Palawan Massacre Memorial

palawan memorialPalawan Massacre Memorial

Memorial Marker for the 143 American POW

Palawan Philippines

“A grim reminder of the realities of war as a price for freedom and the burning to death of 143 American Prisoners of war by their Japanese Imperial Army Kempie-tai captors inside the tunnel on this site on the fateful evening of December 15, 1944.)

palawan-massacre-022I sat down under the shade trees this morning and copied this information from the monument to those that died on this spot in December of 1944.

It kind of touches your heart a bit when you type each name and then recheck the spelling.

It was kind of a spiritual experience to actually do that, rather than cut and paste the list from the internet.

palawan massacre memorialPalawan WW2 memorial

American POW’s were massacred in this place on December 14, 1944 On that day Japanese guards stationed here in Palawan ordered American Pows under their control into the air raid shelters.

Japanese soldiers suddenly poured gasoline on and into the American POW shelters and set them afire with flaming torches, followed by hand grenades.

As the American POW’s, engulfed in flames broke out of the fiery death traps, their Japanese guards machine gunned, bayoneted, decapitated and clubbed them to death.

Of the American POW’s, only 11 survived the massacre. This memorial is by the artist Don Schloat, a former POW of the Japanese at Palawan.

Roster of the known Palawan Massacre victims compiled from Lorna Murray and Abie Abraham’s list

US Marines

Jewett Adams
Robert Adkins
Sammy Caldwell
Joseph Glacken
James Grahnert
William Hammock
Kenneth Hanson
Cifford Henderson
John Hughes
Aubrey Johnson
Earl Joyner
Wilfred Kernes

Daniel Ray
Edward Schultz
Jesse Simpson
Owen Skaggs
George Walker
John Warren
Stephen Kozuch
Kenneth Lindsay
Donald Martin
E. C. Morris
Orlando Morris
Dillard Price

US Navy

Carl Barnes
Darrell Barnes
Wilbur Blackburn
Vernon Buchanan
Harry Cook
Bill Gillespie
Waldo Hale
John Harris
Henry Knight
Arthur Lamountain
Theodore McNally
James Roe

US Army

Henry Aroujo
Heraclio Arispo
Homer Bailey
Herbert Baker
Benjamin Beason
Mason Bouchy
William T. Brown
Fred Bruni
Douglas Burnett
Casey Carter
Roy Childers
James Choate
Earl Crandell
Franklin Cullens
John Czajkowski
John Diaz
Elix Clayton
Erving Evans
George Eyre
Houston Fletcher
Jessie Gee
Mike Guiffreda
Samuel Glover
Richard Goodykoontz
Lenton Harbin
Douglas Hawkins
Joseph Henderson
Roy Hickle
Miner Hinkle
Hugh Hubbard
Tom Huston
Fred Hutchinson
Charles Jacobson
Josepf Kazlauskas
Robert Stevenson
James Stidham
Charles Street
Harding Stutts
Leslie Sweany
Homer Swinner
Glen Teel
Jolley Terry

Harold King
Richard Koerner
Leo Lampshire
Kenneth Lewis
Forest Lindsay
John Lyons
Carl Mango
George Manzi
Richard McAnany
William McElveen
Joe Mascarenas
Joe Million
Fred Moffatt
Roger Moore
Frank Newell
Harry Noel
Ernest Novak
Trinidad Otero
James Pitts
Homer Rankin
Vernon Rector
Arthur Rhoades
James Rudd
Santiago Saiz
John Sanchez
Henry Scally
Charles Schubert
Gabriei Sierra
Charles Sirfus
Kenneth O. Smith
Cecil Snyder
Carroll Spinder
Devert Stanley
John Stanley
Delbert Thomas
Glen Turner
Joseph Uballe
Ted Vitatoe
Carl Walker
Horace Whitecotten
Willard Yeast

palawan-massacre-007palawan-massacre-003

 

The Palawan WW2 memorial was installed with the assistance of the Mayor Edward S Hagedorn fulfilling the promise that he made to former American POW and sculptor Don Schloat.

