Pvt. Jesse W. Durham

Hometown: Cherokee County

Inducted: 

    - U. S. Army

        - 18 March 1941 - Houston, Texas

Training: 

    - Fort Knox, Kentucky

    - Camp Polk, Louisiana

Units: 

    - 753rd Tank Battalion

    - 192nd Tank Battalion

Overseas Duty: 

    - Fort Stotsenburg, Philippine Islands

Engagements:

    - Battle of Luzon 

    - Battle of Bataan

Prisoner of War: 

    - 9 April 1942

        - Death March

           - Mariveles - POWs start march at southern tip of Bataan
            - POWs ran past Japanesee artillery firing at Corregidor
                - Americans on Corregidor returned fire
            - San Fernando - POWs put into small wooden boxcars
                - each boxcar could hold eight horses or forty men
                - 100 POWs packed into each car
                - POWs who died remained standing
            - Capas - dead fell to floor as living left boxcars
            - POWs walked 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 spiget for entire camp
            - as many as 50 POWs died each day
            - Japanese opened new POW camp to lower death rate 

        - Cabanatuan

        - Bilibid Prison

    Formosa: 

        Inrin (Temporary Camp) November 1944 - 15 January 1945

              Work: sugar cane harvesting and processing

    Japan: 

         Sendai #3

            Work: lead and zinc mining 

                Mitsubishi Mining Company

Hell Ships: 

    - Haro Maru - from Manila to Formosa - 47 days

    - Melbourne Maru - from Formosa to Moji, Japan - 11 days

        - Sailed: Formosa - 14 January 1945

        - Arrived: Moji - 23 January 1945

Liberated: 12 September 1945

Promoted: Corporal

Died: 12 September 2000 - Jacksonville, Texas

Buried:

     - Westhaven Memorial Park - Jacksonville, Texas

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