Pfc. Fred Richard Yeager Jr.


Born: 19 September 1922 - Chinook, Washington

Parents: Fred R. Yeager Sr. & Ruth A. Johnson-Yaeger

    - Last name appears to be misspelled on military records as "Yeager"

Nickname: Richard

Siblings: 2 sisters, 5 brothers

    - 1 brother died at six months old 

Home: Pacific County, Washington

Enlisted:

    - Washington National Guard

Inducted:

    - U. S. Army

        - 16 September 1940 - Astoria, Washington

Training: 

    - Fort Lewis, Washington

        - member halftrack crew

Units: 

    - 194th Tank Battalion

Overseas Duty: 

    - Philippine Islands

Engagements: 

    - Battle of Luzon

        - 8 December 1941 - 6 January 1942

    - Battle of Bataan

        - 7 January 1942 - 9 April 1942

Prisoner of War: 

    - 9 April 1942

        - Death March

            - Mariveles - POWs start march at southern tip of Bataan
            - POWs ran past Japanese artillery firing at Corregidor
                - Americans on Corregidor returned fire
            - San Fernando - POWs put into small wooden boxcars
                - each boxcar could hold eight horses or forty men
                - 100 POWs packed into each car
                - POWs who died remained standing
            - Capas - dead fell to floor as living left 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

 Died:

    - 26 September 1942 - malaria

Buried:

    - Cabanatuan Camp Cemetery 

Reburied:

    - American Military Cemetery - Manila, Philippine Islands

        Plot:  H   Row:  1   Grave: 124

Medals: Silver Star


 

 

 

 

 

 

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