Pvt. Grover David Whittinghill

Mother: Lillian Whittinghill

Hometown:  Harrodsburg, Kentucky

Enlisted: 

    - Kentucky National Guard

Inducted: 

    - U. S. Army - 25 November 1941 - Harrodsburg, Kentucky

Training: 

    - Fort Knox, Kentucky

    - Camp Polk, Louisiana

Overseas Duty: 

    - Philippine Islands

Engagements: 

    - Battle of Luzon

    - Battle of Bataan

Prisoner of War: 

    - 9 April 1942

        - Death March

            - Mariveles - POWs started 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

        - Fort Murphy - Las Pinas Detail - 12 December 1942 - September 1944

            - Work: built runways

    - Formosa:

        - Inrin Temporary Camp

            - Work: sugarcane harvesting

    - Japan:

        - Sendai Camp #3

Hell Ship: 

    - Hokusan Maru - 

        - Sailed: Manila: 3 October 1944

        - Arrived: Takao, Formosa - 11 November 1944

     - Melbourne Maru  

        - Sailed: Formosa - 14 January 1945

        - Arrived: Moji - 23 January 1945

Liberated: September 1945

    - Health issues resulted in Grover losing both his legs

Died: 7 June 1980 - Veterans Administration Hospital - Lexington

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Transcript of Interview