Capt. John Clifford Riley Jr.


Born: 24 October 1915 - Saint Joseph, Missouri

Parents: John C. Riley Sr., & Cora F. Grooms-Riley

Siblings: 1 sister, 1 brother - His brother, Frank, was a member of C Company

Home: 2502 Second Street - St. Joseph, Missouri

Occupation: meat grader - meat packing company

Married: 7 September 1940

Children: 1 son

Inducted:

    - U.S. Army

        - 10 February 1941 - St. Joseph, Missouri

Training: 

    - Fort Lewis, Washington

Units: 

    - 194th Tank Battalion

Overseas Duty: 

    - Philippine Islands

Engagements: 

    - Battle of Luzon

    - Battle of Bataan

Prisoner of War: 

    - 9 April 1942

        - Death March

           - started march at Mariveles on southern tip of Bataan
           - POWs ran past Japanese artillery firing at Corregidor
           - San Fernando - POWs put into small wooden boxcars
               - 100 POWs packed into each boxcar
                   - those who died remain standing
           - Capas - living left cars - dead fell out of boxcars
           - POWs walked last ten miles to Camp O'Donnell
 

POW Camps:

    - Philippine Islands:

        - Camp O'Donnell

            - unfinished Filipino training base
            - Japanese put camp into use as POW Camp
            - only one water spigot for entire camp
            - as many as 50 POWs died each day
            - Japanese opened new POW camp to lower death rate
 
 

        - Cabanatuan #1

    - Japan

        - Hirohata #12B

            - POWs worked at Seitetsu Steel Mills

Hell Ship:

    - Taga Maru

        - Sailed: Manila - 20 September 1943

        - Arrived: Takao, Formosa - Unknown

        - Sailed: Unknown

        - Arrived: Moji, Japan - 5 October 1945

Liberated:

    - September 1945

Discharged: 13 August 1947

Died: 20 October 2001 - St. Joseph, Missouri

Buried: Memorial Park Cemetery - St. Joseph, Missouri


 

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