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Pvt. Alton Kenneth Goff |
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Pvt. Alton K. Goff. What is known is that he was born on February
27, 1909, to Henry C. Goff and Cassa E. Hurley-Goff in Bardwell, Wisconsin.
He had six brothers and two sisters in Delavan, Wisconsin. When his
mother died, he was sent to live with his Uncle William.
Alton attended school in Delavan and worked
on a farm. During this time, he enlisted in the Wisconsin National
Guard. On October 25, 1940, Alton and his tank company were called to federal duty as A Company, 192nd Tank Battalion. He and the other men trained at Fort Knox, Kentucky and then took part in maneuvers in Louisiana. It was at Camp Polk, Louisiana, that the soldiers learned they were being sent overseas. Being over thirty years old, Alton was given the opportunity to resign from federal service. He chose to remain with A Company and go to the Philippine Islands. The 192nd Tank Battalion arrived left for the Philippine Islands on October 26, 1941, arriving there on November 20th. Alton and the other soldiers spent the next two weeks preparing their tanks for maneuvers. Alton lived through the Japanese attack on Clark Field. He fought the Japanese for four months before becoming a Prisoner of War on April 9, 1942. He took part in the death march and was held as a prisoner at Camp O'Donnell. After a new camp was opened at Cabanatuan, Alton was sent there. According to U. S. Army records, Pvt. Alton K. Goff died of dysentery and malaria on July 9, 1942, at Cabanatuan POW Camp, Philippine Islands. He was 36 years old. His family did not receive word of his death until July 17, 1943. Pvt. Alton K. Goff was buried in the Cabanatuan Camp Cemetery in Plot 3, Row 3, Grave 286. After the war, he was post humorously promoted to corporal. Alton's family requested that his remains be returned to Wisconsin. After a funeral service at the Baptist Brick Church, Cpl. Alton K. Goff was reburied at Spring Grove Cemetery in Delavan, Wisconsin. |
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