Schultz

Pvt. Donald F. Schultz was the son of Otto C. Schultz & Emma Tessmer-Schultz. He was born in Dorchester, Wisconsin, on February 17, 1919, and was one of the couple's twelve children. He attended school in Dorchester and after his graduation of grade school, his family moved to a farm south of Lake Geneva on County Road BB.

On November 16, 1940, Donald joined the Wisconsin National Guard in Janesville, Wisconsin, with his friends Ray and Fay Baldon. He did this because it was just a matter of time until he would be drafted into the army. Nine days later, on November 25, 1940, he traveled to Fort Knox, Kentucky, for a year of training. It was during this time his National Guard Company was renamed A Company, 192nd Tank Battalion.

When the battalion was sent to Louisiana for maneuvers, Donald stayed behind to guard the company's equipment that was left behind at Ft. Knox. After taking part in maneuvers in Louisiana in the late summer of 1941, Donald with his battalion was sent to the Philippine Islands. Arriving there, the battalion spent the next two weeks preparing for maneuvers.

On December 8, 1941, Donald lived through the Japanese attack on Clark Field. He fought the Japanese until the Filipino and American forces on Bataan were surrendered to the Japanese on April 9, 1942.

From Mariveles, at the southern tip of Bataan Donald started what became known as the death march. At San Fernando, Donald boarded a small wooden railroad car used to haul sugarcane and rode it to Capas. Each car could haul 8 horses or forty men. The Japanese packed 100 men into each car. Those who died remained standing until the living left the cars at Capas. Once there, he walked the last few miles to Camp O'Donnell.

As a Prisoner of War, Donald was also held at Cabanatuan for two years. He was sent to Japan aboard the Canadian Inventor. The trip took the ship 62 days to complete. In Japan, he was held as a POW at Fukuoka #5. This camp was also known as Omine Machi.

One of the major problems facing the POWs was the lack of food. The main diet of the prisoners was rice. But, there was never enough according to Donald. He recalled that the POWs' diet was supplemented with fish heads, grass and seaweed.

At Omine Machi, Donald worked in a coal mine. It was from this work that he began experiencing breathing problems. He remained in the camp until he was liberated.

Donald returned to Walworth County on November 11, 1945. After he was discharged from the army, he farmed. He then worked as a laborer installing natural gas lines in Elkhorn, Wisconsin. He later returned to farming and worked on a farm south of Walworth.

It is known that Donald married Lulu L. Wells and had a daughter. At some point his experiences as a POW became too much for him and he left his family. They would never see him again. He resided in Lake Villa, Illinois.

Donald began experiencing health problems in the 1980s. He went for treatment at the Veteran's Hospital in North Chicago, Illinois. He died Lake Villa on March 7, 1988. He was buried in Plot H, Grave 300 at Wood National Cemetery in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.