T/5 Artie P. Cope

Home: Salinas, California

Enlisted: California National Guard

Inducted: 

    U. S. Army - 10 February 1941 - Salinas Army Air Base

Training: 

    Fort Lewis, Washington

Unit: 

    194th Tank Battalion

        - C Company

        - Transferred to  Headquarters Company when it was formed

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:

    Philippines:

        - 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

    Japan:

        - Fukuoka #17

            - Work: POWs worked in condemned coal mine

Hell Ship:

    Clyde Maru

        Sailed: Manila - 23 July 1943

        Arrived: Moji, Japan - 7 August 1943

Liberated: September 1945

Discharged: 5 April 1946

Died: 10 February 1986 - Salinas, California

Return to Company C