Pfc. John Harold Blomquist

Parents: John E. Blomquist & Marie Holver-Blomquist

    - father died in 1920 

    - mother remarried: Willis R. Brown 

Siblings: only child

Hometown: Port Discovery, Washington

Graduated:

     - Brewster High School

        - Class of 1940

Inducted:

    - U. S. Army

        - 8 April 1941 - Tacoma, Washington

Training: 

    - Fort Lewis, Washington

Units: 

    - 194th Tank Battalion

Overseas Duty: 

    - Philippine Islands

Engagements: 

    - Battle of Luzon

    - Battle of Bataan

Prisoner of War: 

    - 9 April 1942

        - Death March

           - started march at Mariveles on southern tip of Bataan
           - POWs ran past Japanese artillery firing at Corregidor
           - San Fernando - POWs put into small wooden boxcars
               - 100 POWs packed into each boxcar
                   - those who died remained standing
           - Capas - living left cars - dead fell out of 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 spigot for entire camp
            - as many as 50 POWs died each day
            - Japanese opened new POW camp to lower death rate 

        - Cabanatuan #1

        - San Fernando

            - scrap metal detail

Died: 1 July 1942 - dysentery

Reburied:

    - Evergreen Cemetery - Everett, Washington 

        - 3 June 1950 

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