Arnold

Pvt. William L. Arnold was born on May 4, 1917, in Fishtail, Montana, to William C. & Margaret B. Arnold. He was the oldest of the couple's six sons and three daughters. To help support his family, he worked on the family's farm. Knowing that it was just a matter of time before he would be drafted, he enlisted in the U. S. Army on March 25, 1941. He was sent to Fort Knox, Kentucky, for basic training. While there, he also attended radio operator school.

William was assigned to the 753rd Tank Battalion after basic training. It was at Camp Polk Louisiana, that he volunteered to join the 192nd Tank Battalion as a replacement. The battalion was in need of soldiers since National Guardsmen 29 years old and older were allowed to resign from Federal service before the battalion was sent overseas.

Leaving from Angel Island in San Francisco Bay, Bill and the other members arrived at Manila, Philippine Islands after stops in Hawaii and Guam. They were taken to Ft. Stotsenburg where they were assigned to tents along the main road between the fort and Clark Airfield. Not to long after arriving in the Philippines, D Company was attached to the 194th Tank Battalion which was short one company.

The morning of December 8, 1941, Bill and the other members of D Company heard the news of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. They were sent to the perimeter of the airfield to guard against Japanese paratroopers. He spent the next four months attempting to slow the Japanese conquest of the Philippine Islands. It was during the Battle for Bataan that he was wounded and taken to Field Hospital #2. He was still there when word of the surrender came on April 9, 1942.

As a Prisoner of War, Bill was taken to Bilibid Prison. He was then taken to the Port Area of Manila to work as a stevedore loading and unloading ships. He remained on this detail until the summer of 1944 when the detail was dissolved. He and with the other prisoners were boarded on a "Hell Ship" and taken to Japan. In Japan, he was held as a POW in the Osaka area. He also was held Tanagawa and finally Fukuoka #22 which opened in January, 1945. He remained in this camp until he was liberated in September 1945.

Bill was returned to the Philippines to be fattened up. He was discharged from the army on March 25, 1946. He returned to Montana and married. He still resides in Montana.