The 11 survivors:

Rufus Smith – Huges Springs, Texas

Ernest John Cablos – Chicago

Edwin Petry – Chicago

Eugene Nielson – Utah

Elmo Deal – Uba City, California

Tommy Daniels – USA

Douglas W. Bogue – USA

Fern Joseph Barta – Salt Lake City

Glen McDole – Iowa

William J. Balchus – New Jersey

Alberto D. Pacheco – New Mexico

…please correct me if I am wrong – I did this from a magnified file photo that was not clear, but I tried to verify with other internet sites

note – I just went to the memorial today , Feb 24 2010 and took the picture below – I am not sure the correct list – my apologies

ppp-memorial-009Survivors

The following message was sent in today by the daughter of Fern Joseph Barta

Dec 20 2011

I am daughter of Fern Joseph Barta. I remember Mom and Daddy talking often of ‘Doug Bogue’. He was in the same prison camp (on Palawan) with my Father and a survivor as well. He and his wife (I believe Betty) lived in California. You were correct when you said scupters name was on the monument in place of Mr. Bogue. On September 27,2003, the world lost one of it’s great heros when my father died. And I still miss him so.

Thank you for your comment. We all lost a hero the day your father passed away on Sept 27 in 2003. We also are all grateful for the service he did for his country. Thank you – dp.

ppp-memorial-001How to find the memorial in Puerto Princesa

puerto-palawan-memorial-001The memorial is near this large blue church alongside the road coming up from the pier. Rizal Street is the one that runs past Jolibees, Dunkin Donuts and Itoys in town.

 

ppp-memorial-013You can get your bearings by looking at this picture. This was taken from the entrance to the memorial.

 

ppp-memorial-007ppp-memorial-006Palawan

 

ppp-memorial-010ppp-memorial-003Memorial

ppp-memorial-011Palawan WW2 war memorial

 

This is the list that i copied from the memorial itself –  I think that somehow the sculptures name was inadvertently put in where Douglas W. Bogue – USA is on some lists.  He was also a POW in Palawan but possibly not at this site – if anyone knows for sure please let me know and I will try to clarify.

Rufus Smith – Huges Springs Texas
Ernest John Cablos – Chicago
Edwin Petry – Venice, Chicago
Eugene Nelson – Utah
Elmo Deal – Uba City, California
Tommy Daniels USA
Don T Schlot USA
Fern Joseph Barta – Salt Lake City
Glen Weddel McDole – Dismoises, Iowa
Wm J Balchus Martinville, New Jersey
Alberto d Pacheco – Denning, New Mexico

 

 

palawan-war-memorial-002WW2 Memorial honoring those that served and died and the survivors of the Palawan massacre in the Philippines.

brick wall

dutchpickle logorespect is due

Nov 4, 2009 www.dutchpickle.com

52 responses to “Palawan Massacre Memorial”

  1. Wow thats moving DP, real bad. Wonder how moved the japanese tourists would be to visit there.

    Where exactly is this memorial? I do not recall seeing it during my trips there.

    Must of been a very sobering moment.

    Keep up the great work, your one hell of a guy, nerves of steel.

  2. I’m son of a member who participated in this raid father told me his shoes were hard to fill upon researching his past found 5217th Signal Corp Recon Battalion.

  3. I WAS SO EXCITED WHEN I CAME UPON THIS WEBSITE. MY FATHER WAS ONE OF THE 11 WHO ESCAPED THE MASSACRE. GLENN MCDOLE IS HIS NAME. MY DAD JUST PASSED AWAY ON SEPT. 3, 2009. WE HAD NO IDEA THE FRONT OF THE PRISON CAMP WAS STILL STANDING. THE ONLY MONUMENT WE HEARD OF WAS THE PLAQUE THAT HAD THE NAMES OF THE SURVIVORS. THIS IS A BEAUTIFUL MEMORIAL AND I THANK YOU FOR DOING THIS WEB-SITE. I CAN’T WAIT TO PASS IT ON TO THE REST OF OUR FAMILY. IT IS MY WISH TO COME TO PALAWAN AND I WILL DO IT!! THANK YOU AGAIN FOR SHARING THESE PICTURES!!

