Spear_M

Born: 1 February 1915 - Tennessee

Father: Ebb Spear & Mell Spear

- mother died when Mitchell was a child

Siblings: 3 sisters, 3 brothers

Hometown: Ellington, Kentucky

Inducted:

- U. S. Army

- 1 March 1941

Training:

- Fort Knox, Kentucky

- Camp Polk, Louisiana

Overseas Duty: Philippine Islands

Engagements:

- Battle of Luzon

- Battle of Bataan

POW:

- 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

Camps:

- Philippines:

- 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

Died:

- 23 July 1942 - dysentery

- Approximate time of death - 6:30 AM

Buried: Remains Returned Home