Rusch

Pvt. Henry A. Rusch was the son of Fred & Anna Rusch. He was born on July 9, 1921, and was one of the couple's three children. As a child he lived at 416 South Thirteenth Avenue in Maywood, Illinois, and was a graduate of Proviso Township High School. He was known as Harry to his family and friends.

Harry was one of the original Illinois National Guard members who was called to federal service on November 25, 1940. At Fort Knox, Kentucky, he trained to be a members of a tank crew.

In the late summer of 1941, Harry with the 192nd Tank Battalion took part in maneuvers in Louisiana. It was after these maneuvers that his battalion learned that they were not being released from federal service but being sent overseas.

After arriving in the Philippines, Harry and the rest of the members of the 192nd lived in tents along the main road between, Ft. Stotsenburg and Clark Airfield. Having his battalion was put on alert that the Japanese may attack, the tanks were sent to the perimeter of Clark Field to guard against Japanese paratroopers.

The morning of December 8, 1941, Harry and the rest of the battalion heard the news of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. He and the other tankers watched as American planes flew around the airfield and the bombers were prepared to attack Formosa.

Around noon, the American planes landed and the bombers were left on the runways as their crews went to lunch. Not to long after this, planes appeared in the sky, Harry watched as they approached the field. When bombs began exploding, they knew that the planes were Japanese.

Harry spent the next four months fighting the Japanese. In action at Demotis, on December 22, 1941, Harry was reported missing in action. He was later reported as being okay.

After four months of fighting, on April 9, 1942, he and the other tankers heard the order "crash". This was the order to destroy their tanks and surrender to the Japanese. At this time, it is not known if Harry surrendered or escaped to the Island of Corregidor.

What is known is that he was held as a Prisoner of War at Cabanatuan. He also went out on a work detail to Ft. Stotsenburg. In November 1942, he was sent to the Port Area of Manila and on the seventh the POWs were boarded onto the Nagato Maru for shipment to Japan. The ship sailed for the Pescadores Islands and then stopped at he Nagato Maru arrived at Takao, Formosa on November 11th. After three day stay, the Nagato Maru sailed for Kelung Island before arriving at Moji, Japan on November 24th.

In Japan, Harry was sent to Tanagawa. The camp there would finally be known as Osaka Section Camp #4-B. The POWs in the camp were used to construct a dry dock for Japanese submarines. To do this, the POWs tore down the side of a mountain.

On April 13, 1945, Harry and 105 other POWs were transferred to Omi POW Camp. There he labored in a quarry and cement factory. He also may have cleaned furnaces by cleaning out carbon from them.

Harry was liberated in September of 1945. On September 9th, he and the other POWs were sent to Yokohama by train. From there, they were returned to the Philippines to be fattened up before being sent back to the United States.

Harry returned home to Maywood after the war. He would later move to Campbell, Texas where he died on March 25, 1994. He is buried at Chapel Hills Garden West Cemetery & Funeral Home in Villa Park, Illinois.