Dillon

Born: 1919 - Ozone, Tennessee

- town is located in the Cumberland Mountains

Parents: James V. Dillon & Bertie Mae Scott-Dillon

Siblings: 3 brothers, 2 sisters

- Cornell's father was murdered when Cornell was a toddler

- the person was attempting to shoot Varner's brother and shot Varner by mistake

- Cornell's mother died of tuberculosis when he was nine

- Cornell and his siblings were put in a number of industrial schools

- Cornell was placed into the Tennessee Industrial School in Nashville

- his oldest brother died in one of these industrial schools at the age of twelve

- his younger brother, Fred, joined the Marines, in 1940, at sixteen

Home: Living in Roane County, Tennessee when he was inducted into the army

Inducted:

- U. S. Army - 1941

Training:

- Fort Knox, Kentucky

- Camp Polk, Louisiana

- upon arrival at Camp Polk, Cornell was assigned to the 753rd Tank Battalion

- 753rd did not take part in maneuvers that were taking place

Units:

- 753rd Tank Battalion

- October 1941 - volunteered to join the 192nd Tank Battalion

- replaced a National Guardsman released from federal service

- 192nd Tank Battalion

- assigned to C Company

Overseas Duty: Philippine Islands

- Fort Stostenburg

- 192nd lived in tents since their barracks were unfinished

- tank crew members spent most of their time loading ammunition belts and

de-cosmolining their tank guns

Engagements:

- Clark Airfield

- 8 December 1941 - seven hours after Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor

- tank companies ordered to perimeter of airfield to guard against Japanese

paratroopers

- at 12:45 in the afternoon Clark Field was bombed by Japanese planes

- attack took place ten hours after Pearl Harbor

- 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

- started march at Mariveles at southern tip of Bataan

- most POWs sick with dysentery and malaria

- many believed they "trudged" their way out of Bataan

- Prisoners of War are not allowed water, not fed or given breaks

- POWs who fell during march were often shot or bayoneted

- San Fernando - POWs packed into small wooden boxcars used to haul sugarcane

- Capas - POWs left boxcars - the bodies of the dead fell out as they did

- POWs walked the 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

Died:

- 27 May 1942 - dysentery

Buried:

- Camp O'Donnell Camp Cemetery

Reburied:

- American Military Cemetery - Manila, Philippine Islands

- Plot: A Row: 13 Grave: 119