Tec 5 Kenneth W. Eighme


Born: July 1908 - Wisconsin

Parents: Arthur Eighme & Gladys Balch-Eighme

    - father died when he was a child

Siblings: 2 brothers

Hometown: Riverside, Washington

    - family moved to Washington after Kenneth's birth

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 remain standing
            - Capas - living left cars - dead fell out of boxcars
            - POWs walked last ten miles to Camp O'Donnel
l
 

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

Died:

    - 11 June 1942 - trench mouth

Buried:

    - American Military Cemetery - Manila, Philippine Islands

        - Plot:  N   Row:  16   Grave:  51


 

 

 

 

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