1st Lt. Benjamin E. Gwynn

Parents: Edward K. Gwynn & Belle Gwynn

Home: Salinas, California

Occupation: Draftsman

Enlisted: California National Guard

Inducted: 

    - U. S. Army

        - 10 February 1941 - Salinas Army Air Base

        - Inducted as an enlisted man

        - attended Officers Candidate's School

Training: 

    - Fort Lewis, Washington

Unit: 

    - 194th Tank Battalion

        - assigned to Provisonal Tank Group staff 

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:

    - 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

Hell Ship:

    - Oryoku Maru

        - Sailed: 14 December 1944 - Manila

        - Sunk: 15 December 1944 - Subic Bay

            Note: POWs herded on tennis court. 24 December 1944 - Survivors taken to 

                      San Fernando La Union by train.  27th December - POWs boarded onto

                      Brazil Maru or Enoura Maru

    - Enoura Maru

        - Sailed: San Fernando, La Union - 27 December 1944

        - Arrived: Takao, Formosa - 31 December 1944

Died:

    - 9 January 1945 - during attack by American planes

Memorial:

    - Tablets of the Missing - American Military Cemetery - Manila, Philippine Islands

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