Capt. Joseph Anthony Revak


Born: 15 June 1907 - Beaumont, Texas

Parents: John Revak & Annie Wassell-Revak

Siblings: 1 sister, 1 brother

Home:  1510 Madison Avenue, Beaumont, Texas

Education:

     - Texas A&M College

        - Class of 1930 

Overseas Duty: 

    - Philippine Islands

Job: Staff Officer for Intelligence or S-2

Engagements:

    - Battle of Luzon 

    - Battle of Bataan

Prisoner of War: 

    - 9 April 1942

        - Death March

            - Mariveles - POWs start march from 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 camp 

            - 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

        - Bilibid Prison

        - Davao. Mindanao

            - 11 November 1942 - 6 June 1944

                - POWS built runways and revetments with picks and shovels

        - Bilibid Prison

        - Cabanatuan

        - Bilibid Prison

    - Japan: 

         - Fukuoka Camp #1

            - Work: lumberyard

            - selected for transfer to Korea

    - Korea:

         - Jinsen Camp

Hell Ship:

    - Erie Maru

        - Sailed: 28 October 1942

            - Note: ship stopped Iloilo and Cebu, Mindanao

        - Arrived: Lasang, Mindanao - 7 November 1942

     - Yashu Maru

        - Sailed: Davao - 6 June 1944

        - Arrived: Cebu, Mindanao - 12 June 1944

            - POWs transferred to Teiryu Maru

     - Teiryu Maru 

         - Sailed: Cebu - 21 June 1944

         - Arrived: Manila - 24 June 1944

    - Oryoku Maru - 13 December 1944 - 15 December 1944

    - Enoura Maru - 27 December 1944 - 13 January 1945

    - Brazil Maru - 13 January 1945 

         - Arrived: Moji, Japan - 29 January 1945

    - Unknown Ships - 25 April 1945 - Moji, Japan to Fusan, Korea

         - POWs took a series of coastal steamers to Korea

Liberated: September 1945

Promoted: Lieutenant Colonel

Discharged: 1 May 1950

Married: Mary

    Children: 1 son, 1 daughter (known)

Died: 27 September 1976 - Beaumont, Texas

Buried:

    - Magnolia Cemetery - Beaumont, Texas


 

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