T/5 William J. Greene Jr.


Born: 28 February 1915 - San Francisco, California

Parents: William J. Greene Sr. & Frances Sullivan-Greene

Hometown: Fairfax, California

Enlisted: California National Guard

Inducted: 

    - U. S. Army

        - 28 May 1941 - Fort Ord, California

Training: 

    - Fort Lewis, Washington

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:

    - 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:

    - 6 July 1942 - dysentery

            - Approximate time of death: 2:00 A.M.

Buried: American Military Cemetery - Manila


 

 

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