  4. DP,

    I am the grandson of Col. Nazario B. Mayor who was the commander of the Phillipine resistance on Palawan, and the son of Mary Anne Mayor Ancheta who was involved in saving Glenn McDole and other survivors of the Palawan Massacre. My mom nursed Glenn and others back to health while my grandfather was typically on patrol.

    My mother made contact with Glenn almost 20 years ago after 40 plus years of never knowing what happened to the survivors. We were able to meet his family in Feb/March 1989 and Glenn, my mother, my grandfather and Uncle Bob were able to reunite after all these years.

    I had the honor to know Glenn, and priviledged to have met and still know his family and grandchildren. We currently have relatives on the island and often send them messages and updates to add to he memorial. I am very appreciative that you have been able to show the memorial. And, as with Kathy, I certainly hope to visit Palawan and take part in the forgotten history of one of the most tagic moments of WWII.

    God Bless!!!

  5. The 11 survivors:

    Rufus Smith – Texas

    Ernest John – Chicago

    Edwin Petry – Chicago

    Eugene Nielson – Utah

    Elmo Deal – California

    Tommy Daniels – USA

    Douglas W. Bogue – USA

    Fern Joseph Barta – Salt Lake City

    Glen McDole – Iowa

    William J. Balchus – New Jersey

    Alberto D. Pacheco – New Mexico

    …please correct me if I am wrong – I did this from a magnified file photo that was not clear, but I tried to verify with other internet sites

    dp

  6. dp,

    Your artical about the Palawan massacre is very touching. I have been to your web site before to read some of your other articles and found them all very interesting reading. I think I found your site while looking up things about Palawan, as my wife and I recently bought some land there. My wife is currently there and I will be meeting up with her in March. I would like to go see the memorial sight if I can find it. I have never been Palawan before and my wife has only recently arrived and is staying in Aborlan, so we know next to nothing about Puerto Princesa. I guess if we can find the blue church and the pier we can find the place. Is there anything else I need to know? Keep up the good work.

  7. HI DP

    THIS WAS A GREAT STORY ON THE PALAWAN MASSACRE. I WISH I WOULD HAVE TOOK A RIDE OVER WHEN I WAS IN TOWN. IT IS SO COOL THAT THE FOLKS OF THE FALLEN MEN AND SURVIVORS CAN READ ABOUT AND SEE THE PICKS ON YOUR WEB SITE. I WONDER IF THERE IS ANYTHING LEFT TO SEE OF THE PRISON CAMP HER ON LUZON WHERE THE AMERICAN TROOPS SAVED THE POWS FROM THE SAME FATE.IT COULD BE A REASON TO RIDE.

    PATRICK

  8. I CAN’T BELEAVE I CAME ACROSS THIS WEBSITE GIVING ME MORE INFORMATION THAN MILLITARY SITES I HAVE GONE TO.
    MY UNCLE WAS HARROLD KING AND I HAVE TRIED FOR MANY YEARS TO TRY TO FIND OUT MORE SPECIFIC INFORMATION ABOUT HIS DEATH. MY FATHER, ALSO A PACIFIC WWII VET AND LIKE MANY, DID NOT TALK ABOUT HIS EXPERANCES, AND A LOT LESS ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED TO HIS BROTHER. THE ONLY THING I KNEW WAS THAT THERE WAS A MEMORAL IN ST. LOUIS.AS A MILITARY MAN OF 24 YEARS AND HAVE THE FLAGS OF NOT ONLY MY UNCLE HARROLD, BUT ALSO MY FATHER, I PLAN TO VISIT THIS MEMORAL ON MEMORAL DAY.IF BY CHANCE THERE IS A SURVIVOR THAT FOLLOWES THIS SITE, I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM THEM.

    DAVID KING

  9. Hi,

    I know this site very well, the yellow house behind the cathedral is my mom-in-law’s. I read the book be Glen McDole and i am very interested in giving more recognition to all those who suffered and died on this site. I met Don Schlot last year in Puerto Princesa, Mr. Schlot approached me and the Mayor, Edward Hagedorn and he was the one who requested the Mayor to put up a better monument at Plaza Quartel.

