OSU
History Minute - July 21, 2000
Number
5 of a 12 part series: Honoring Oregon Staters who
died in WWII
Following
Maj-General Wainwright’s surrender of all US
and Allied forces defending both the Bataan peninsula
and the island of of Corregidor on April 9, 1942,
more than 78,000 troops were herded out of the peninsula
and forced at the point of the bayonet to walk a
65-mile route from Mariveles to San Fernando. Many
died along the way or later in captivity as prisoners
of war.
The
following Oregon Staters lost their lives in the
fighting in this early theater of the Pacific War.
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Claude
Thorpe '24
Killed in an escape attempt from Bilibid Prison
on November 1, 1943.
Picture
from The Beaver, 1923
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| No
picture available for Michael Sult. |
Michael
Sult '17
Died in Fukuoka Military Prison Camp of
malnutrition in February 21, 1945.
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Erhard
Sjoblom '41
Died in the Philippines as a POW, date unknown.
Picture
from The Beaver, 1941
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Andrew
Shoemake '39
Died in Japanese POW camp in Honshu on January
31, 1945.
Picture
from The Beaver, 1939
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Weldon
Kirk '32
Died on a 'Hell Ship' on December 15, 1944.
Picture
from The Beaver, 1931
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Albert
Kircher Jr. '32
Died while being transported on a 'Hell Ship'
from the Philippines to Japan on December
15, 1944. Ship was bombed by US planes at
Subic Bay.
Picture
from The Beaver, 1932
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No
picture available for Roy Dobell, Jr.
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Roy
Dobell Jr. '40
Died when 'Hell Ship' destined for Japan was
sunk by US submarine
in September, 1944.
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No
picture available for William Collins
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William
Collins '22
Died at POW/Camp O'Donnell on August 15, 1942.
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Harry
B. Black '40
Died in Fukuoka Military Prison Camp (Honshu)
on February 11, 1945.
Picture
from The Beaver, 1939
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Ted
Fisch '40
Died in the Philippines, date unknown.
Picture
from The Beaver, 1937
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Howard
Amos '40
Died 6 weeks after surviving the Bataan 'Death
March' in Cabanatuan prison camp in May 1942.
Picture
from The Beaver, 1940
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Merle
Christensen '41
Died as a POW on December 15, 1944.
Picture
from The Beaver, 1941
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Rod
Hendry '39
Died at Cabanatuan Prison Camp #1 on October
24, 1944.
Picture
from The Beaver, 1939
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Note:
These stories were furnished to The Hayseed by Erin
Hanyes, director of giving clubs and societies with
the OSU Foundation, who has spent the last ten years
researching the service records and contributions
of OSU graduates during the Second World War.
--
By George
Edmonston Jr.
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