Pvt. James William Scaife

Parents: C. Terry Scaife & Florence Bryant-Scaife

Siblings: 4 sisters, 2 brothers

Hometown: Clarks, Louisiana

Inducted: 

    - U. S. Army 

        - 26 July 1940 - Jackson, Mississippi

Occupation: 

    - truck driver

Training: 

    - Fort Knox, Kentucky

    - Camp Polk, Louisiana

Units:

    - 753rd Tank Battalion

    - 192nd 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 started 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

        - Bilibid Prison

    - Japan:

        - Nagoya #1-B

           - POWs worked in zinc and lead mine

Liberated: September 1945

Promoted: Corporal

Discharged: 4 February 1946

Health: Never physically recovered from his years as a POW

Died: 29 August 1986 - Ukiah, California

Buried:

    - Ukiah Cemetery - Ukiah, California 

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