Cpl. John Rawlins Atwell

Parents: Rawlins P. Atwell & Gertrude W. Duncombe-Atwell

Siblings: 4 sisters, 1 brother

Home: Fort Dodge, Iowa

Enlisted:

    - Iowa National Guard

        - 1 April 1924

Education:

    - Centre College, Danville, Kentucky

        - two years of college - 1925 - 1927

Married: Susan W. Hawley

    - 21 February 1929

Children: 3 daughters, 2 sons

Enlisted:

    - U. S. Army

        - 1940

Training: 

    - Fort Lewis, Washington

        - halftrack commander

Units: 

    - 194th Tank Battalion

Overseas Duty: 

    - Philippine Islands

Engagements: 

    - Battle of Luzon

        - 8 December 1941 - 6 January 1942 

    - Battle of Bataan

        - 7 January 1942 - 9 April 1942 

Prisoner of War: 

    - 9 April 1942

        - Death March

             - started march at Mariveles on southern tip of Bataan

             - POWs ran past Japanese artillery firing at Corregidor

               - Corregidor returned fire 

        - San Fernando 

           - POWs packed into small wooden boxcars used to haul sugarcane

               - each car could hold 40 men or eight horses

               - Japanese pack 100 POWs into each car

               - those who died remained standing

        - Capas - living leave boxcars

             - dead fall to floor of cars

         - POWs walk the last ten miles to Camp O'Donnell 

POW Camps:

    - Philippine Islands:

        - Camp O'Donnell

            - unfinished Filipino training base
            - Japanese put camp into use as POW Camp
            - only one water spigot for entire camp
            - as many as 50 POWs died each day
            - Japanese opened new POW camp to lower death rate 

        - Cabanatuan #1

    - Japan:

        - Mitsushima

            - 16 April 1944 - John was one of 100 men sent to Tokyo 16B

        - Tokyo 16B

            - POWs worked in a carbide mill owned by Showa Denko Company

Hell Ship:

    - Nagato Maru

        - Sailed: Manila – 11 November 1942

        - Arrived: Takao, Formosa - 14 November 1942

        - Sailed: 17 November 1942

        - Arrived: Pescadores Islands – 17 November 1942

        - Sailed: 18 November 1942

        - Arrived: Keelung, Formosa – 18 November 1942

        - Sailed: 20 November 1942

        - Arrived: Moji, Japan – 24 November 1942

Liberated: September 1945

Promoted: Sergeant

Died: 12 August 1963

Buried:

    - Oakland Cemetery - Fort Dodge, Iowa

Note: The photo below is John Atwell's POW photo.

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