Simpson

Little is known about Sgt. Judson D. Simpson. It is known her was born in March 7, 1921, in Washington County, Kentucky. He was one of the six children of George & Catherine Simpson. Judson joined the Kentucky National Guard and was called to federal duty when his tank company was federalized on November 25, 1940. His company was renamed D Company, 192nd Tank Battalion.

After training at Fort Knox and taking part in maneuvers in Louisiana, Judson and other members of his company learned that they were being sent overseas. Traveling west from Angel Island in San Francisco Bay, the soldiers arrived in the Philippine Islands on Thanksgiving Day 1941. A little over two weeks later, he lived through the Japanese attack on Clark Airfield.

What is known about his time fighting the Japanese is that during the withdrawal into Bataan Judson's tank crew, with the crews of seventeen other tanks, found themselves on the wrong side of the Agnoo River. They had been ordered there by General Wainwright. The only problem was that the only way in was the only way out. They soon found themselves surrounded by the Japanese.

All the bridges had been blown so he had his tank driver, Roy Goodpaster, attempt to find a crossing. While attempting to find the crossing, Goodpaster determined that he could not find a suitable place to cross. He began to climb out of the tank when Judson asked him what he was doing. Roy stated that he attended to destroy the tank after abandoning it.

Judson pulled out his service revolver and put it to Goodpaster's head. He told Goodpaster to get the tank across the river. Goodpaster found a crossing and saved the tank. For his actions, Judson received the Silver Star.

What else is known about Judson is that on January 26, 1942, he was wounded in action. He was awarded the Purple Heart.

Judson became a Prisoner of War when Bataan was surrendered to the Japanese. he took part in the death march and was held as a POW at Camp O'Donnell and Cabanatuan.

At 2:00 AM in the morning on October 5th, Bill and other POWs were awakened and transported to Pier 7 in Manila. Once there, they were housed in a warehouse on the pier. They remained there for two days. On October 7, 1942, Bill boarded a Tottori Maru.

The prisoners were divided into two groups. One group was placed in the holds while the other group remained on deck. The conditions on the ship were indescribable, but those in the hold were worse off than those on deck. This situation was made worse by the fact that for the first two weeks of the voyage the prisoners were not fed. Many POWs died during the trip.

Shortly after leaving Manila, on October 8th, the Totori Maru came under a torpedo attack by an American submarine. The captain of the ship maneuvered it to avoid torpedoes. The ship also avoided a mine that had been laid by a American submarine.

The ship continued its voyage arriving at Takao, Formosa on October 12th. The ship remained at Takao for four days before sailing. It returned to Takao the same day and sailed again on October 18th. When it reached the Pescadores Islands, it dropped anchor. It remained off the islands until October 27th when it returned to Takao. During this stay, the POWs were disembarked and washed down with fire hoses.

The ship sailed again on October 30th. On October 31st, the ship stopped at Makou, Pescadores Islands before continuing its trip to Pusan, Korea. During this trip, the ship was caught in a typhoon which took five days to ride out.

After 31 days on the ship, the Totori Maru docked at Pusan, Korea on November 7th. 1300 POW's got off the ship and sent on a four day train trip north to Mukden, Manchria. There, they worked in a sawmill or a manufacturing plant. He was held at Shenyang Camp. He remained in the camp until he was liberated by the Russian Army in September 1945.

Judson remained in the army and served in Korea. He would be discharged as a Master Sergeant. Judson D. Simpson passed away on November 19, 1980, at his residence, in Jasper, Alabama.