Tec 5 Robert E. Overstreet

Parents: Claude C. Overstreet & Grace Houston-Overstreet

Siblings: 2 sisters, 1 brother

Home: 21 Magnolia Street - Santa Cruz, California

Enlisted: California National Guard

Inducted: 

    - U. S. Army

        -10 February 1941 - Salinas Army Airfield

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:

    - 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   

        - Cabanatuan #1

Died:

    - 5 August 1942 - diphtheria

        - Approximate time of death - 6:00 AM

Age:19 years old.

Buried:

    - 24 July 1950 

    - Golden Gate National Cemetery - San Bruno, California - 24 July 1950

        - Section:  N  Site:  525

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