Pfc. Handren Karl Fitzgibbons

Parents: Thomas & Constance Fitzgibbons

Siblings: 1 sister, 1 brother

Nickname: "Karl"

Hometown: Salinas, California

Enlisted:

    - California National Guard

        - 1940 - Salinas, California 

Inducted: 

    - U. S. Army

        - 10 February 1941 - Salinas Army Air Base

Training: 

    - Fort Lewis, Washington

    - Fort Knox, Kentucky

        - radio school 

Unit: 

    - 194th Tank Battalion

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  

            - Fitzgibbons survived Zero Ward 

        - Cabanatuan #1

    Japan:

        - Fukuoka #3

            - Work: Yawata Steel Mills

Hell Ship:

    - Clyde Maru

        - Sailed: Manila - 23 July 1943

        - Arrived: Moji, Japan - 7 August 1943

Liberated: 13 September 1945

Promoted: Sergeant

Discharged: 6 June 1946

College:

     - Hartnell Junior College, Salinas, California

    - Colorado School of Mines - graduated in 1950 

Career:

    - worked with oil companies in United States and Saudi Arabia

    - retired in 1974 

Married: Eleanor

Children: 1 daughter, 2 sons

Residence: Flathead, Montana

Died: 4 April 1998 - Kalispell, Montana

Buried:

    - C. E. Conrad Memorial Cemetery - Kalispell, Montana 

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