    I am trying to put up another monument at the airport where those American POWs were ordered to work. Only a few knows that Puerto Princesa International Airport was opened be those POWs. Please let me know how we can move on with this project in honor of the POWs. Call me at 310-384-3199, Los Angeles, Ca.

  10. The name of the street that you’re talking about where Jolibee, Itoys and others are located is called Rizal avenue.. It is the busiest street in the whole of Puerto Princesa City.

  11. Thank you so much for your tribute to the brave men that died in the massacre of 1944. My Grandfather Charles Sirfus was among those that died. An interesting note to those interested in small worlds that are not so small. Glenn McDole was a surrviver of the Massacure and not the only soldier from Des Moines, Ia at the camp. My Grand father who was in his early 50’s, met Glenn Dole one night after exchanging letters from home. Story goes that Glenn noticed my Grandfather crying over a letter he was reading. My Grandfather was called “Pops” at the camp, when Glenn apporched him and asked “Pops” why are you crying? my Grandfather was said to have replied, “this letter mentions my son John from Des Moines. You can imagine Glenn’s suprise when he found the the letter that my Grandfather was refering to was his letter from his sister Dee who was dating my uncle John at the time. The McDole-Sirfus families have always shared a special bond. Glenn came home and never forgot those that he left behind, he and his daughter Kathy never let the world forget and never stopped telling the story. Glenn’s story always included those that remembered as well as those that did not. He provided peace and closeure to those families whos loved did not return and gave credit to those that did. Glenn lived a good long and happy life. He was loved and respected my many. I belive that somewhere he and his buddies are having one hell of a reunion has it should be. Thank you Glenn you who never considered yourself a hero was always one to us. Rest in peace , High “Fi” Popps!
    -Kathy Sirfus-Spurlock

  12. I AM THE SON OF THE LATE JAMES HAROLD DARNELL,( he died in the year 2006), he was a PRISONER OF WAR in PALAWAN .He was fortunate enough NOT included in the burning because he was transferred to another place.He survived the death march . I am going to Palawan in a week and pay respect, and see the memorial.

  13. I was touched beyond words to find this website. My mom’s “Uncle Johnny” is among those that did not survive. His name was John Lyons. My mother was a young girl when he went off to war, and he had been a very favorite uncle. She had many fond memories of him and talked of him often.

    His death was something my great-grandmother never got over. After the war ended, my great-grandmother was visited by one of the survivors (I do not know his name) who had stopped in to see if John had survived. He told her that they had been at the camp together, and had escaped. They had arranged to meet at two checkpoints. He met John at the first spot, but when he got to the second location, John didn’t show up. He had been hopeful that he had survived. Until her death, my great-grandmother never gave up hope that John was still alive.

    John was from Staples, Minnesota. If anyone has information about the soldier that visited my great-grandmother, I would love to hear from you.

  14. My wife just happen to see your website while looking for WWII Memorial site in the Philippines. We have been visiting the Philippines for 12 years now and we go there every 2 years, We already Visited Corregidor Island, Mt. Samat and the Death March Road,Capas Tarlac Memorial and Pangatian Memorial in Cabanatuan. We went to Subic Bay last March to visit the HellShip memorial, We also Visited Intamuros, American Memorial Cemetery and Leyte Landing Site, Hill 120 in leyte, Dulag Marker in Leyte and other WWII site. I can’t seem to get over all of this places. It’s a very humbling experience. We will be going again in the next few years and we will definetely visit the Palawan Memorial and perhaps the Break nech ridge in Leyte. Thanks so much for posting this in your site.

  15. I am the Grandson of William J. Balchus, one of the survivors of the Palawan Massacre. He never spoke of this and for all of these years I never know of the actual story of what took place there. He is probably one of the few remaining survivors still alive, this being written Sept. 27, 2010. The only thing I knew up until now was that he was a POW but had no idea of the actual events.

    It is sickening to learn of this and this is something that needs to be passed on so it is never ever repeated again. I want to thank you for your work of hosting this website and documenting the survivors and the memorial for us to view. I doubt that I will ever get to see it in my lifetime.

