Tag: Middlesex County Massachusetts

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Lescaut, Joseph E.
Army Private

Joseph E. Lescaut, age 21, from Massachusetts, Middlesex 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. Private Joseph E. Lescaut entered the U.S. Army from Massachusetts and served with the 16th Bombardment Squadron, 27th Bombardment Group 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. He was accounted for in 2022.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

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Walden, Graham D.
Army Corporal

Graham D. Walden from Massachusetts, Middlesex county.

Service era: World War II
Military history: 17 Pursuit Squadron 24 Pursuit Group

Date of death: Saturday, July 25, 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 Graham D. Walden joined the U.S. Army Air Forces from Massachusetts and was a member of the 17th Pursuit Squadron, 24th Pursuit Group in the Philippines during World War II. He was captured in Bataan following the American surrender on April 9, 1942, and died of malaria on July 25, 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 Walden is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

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Smith, Raymond E.
Army Technician 5

Raymond E. Smith from Massachusetts, Middlesex county.

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Friday, July 24, 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. Technician fifth Grade Raymond E. Smith joined the U.S. Army Air Forces from Massachusetts and served with the 16th Bombardment Squadron, 27th Bombardment Group in the Philippines 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 malaria on July 24, 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, Technician 5th Grade Smith is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

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Pierce, Arthur L.
Army Private 1st class

Arthur L. Pierce from Massachusetts, Middlesex county.

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Sunday, July 19, 1942
Death details: On July 28, 2022, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) identified the remains of Private First Class Arthur L. Pierce, missing from World War II. Private First Class Pierce entered the U.S. Army from Massachusetts and served in the 803rd Engineer Battalion in the Philippines. With the surrender of U.S. forces in the spring of 1942, PFC Pierce became a prisoner of war at the Cabanatuan Camp. Conditions at the camp were poor, leading to widespread malnutrition and outbreaks of malaria and dysentery. PFC Pierce died of disease on July 19, 1942 and was buried in a communal grave. After the war, U.S. forces recovered the remains of American prisoners from Cabanatuan, but complications in the burial and recovery processes prevented the identification of many individuals. In January, 2018, DPAA exhumed a number of remains that had been recovered from the area for further testing. Laboratory analysis and the totality of the circumstantial evidence available established one set of these remains as those of PFC Pierce.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

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Valyou, Richard
Army Technician 5

Richard Valyou, age 22, from Billerica, Massachusetts, Middlesex county.

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Tuesday, July 14, 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 and food and water supplied 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. Technician Fifth Grade Richard Valyou joined the U.S. Army Air Forces from Massachusetts and was a member of the 16th Bombardment Squadron, 27 Bombardment Group in the Philippines during World War II. He was captured in Bataan following the American surrender and died of dysentery and malaria on July 14, 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, Technician Fifth Grade Valyou is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.

Source: Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

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Mansfield, Quentin
Army Technical sergeant

Quentin Mansfield from Massachusetts, Middlesex county.

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Wednesday, June 10, 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. Technical Sergeant Quentin Mansfield entered the U.S. Army from Massachusetts and served with 228th Signal Operations Company in the Philippines during World War II. He was captured in Bataan following the American surrender on April 9, 1942, and died of a throat infection on June 10, 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, Technical Sergeant Mansfield is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

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Griffin, Arthur Raymond
Navy Signalman second class

Arthur Raymond Griffin , age 19, from Middlesex County Natick, Massachusetts .

Parents: Mary Griffin

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Friday, October 31, 1941
Death details: Died in the sinking of the destoryer USS Reuben James

Source: Los Angeles Times (1941), Boston Globe (1941)

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Ryan, John J. Jr.
Navy Coxswain

John J. Jr. Ryan, age 43, from Middlesex County Somerville, Massachusetts .

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Friday, October 31, 1941
Death details: Died in the sinking of the destroyer USS Reuben James

Source: Los Angeles Times (1941), Boston Globe (1941)