William Thomas Edmundson, age 19, from Pottawattamie County Council Bluffs, Iowa .
Parents: Gerald Richard Edmundson
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Sunday, December 13, 1942
Death details: Died non-battle
Source: National Archives, Omaha World Herald (1943)
Stanley A. Dammrow from Iowa, Pottawattamie county.
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Monday, November 23, 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. Corporal Stanley A. Dammrow entered the U.S. Army Air Forces from Iowa and served with Headquarters Squadron, V Interceptor Command, in the Philippines during World War II. He was captured in Bataan following the American surrender on April 9, 1942 and died of dysentery on November 23, 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 Dammrow is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Robert C. Pierce from Iowa, Pottawattamie county.
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Sunday, November 22, 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 Robert C. Pierce entered the U.S. Army Air Forces from Iowa and served with the 7th Materials Squadron, 5th Air Base Group in the Philippines during World War II. He was captured in Bataan following the American surrender on April 9, 1942, and died of beriberi on November 22, 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 Pierce 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 A. Profeda, age 26, from Pottawattamie County Council Bluffs, Iowa .
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Sunday, November 22, 1942
Death details: Killed in action
Source: National Archives, Omaha World Herald (1943)
Gordon L. Klefman, age 27, from Pottawattamie County Council Bluffs, Iowa .
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Tuesday, November 10, 1942
Death details: Killed in action
Source: National Archives, grave marker, Omaha World Herald (1943)
Joe W. Bostedt from Pottawattamie County Council Bluffs, Iowa .
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Sunday, September 20, 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. Corporal Joe W. Bostedt entered the U.S. Army Air Forces from Iowa and served in the 3rd Pursuit Squadron, 24th Pursuit Group in the Philippines during World War II. He was captured in Bataan following the American surrender and died of dysentery on September 20, 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 Bostedt 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
John Bernard Bostedt, age 19, from Iowa, Pottawattamie county.
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Tuesday, July 7, 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. Corporal John B. Bostedt entered the U.S. Army Air Forces from Iowa and served with the 3rd Pursuit Squadron, 24th Pursuit Group in the Philippines during World War II. He was captured in Bataan following the American surrender and died of dysentery on July 7, 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 Bostedt 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
Charles Henry O’Dell, age 20, from Pottawattamie County Council Bluffs, Iowa .
Parents: Jesse O’Dell
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Friday, May 8, 1942
Source: National Archives, Omaha World Herald (1943)
John Henry Field, age 22, from Pottawattamie County Council Bluffs, Iowa .
Parents: John Andrew Field
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Sunday, January 18, 1942
Death details: Died non-battle
Cemetery: Golden Gate National
Source: National Archives, Omaha World Herald (1943)
Bert Eugene McKeeman, age 25, from Council Bluffs, Iowa, Pottawattamie county.
Parents: Roy Franklin McKeeman
Service era: World War II
Date of death: Sunday, December 7, 1941
Death details: Aboard USS Oklahoma during Japanese attack
Cemetery: Remains identified in 2018. Buried in Council Bluffs
Source: National Archives, Navy Times, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency