Fitzpatrick

Born: 23 February 1915 - Waverly, Minnesota

Parents: Florien & Catherine Fitzpatrick

Siblings: 4 sisters, 2 brothers

Graduated: College of Saint Thomas - late 1930s

Occupation: insurance salesman

Hometown: Waverly, Minnesota

- 1940 - living in Saint Paul with sister and her husband

Inducted:

- U. S. Army

- April 1941 - Fort Snelling, Minnesota

Training:

- Fort Lewis, Washington

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 at southern tip of Bataan

- POWs ran past Japanese artillery firing on Corregidor

- San Fernando - POWs put into small wooden boxcars

- boxcars could hold eight horses or forty men

- 100 POWs put into each car - those who died remained standing

- POWs left boxcars at Capas - dead fell out of cars

- 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 spigot for entire camp
            - as many as 50 POWs died each day
            - Japanese opened new POW camp to lower death rate

- Cabanatuan #1

- built airfield outside of camp

- Bridge Building Detail

- detail lasted until August 1942

- on this detail 10 POWs were executed after one POW escaped

- suffered from pellagra and scurvy

- Japan

- Fukuoka #3

- POWs worked in the Yawata Steel Mills

Hell Ship:

- Nissyo Maru

- Sailed: Manila - 17 July 1944

- Arrived: Moji, Japan - 3 August 1944

Liberated:

- 13 September 1945

Married: Corinne

- 3 sons, 5 daughters

Died: 8 November 2004

Buried:

- Fort Snelling National Cemetery - Minneapolis, Minnesota

- Section: 7 Site: 1901

Note: Bernard Fitzpatrick wrote the book: The Hike into the Sun about his experiences

as a Japanese POW. The book has been reissued.