    I have only recently learned of the actual events of this incident as of a week ago and my Wife and I have been researching it ever since.

    My heart goes out to all of the survivors, victims, and their families that have suffered great tragedy, and loss.

    Brian Oshman, Stewartsville, NJ

    POW MIA You Are Not Forgotten

  16. Dear Sirs and Maam

    A Happy New Year to all,

    Greetings from Cavite!

    As a Palaweno, I have known the story of the Japanese Massacre since I was a little kid through stories by the elders and on the books by Survivor Glenn Mcdole and of the WW2 History book in Palawan by the Palawan museum.

    The survivors story are very touching and courage abounds well.I admire the photos above the last time I was there,the sculpture wasnt there yet

    I agree of giving recognition for the POWs as the builders of the Palawan Airfield.

    For info the Airfield was also used by USN Patrol Bombers VPB-111 and P-38 lightnings of a USAAF Squadron and by Royal Australian Air Force B-24 Liberator bombers conducting air strikes in the Sarawak area during the closing months of the War

    One information that still bugs me is that Survivors from the Submarine USS Robalo were taken to the Cuartel for sometime and before the massacre happened the 1 Officer and 3 crews boarded a Jap DD and were never seen again.If memory serves right USS Robalo is skippered by LCDR Manning Kimmel (Son of ADM Husband Kimmel of Pearl Harbor)

    I hope any reader could shed light on the above.

    Sir DP,

    Thank You for putting up this website for us to remember the valiant deeds of our forefathers for us to enjoy the FREEDOM that we enjoy today.

    Sincerely,

    Mark Romasanta Condeno

  17. I hope this will never be forgotten – these men suffered beyond what I can fathom and all for our freedom. My neighbors brother was one of the ones who died, James Rolly Rudd and she still cries to this day about what happened to Rolly. I’m glad she told me about this or I would have not known anything about it. This is an important part of history.

  18. This site is awesome thank you so much for sharing it..my dad’s cousin James Pitts was one of the men killed that awful day… for years I had tried to find a survivor who may have known James.. I wanted to make him a memorial page as well..cannot locate a photo… my dad Maylon (Bud0 Jones also fought in that war but luckily was not at Palawan…

    this story haunts me..I have read last man out and was lucky enough to recieve a couple of emails from Glen Mcdole before his passing…

    I know they are all together and happy mand hopefully at peace… God Bless them all and their families…thanks also to Kathy (Glenn’s daughter) for all she has done to make people aware…

    my greatest wish is to someday travel to the place it happened and to see the grave…. I wish I would have known sooner about Palawan so that I could have talked to the survivors to hear all about my second cousin James A. Pitts… we were so little informed that my family thought he was in the Bataan Death March until a survivor of that told us about Palawan…

    God Bless everyone who has ever sacrificed for our freedom….

  19. This is a wonderful site on the history of the massacre. Our uncle was Waldo Stedham Hale, USN Saybrook, Ill. My sisters and I have been researching him for and was finally able to retrace his footsteps and how he came to the Phillipines. We had a family group travel to Jefferson Barricks Cemetary to visit the mass gravesite last summer, and will be traveling back in a few weeks as we are also wanting to visit a museum called Soldiers Memorial Military Museum, 1315 Chestnut, St. Louis, MO 63103.
    Thank you,
    Cheryl Hinton, niece

  20. Thank you for your sensitive portrait of the Palawan Memorial. The sculptor, Don T. Schloat, was the closest cousin of my late wife, Zaida. I was in more or less constant contact with Don for over 50 years. Zaida and I were married for 41 years until her death in 2000. Don passed away on October 31, 2010 at age 89 and was buried at the National Cemetary in San Diego. I have more in which you may be interested but prefer direct contact. Hope to hear from you.

  21. My uncle Enrique Araujo (Henry Araujo, please check the spelling) was a victim of the massacre…thank you for your touching article

  22. I’m married to a philippina now for over 20yrs,we have no kid’s of our own but I have many grand kid’s who are living in Puerto now.
    I asked about the POW Camp back in 04/05 but walla answer from the local’s?
    I found the Monument this past year.

