Pvt. James Monroe Langford


Born: 12 June 1915 - Livingston, Kentucky

Home: Hamilton County, Ohio

Parents: Emmet Langford & Minnie Stokes-Langford

Siblings: 1 sister, 4 brothers (known)

Inducted: 

    - U. S. Army 

        - 15 March 1941 - Port Thomas, Kentucky

Training: 

    - Fort Knox, Kentucky

        - Training: Mechanic

    - Camp Polk, Louisiana

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 Japanese artillery firing on Corregidor

               - American artillery on Corregidor returned fire

            - San Fernando -POWs put into small wooden boxcars used to haul

              sugarcane

               - each boxcar could hold eight horses or forty men

               -  Japanese packed 100 POWs into each boxcar

               - POWs who died remained standing

            - Capas - POWs left boxcars - dead POWs fell to the floor

            - POWs walked the last ten miles to Camp O'Donnell 

POW Camps: 

     - Philippine Islands: 

         - Camp O'Donnell

            - unfinished Filipino Army training base 

            - Japanese put camp into use as POW camp

            - one water spigot for the entire camp

            - as many as fifty POWs died each day 

            - POWs went out on work details to get out of camp 

         - Cabanatuan

         - Bachrach Garage Detail

             - POWs repaired vehicles

     - Japan: 

         - Narumi Camp

              - Work: Manufacturing - steel wheels

Hell Ship:

    - Nissyo Maru

        - Sailed: Manila - 17 July 1944 

        - Arrived: Takao, Formosa - 27 July 1944

        - Sailed: Takao - 28 July 1944

        - Arrived: Moji, Japan - 3 August 1944

Liberated: September 1945

Discharged: 25 November 1946

Died: 29 April 2003 - Fairdale, Kentucky


 

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