Pvt. Lacy Lonzo Prater

Hometown: Belle Center, Ohio

Wife: Evelyn Prater

Inducted:

    - U. S. Army

        - 5 February 1941 - Fort Hayes - Columbus, Ohio

Training: 

    - Fort Knox, Kentucky

    - 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 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 spiget for entire camp
            - as many as 50 POWs died each day
            - Japanese opened new POW camp to lower death rate 

        - Cabanatuan #1

        - Las Pinas - 12 December 1942

            - Work: built runways

    Japan: 

        - Osaka Camp #3-B - Oeyama

            - Work: nickel mining

Hell Ship:

     -  Nissyo Maru - 

        - Departed: Las Pinas - 17 July 1944

            Note: ship stopped Takao, Formosa

        - Arrived: Moji - 3 August 1944

Liberated: September 1945

Promoted: Private First Class

Discharged: 10 October 1946

Died: 25 June 1990

Buried:

    - Florida National Cemetery - Bushnell, Florida

        - Section:  301   Site: 1301 

Return to Company C