Siebert

Pvt. Harry V. Siebert Jr. was born in October 25, 1920, in Los Angeles, California, to Harry V. Siebert Sr. & Grace C. McWilliams-Siebert. He had a sister and a brother. To distinguish himself from his father, he used Virgil as his first name.
Virgil's family later moved to Multnomah County, Oregon. It is believed that he lived in Portland and enlisted in the Oregon National Guard. He was called up for federal service in 1941 and sent to Fort Lewis, Washington.

When the 194th Tank Battalion was given orders for overseas duty, those members of the battalion "too old" for overseas duty were released from federal service. It was at this time that Harry became a member of C Company and assigned to Sgt. Glenn Brokaw's tank.

Virgil arrived in the Philippine Islands in October 1941. He and the other members of the battalion lived in tents since their barracks were unfinished. The morning of December 8, 1941, Virgil and the other tankers heard the news of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The tankers were ordered to the perimeter of Clark Airfield to guard against paratroopers.

Around 12:45 in the afternoon, planes approached the airfield from the North. At tankers counted 54 planes flying in formation. As the tankers watched, they saw small silver canisters falling from the planes. It was only when the bombs began exploding that they knew the planes were Japanese.

A few weeks after the attack, C Company was ordered to southern Luzon. It was on December 26th that Harry would see action against the Japanese. The four tanks of 2nd Lt. Robert Needham's tank platoon were sent to an area on the east coast of Luzon near Lucban. The Japanese had landed troops in the area, and the American Command wanted to see what the strength of the enemy was in the area.

The tanks were ordered by a major to proceed, without reconnaissance, down a narrow trail. Since the area was mountainous, the tanks had a hard time maneuvering. As they went down the trail, the tanks attempted to keep their spacing so that the driver of each tank could each see the tank in front of him. At one point in the trail, the tankers found that the trail made a sharp turn. Harry's tank was one of the last three tanks to make the turn.

As Needham's tank made the turn, it was hit by a shell fired by a Japanese anti-tank gun. The shell killed Lt. Needham and Pvt. Bales instantly. The tank went off the road and into a ditch. When the surviving crew members attempted to leave the tank, they were machine gunned.

Sgt. Emil Morello's tank was the second tank in the column. As it came around the corner, his driver realized he could not see the lead tank. He sped up in an attempt to find the tank which resulted in the Japanese gun missing it when it fired on the tank.

Harry's tank and the fourth tank were also hit by enemy fire before the gun was knocked out by Sgt. Emil Morello's tank. Harry and Brokaw were wounded when their tank was hit while Pvt. Jim McLeod was killed.

It is believed that the crew of the third tank rescued Brokaw, Morello and Virgil. The tank crew took the two wounded men to a hospital in Manila. It is known that the hospital in Manila where Morello had been left was captured by the Japanese and that Morello became a Prisoner of War. It is unknown if Harry was also captured by the Japanese on the same day.

What is known is that Pvt. Harry V. Siebert died on January 22, 1942. According to U. S. Army records, he was killed in action. But it is also possible that Virgil died form his wounds since medical supplies were in short supply.

At this time, the whereabouts of Pvt. Harry V. Siebert's remains are unknown.