    Don’t worry to the family’s your’s will not be forgotten as long as I live on Palawan

    This from a old Sapper.

    UBIQUE

  23. I was so happy to find this website! Thank you for putting it together. It means so much to so many people, and it’s important to remember the sacrifices our forefathers made for us.. Glenn McDole was my great uncle. and my middle name is Glenn. I’ve read “Last Man Out” and I’m going to buy my own copy tomorrow. The unbelievable cruelty of the Japanese soldiers who did those things makes me sick, and I’m amazed that the survivors could even function after going through what they endured. My uncle and all the men who survived and who died are in my prayers. I just wish I had gotten to meet Glenn, and to thank him for his service.

    Donald Glenn Lewallen

  24. My grandmother was engaged to Charles Bartle who was killed here as a POW. I have the letter of his death from the war department. I do not see his name on the memorial I do know the men memorized names of each other I feel bad his is missing; maybe I do not see it. I wonder if there is an official list of the dead. The letter from the war department states he was a POW there and did not survive. Please let me know if you have any information. Thank you.

  25. I am daughter of Fern Joseph Barta. I remember Mom and Daddy talking often of ‘Doug Bogue’. He was in the same prison camp (on Palawan) with my Father and a survivor as well. He and his wife (I believe Betty) lived in California. You were correct when you said scupters name was on the monument in place of Mr. Bogue. On September 27,2003, the world lost one of it’s great heros when my father died. And I still miss him so.

  26. So nice to find this site and see the memorial to those lost on Palawan. I have heard the story and read articles all my life, as my uncle was among those murdered. His name , however is not listed on the memorial. Charles Carlyle Smith, Jr. SM2c USNavy from Guntersville, Alabama.
    Don’t know why it was not listed as I find it in other articles and lists.
    Maybe one day I’ll be able to visit or perhaps it will be left to my children or grandchildren to do so.
    I have the postcards he was allowed to fill out and mail home during his imprisonment. Only a few but they sustained his mother until the awful telegram arrived.
    Though I did not know him I will never forget him or the thousands of others who sacrificed for us. I will pass their story along so that future generations will not forget.

  27. The family of Jewett Franklin Adams (USMC) , who passed from his
    ” Mother Earth ” at a place named Palawan, now and forever through
    ” His Spirit ” will never be forgotten.

    Larry F. Dunn the son of ..
    Octive Peggy Adams (WAC) –
    One Sister of Jewett Franklin Adams who will ” Carry the Spirit ”

  28. Hi,

    I know someone who is looking for one of the victim’s possible relative there in Palawan. I hope you can help me as well. Please email me if you have any information. Thanks.

  29. Survivor William J. Balchus is my grandfather. He is alive and well today living with my dad in California. He still gets out and never misses a day where there is fishing involved. To this day he still is unable to speak of what happened during his time as a POW. I was wondering if anyone knew of a way where military medals can be replaced. I’m not exactly sure what medals my grandfather received but I know as of today they can not be found. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

  30. Thank you for posting this, dutchpickle, especially for those of us who cannot get there to see it in person. The photographs are beautiful and give a real sense of the memorial that is very difficult to capture this far away.

    I do a lot of WWII submarine research for my work as a historian and an author, and Mark Comasanta Condeno, originally of Palawan, asked a question about the USS Robalo survivors who were kept at Puerto Princesa, and their fate. I’m sorry to say no one can yet answer that question. It is known that there were at least four survivors who made it to Puerto Princesa: Ensign Samuel L. Tucker; Quartermaster Floyd G. Laughlin; Seaman Wallace K. Martin; and Electrician’s Mate Mason C. Poston. On August 2, one of them dropped a note out their cell window (they were allegedly being held as guerrilla combatants, rather than POWs, a move that kept them from being monitored by the Red Cross, and names recorded.) and that note came into the possession of American POW HD Hough. He relayed the contents of that note to Mrs. Trinidad Mendoza, widow of guerrilla leader Dr. Mendoza. Mrs. Mendoza and her contacts discovered as much about these men and their boat as they could, and relayed it back to Hough, who was transferred, along with half the camp, to Taiwan and Japan before the massacre of December 14, 1944. Hough reported what he knew when he was repatriated in 1945. But despite all that, no one knows the surviving Robalo’s ultimate fate. Hough said they were transferred aboard a destroyer around August 15, 1944, and never heard from again. Two destroyers were sunk en route to Manila between August 23-24 that may match that description.

