Monday, December 29, 1941
Source: National Archives, Omaha World Herald (1943)
Eugene Mitchell Skaggs, age 33, from Long Beach, California, Los Angeles county.
Spouse: Mrs. Mary J. Skaggs
Service era: World War II
Date of death: December 7, 1941. Died aboard the USS Oklahoma. Accounted for February 12, 2021.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Frank Peter Wojtkiewicz, age 33, from West Hollywood, California, Lost Angeles county.
Spouse: Agnia Wojtkiewicz
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Sunday, December 7, 1941
Death details: Killed aboard the USS Arizona
Source: National Archives
Asbury Legare Booze, age 33, from Augusta, Georgia, Richmond county.
Parents: Clarence George Booze
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Sunday, December 7, 1941
Death details: Killed aboard the USS Arizona. Remains not recovered.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Arthur Clarence Neuenschwander, age 33, from Wells County Fessenden, North Dakota .
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Sunday, December 7, 1941
Death details: Killed aboard the USS Oklahoma. Accounted for November 8, 2016
Source: National Archives, Indianapolis News (1941)
John Chernek, age 33, from Hamilton County Cincinnati, Ohio .
Parents: Jacob Chernak
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Sunday, December 7, 1941
Death details: Killed at Pearl Harbor
Source: National Archives, Cincinnati Enquirer (1942), Los Angeles Daily News (1942)