Serpell

Born: 26 February 1919 - Lexington, Kentucky

Parents: Jane Farrell-Serpell & John Serpell

Sibling: 1 brother

Nickname: "Pat"

Hometown: Lexington, Kentucky

- 1930 - lived with maternal grandmother at 220 Market Street

- 1940 living with maternal grandfather in unincorporated Jefferson County

Occupation: Wholesale Paint Salesman

Inducted:

- U. S. Army

- 6 March 1941 - Louisville, Kentucky

Training:

- Fort Knox, Kentucky

- Camp Polk, Louisiana

- Louisiana Maneuvers

Overseas Duty:

- Philippine Islands

- transferred to Hedquarters Detachment, Provisional Tank Group

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

- Japan:

- Hirohata #12-B

- Slave Labor: Seitetsu Steel Mills

- Work: laborers, stevedores

Hell Ship:

- Coral Maru

- Sailed: Manila - 20 September 1943

- Note: Ship stopped at Takao, Formosa

- Arrived: Moji, Japan - 5 October 1943

Liberated: September 1945

Discharged: 20 October 1945

Note:

- Edward Serpell never married

- The reason was he was too haunted by memories of his war experiences

Died:

- 14 November 1985 - Louisville, Kentucky