Capt. Thaddeus Elmer Smyth

Parents: Thaddeus C. Smyth & Martha R. Dykes-Smith

Siblings: 2 sisters, 1 brother

Home: 2522 Tulare Avenue - Richmond, California
    - lived in Texas

    - 1930 stationed Schofield Barracks, Hawaii

Married:

    - Eleanor W. Gildart

        - 1 July 1926 - Texas

        - divorced

Children:

    - 1 daughter, 2 sons

Married:

    - Jessie M. Thomas

       - 13 May 1941 - Olympia, Washington

Inducted:

    - U. S. Army

        - career officer

Training: 

    - Unknown 

    - Fort Lewis, Washington

Units: 

    - Unknown 

    - 194th Tank Battalion

Overseas Duty: 

    - Philippine Islands

Engagements: 

    - Battle of Luzon

    - Battle of Bataan

Prisoner of War: 

    - 9 April 1942

        - Death March

           - started march at Mariveles on southern tip of Bataan
           - POWs ran past Japanese artillery firing at Corregidor
           - San Fernando - POWs put into small wooden boxcars
               - 100 POWs packed into each boxcar
                   - those who died remain standing
           - Capas - living left cars - dead fell out of 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 spigot for entire camp
            - as many as 50 POWs died each day
            - Japanese opened new POW camp to lower death rate  

        - Cabanatuan #1

    - Japan

        - Fukuoka #1

Hell Ship:

   - Oryoku Maru

              - 13 December 1944 - POWs boarded

        - Sailed: 14 December 1944

        - Sunk: 15 December 1944

                      - Lingayen Gulf, Philippine Islands

            - POWs taken to tennis courts and held for several days.

            - Note:  

                - 24 December 1944 - POWs taken by train to San Fernando, La Union

                - 25 December 1944 - train arrives at San Fernando, La Union

                    - POWs were marched to beach later the same day

                        - remained on beach for two days

                - 27 December 1944 - POWs forced to jump into barges 20 feet below them

                    - taken to Enoura Maru

                - 3 January 1945 - arrived Takao, Formosa

                - 9 January 1945 - ship attacked and heavily damaged by American planes

                     - 10 January 1945 - dead stacked up in holds

                     - POWs buried in two graves on Formosa 

                     - wounded transferred to Brazil Maru

        - Sailed: Takao, Formosa - 13 January 1945

        - Arrived: 29 January 1945

Died:

:    - 4 March 1945 - malnutrition

        - Fukuoka #1-Main Camp

Buried:

    - Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery - Saint Louis, Missouri

        - 27 September 1949

            - Plot:  82 Site: 1B - 1D

Posthumously promoted: Major

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