Beyer

What is known about 2nd Lt. Daniel J. Beyer was born on May 8, 1916, and that he lived 2558 South Wentworth in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He was the son of Otto & Hermie Beyer. He had four sisters and a brother. Beyer went to the Philippine Islands as a member of HQ Company, 194th Tank Battalion.

Daniel arrived in the Philippine Islands and spent the next few months preparing the battalion for training that was planned after the arrival of the 192nd Tank Battalion. The morning of December 8, 1941, Daniel heard the news of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

Around 12:45 in the afternoon, planes appeared over the airfield. When bombs began exploding, Daniel and his men knew the planes were Japanese. During the attack the tankers fired on the planes, but there was not much they could do since they did not have the proper guns.

Daniel was reassigned and given command of one of the tank platoons of B Company. He would remain in this position during the entire battle against the Japanese. In February 1942, B Company tanks were used to attack Japanese troops who were cut off behind Filipino and American lines. This operation became known as "The Battle of the Pockets."

For the next four months, Daniel fought to slow the Japanese conquest of the Philippines. The morning of April 8, 1942, he ordered his tank crews to destroy their tanks. It was on that day that he became a Prisoner of War.

Daniel took part in death march from Mariveles to San Fernando. There he and the other POWs were packed into small freight cars. They rode the cars to Capas where they got off and walked the last few miles to Camp O'Donnell.

Besides Camp O'Donnell, Daniel was held as a prisoner at Cabanatuan. He was also sent to Bilibid Prison for processing for shipment to Japan.

Daniel was boarded onto the Nagato Maru. The trip to Japan lasted from November 7, 1942 until November 24, 1942. In Japan, he was first held at Tanagawa. He was next a POW at Ikuno Camp and then sent to Osaka #2-D at Umeda in March, 1945. The prisoners in this camp were used as stevedores for the Nippon Tsuun Company. He remained in this camp until it was destroyed by American bombers.

Daniel and the other POWs were next sent to Tsuruga 20-B on May 21, 1945. He was held there until around August 15, 1945, when he was sent to Hirohata #12-B. It was at this camp that he was liberated.

After the war Daniel remained in the military as a United States Air Force officer. He fought in Korea and obtained the rank of Major. He retired from the Air Force on March 31, 1968.

Daniel J. Beyer retired to Warrenton, Missouri where he died on July 17, 1993. He is buried at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in Saint Louis, Missouri in Section L, Site 848.