Tec 5 Clifford Lyle Gibson


Born: 2 November 1917 - Stovertown, Muskingum County, Ohio

Parents: Jesse P. Gibson & Ena Grace Dixon-Gibson

Siblings: 5 brothers

Hometown: Philo, Ohio

Inducted:

    - U. S. Army 

        - 6 February 1941 - Ft. Hayes - Columbus, Ohio

Training: 

    - Fort Knox, Kentucky

    - Camp Polk, Louisiana

Overseas Duty:

    - 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 Japanese artillery firing on Corregidor

               - American artillery on Corregidor returned fire

            - San Fernando -POWs put into small wooden boxcars used to haul sugarcane

               - each boxcar could hold eight horses or forty men

               -  Japanese packed 100 POWs into each boxcar

               - POWs who died remained standing

            - Capas - POWs left boxcars - dead POWs fell to the floor

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

POW Camps: 

    - Philippine Islands: 

        - Camp O'Donnell

            - unfinished Filipino Army training base 

            - Japanese put camp into use as POW camp

            - one water spigot for the entire camp

            - as many as fifty POWs died each day 

            - POWs went out on work details to get out of camp 

        - Cabanatuan #1

Died:

    - 18 October 1942 - malaria & dysentery

        - Approximate time of death - 8:00 AM

Buried:

    - American Military Cemetery - Manila, Philippine Islands

        - Plot:  N   Row:  13   Grave:  38 

 

 

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