Matheny

Sgt. Joseph B. Matheny was born in Logan, Ohio, on February 17, 1922. He was the son of Mr. & Mrs. Irwin Matheny and grew up at 72 Hill Street. While living in Zanesville, Ohio, he was inducted into the U. S. Army in December 1940 at Fort Hayes in Columbus, Ohio, He was sent to Ft. Knox, Kentucky and was assigned Headquarters Company, 192nd Tank Battalion when it was created in February, 1941.

Joseph attend school at Fort Knox, Kentucky. During this time he rose in rank from private to sergeant. He took part in maneuvers in Louisiana in the late summer of 1941. It was after these maneuvers that he and the rest of the battalion learned the the 192nd was being sent overseas.

Traveling west by train, Joseph and the rest of the 192nd arrived in San Francisco. From there, they were taken by ferry to Angel Island. On the island, they were given physicals and received shots for overseas duty.

Sailing for the Philippine Islands, Joseph and the rest of the battalion arrived in the Philippines on Thanksgiving Day, 1941. He and the other men were taken to Ft. Stotsenburg where they lived in tents along the road between the fort and Clark Airfield.

On December 8, 1941, Joseph and the rest of the battalion heard that the Japanese had attacked Pearl Harbor. At 11:45 in the morning, he lived through the Japanese attack on Clark Field. For the next four months, he took part in the slowing action to buy time for the United States to rebuild its military forces.

During the Battle of the Philippines, Joseph was assigned as sergeant to one of the tanks assigned to HQ Company. With his tank, he was suppose to provide reconnaissance information for the battalion.

On April 9, 1942, Joseph became a Prisoner of War when Bataan was surrendered to the Japanese. He took part in the death march from Mariveles to Capas. From there, he road a train to San Fernando and then walked the last few miles to Camp O'Donnell.

When Cabanatuan opened, Joseph was sent to the new camp. In October, he was selected to go on a work detail to Lipa Batangas. The POWs on this detail built runways for a Japanese airfield. He remained on this detail for nearly two years until he was taken by ship to Manila.

On July 17, 1944, Joseph was put in the hold of the hell ship, Nissyo Maru and taken to Japan. The ship arrived at Takao, Formosa on 27 July 1944. The next day the ship sailed for Japan. It arrived at Moji, Japan on August 3, 1944.

Joseph was taken to Fukuoka Camp #7 which was located near Futase, Japan. The POWs in this camp were used as slave labor in coal mines of the Honko & Shinko Mining Company. In the mines the POWs worked 11 to 14 hour shifts. He remained in this camp until August 15, 1945. He was returned to the Philippines to receive medical treatment.

Joseph was discharged on May 20, 1946. He married and became the father of two sons.

Joseph B. Matheny passed away on November 17, 1993 in Newark, Ohio. He is buried at Greenwood Cemetery in Zanesville.