    Then again…in 1997, Mr. Al Jacobson, a survivor of the USS Flier, (a submarine that sank in the Balabac Straits shortly after the Robalo,and whose survivors returned to the States, courtesy of the Palawan people and American Coastwatchers,) returned to the Palawan region to re-trace the steps of his escape, and honor the memories of those who hadn’t been able to make it home. In his memoirs, he recorded the following:

    “On August 19, 1944, the four submarine [Robalo] prisoners, [Tucker, Laughlin, Poston and Martin] were transferred to the Japanese freighter Takao Maru and signed for by its captain, Aida Sakutaro. They were to be transferred to Manila. There are no known records if the Takao Maru made it to Manila or transferred the prisoners to any other organizations, There is a record of a public execution in Manila in August or Sepetember 1944 during which four submariners were executed. None of the four returned during the war.”

    Mr. Jacobson forgot to record where he found this information, but his son, who accompanied him, said the only places he could have gotten it was in 1997 in Manila or Puerto Princesa itself. I would love to know if such a record exists, but I hope that at least answers your question. I have been unable to prove or disprove any of these reports from the USA.

    To Heather Balchus-Nostrand: to replace medals, Just go to the National Archives page here: http://www.archives.gov/st-louis/military-personnel/public/awards-and-decorations.html and that will at least get you started. Good luck.

    Thank you again, DutchPickle, for keeping this story alive and allowing those of us who haven’t made it to Palawan yet to see the memorial in your photos. To those who never made it home (whether Palawan or otherwise) and those who live with the ghosts of war…thank you, so very very much. We cannot repay.

  31. I read Glenn McDole’s book “Last Man Out” last week. This week I arrived in Palawan and visited the memorial. It still has a feeling of grief and sickness about it and around it. It’s a wonderful memorial but I still felt the lost burning souls there in agony. I was also saddened to see the names of the 11 survivors on the plaque and see Survivor Douglas Bogue’s name not engraved with the others. That is wrong, and should be fixed and corrected immediately. It’s a disgrace to him and his family. It is a known fact that Bogue was one of the 11 escapees that survived as McDole accurately and proudly tells from his own eyewitness and first hand account. Lets fix it and correct the error which stands today.

  32. Good article,glad to know there is a memorial on palawan. Going back to zamboanga again in august and would like to make a point to go to palawan for the sole purpose of visiting the memorial and to pay my respect. Are there any good hotels that aren’t too far away from the memorial? Blue lagoon? My reason for going to palawan is to visit the memorial and all else is secondary. So I would rather not be staying too far away from it

    Thank you
    Mr steven j paris

  33. Can you add another name to your list of those who died that day. I have seen his military papers on ancestry.com and it clearly states he was a POW and that he perished on that day in the massacre. His name is Glen Albert Dutton. He is buried in Clovis NM. He was only 27 years old. This was a very sad day for the human race.

  34. William J. Balchus is my Grandfather. He is still alive today. I believe he is the last survivor. He is an amazing man and a true inspiration to our family. He never spoke much of his time as a POW. He gave everything he has had in his life whole-heartedly to his family never expecting anything in return. Thank you for writing this article and creating this web page. I am honored to have him as my Grandfather and love him very much.

  35. Tracy,
    I am a friend of the McDole family. We are currently working together to start a non profit organization in his name, dedicated to connecting young people in service to our aging veterans. This foundation will educate and give teens the opportunity to do service projects for veterans. We would be thrilled to meet your grandfather if possible. My number is 515-201-1703. We are currently planning on seeking to have the Palawan story put to film. Please contact me as soon as you can. You can call or email me at derickson44@msn.com. thank you!