Becker

Born: 23 April 1917 - Illinois

Parents: Henry & Adeline Becker

Home: 622 South Eleventh Avenue, Maywood, Illinois

Siblings: 4 brothers, 3 sisters

- His brother, Charles, was his twin brother

Inducted:

- U. S. Army

- 1 May 1941 - Seeley, California

Training:

- Fort Knox, Kentucky

- Training: Radio Operator

- Camp Polk, Louisiana

Overseas Duty:

- Philippine Islands

Engagements:

- Battle of Luzon

- Battle of Bataan

Prisoner of War:

- 9 April 1942

- Death March

           - Mariveles - POWs start march at southern tip of Bataan
            - POWs ran past Japanesee 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 spiget for entire camp
            - as many as 50 POWs died each day
            - Japanese opened new POW camp to lower death rate

- Bridge Building Detail

- Cabanatuan

- Las Pinas Work Detail - December 12, 1942

- Work: built runways

- Lipa Batangas

- Work: runway construction

Formosa:

- Inrin Temporary Detail

Japan:

- Sendai #8

- Work: mining

Hell Ship:

- Hokusen Maru -

- Boarded - 1 October 1944

- Sailed: Manila - 3 October 1944

- Arrived: Formosa - 11 October 1944

Note: Harold's detachment of POWs was scheduled to sail on the Arisan Maru. Since another detachment

of POWs had not completely arrived, the detachments were switched. The Arisan Maru was sunk by

an American submarine. Of the 1803 POWs on the ship, all but nine POWs died.

- Melbourne Maru

- Sailed: Formosa - 14 January 1945

- Arrived: Moji - 23 January 1945

Liberated: September 1945

Discharged: 29 March 1946

Married: Lois Ann Jason - 19 March 1954

- she was a 1948 graduate of Proviso Township High School

Children: 3 sons

Lived: Fort Meyers, Florida

Died: 2 May 1984 - Ft. Meyers, Florida

Buried: Fort Meyers Memorial Gardens