Humphries

Pvt. Quincey A. Humphries was born on January 23, 1917, in LeFlore County, Oklahoma to Samuel G. Humphries & Lillie Goodins-Humphries. With his five brothers and six sisters, he grew up on Sugarloaf Mountain near Monroe, Oklahoma. As a child, he would travel to town by horse and wagon. He finished grade school and worked as a farm hand.

Quincey was inducted in the U. S. Army on March 3, 1941 in Oklahoma City. During his time at Ft. Knox, Quincey trained as a tank driver. After basic training, he was sent to Camp Polk, Louisiana and assigned to the 753rd Tank Battalion. The 753rd did not take part in the Louisiana Maneuvers which were taking place at that time.

The 192nd Tank Battalion, which did take part in the maneuvers, was informed that it was being sent overseas. Since the battalion was made up of National Guardsmen from the Midwest, those men who were 29 years old or married, were given the opportunity to resign from federal service. In need of replacements, the army sought volunteers from the 753rd Tank Battalion. Quincey volunteered to join the 192nd Tank Battalion at Camp Polk and was assigned to B Company.

Traveling west by train, Quincey, with his company, arrived in San Francisco. They were taken by ferry to Angel Island where they were given physicals and inoculations. The battalion sailed for the Philippines arriving there after stops at Hawaii and Guam. Quincey arrived in the Philippine Islands on Thanksgiving Day, 1941. He also became a member of the tank crew of S/Sgt Walter Mahr, Sgt. Ray Mason, and Pvt. LD Marrs.

Quincey, with his tank crew, was present at Clark Field when the Japanese attacked the airfield ten hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor. He and the other members of the tank battalion watched helplessly as the Japanese Zeros destroyed the Army Air Corps.

After the Japanese attack, the tanks of B Company were sent north to Lingayen Gulf on December 21, 1941. For the next week, B Company tanks were engaged in action against the Japanese as the Filipino and American forces were withdrawn into the Bataan Peninsula.

It was during an engagement on December 29th, at Tarlec, that Quincey's tank was knocked out by the Japanese when its track hit a landmine causing it to lose its tread. Quincey, Mahr, Marrs and Mason were ordered out of the tank by the Japanese. They left the tank believing they would be taken Prisoners Of War. Instead, they were ordered to run.

The four men ran toward their lines when the Japanese opened fire on them. Sgt. Ray Mason was killed instantly, while S/Sgt. Walter Mahr, Pvt. Marrs and Quincey were wounded. The three men made it to a sugarcane field and hid. The next day, S/Sgt. Mahr was found in the sugarcane field by American troops and taken to field hospital. Despite a search of the field, Quincey and Marrs were not found. The two soldiers had been captured by the Japanese. Quincey most likely died of his wounds after being captured.

Pvt. Quincey Albert Humphries was reported Missing In Action at Tarlec on December 29, 1941 and presumed dead. After the war, he was declared dead by the U. S. Army on February 1, 1946.

Quincey's family later had a memorial for him dedicated at Vaughn Cemetery in Gilmore, Oklahoma. He is also memorialized at the American Military Cemetery at Manila. In addition, on March 7, 1996, a memorial with Quincey's name on it was dedicated at Fort Smith National Cemetery in Ft. Smith, Arkansas.

After the war, Quincey's parents received a Purple Heart from the Army. According to the family, his mother looked at it and put it on a shelf. She never looked at the medal again.