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How Marine POWs Hung ToughBy Gregory J. W. Urwin | World War II | 10 comments | Print This Post | Email This Post Another enlisted man remembered Devereux as saying that “he only wanted the good marines, the people that behaved like marines, and he was going to bring them back—even if he sacrificed the other half.” The major let it be known that he was keeping a list of insubordinate and disobedient men who would be court-martialed on their return home. Eventually, that list grew to a hundred names. The threat of court-martial turned out to be a bluff, but it gave Devereux an extra tool for preserving discipline and unit identity. Subscribe Today
The two senior noncommissioned officers at Shanghai, Gunners Clarence B. McKinstry from Wake and William A. Lee from North China, judged and set punishments for POWs accused of minor offenses. McKinstry and Lee sentenced two inmates caught stealing to have their buttocks marked with the letter “T” in silver nitrate and paddled through camp. “The men were taken to each barracks,” related Pfc. Chester M. Biggs Jr., “where two swats were administered to each man’s buttocks with a large wooden paddle. This punishment was harsh but necessary, and it was effective. Theft nearly ceased.”  Japanese propaganda photograph High recruiting standards, a luxury the Marine Corps could afford because of its relative smallness, provided marine drill instructors with young men who flourished under high training standards. In boot camp and afterwards, marine training stressed pride, aggressiveness, physical fitness, military bearing, personal hygiene, group sanitation, teamwork—and most important of all, the obligation to look out for one’s fellow marines. “Marines don’t surrender!” drill instructors would scream over and over. “Marines bring out their wounded! Marines don’t desert their buddies!” During the Bataan Death March, long-service marines warned their juniors against drinking unsterilized water. Whenever the old hands came across water in the ruts and carabao wallows lining their route, they first purified it with iodine that they had secreted on their persons prior to the surrender. In prison camp, enlisted marines acted on their own initiative to establish “buddy systems,” which measurably improved their survival prospects. If a marine fell ill, sustained a serious injury, or pulled a stint in solitary confinement without food, his buddies often pooled small amounts of their own rations to sneak him double portions. These voluntary assessments kept up until the man in question was out of trouble. Several marines risked beatings and even death to steal food from the Japanese for ailing comrades. Cpl. Henry L. Durrwachter, who was also captured on Wake Island, testified to the power of even the smallest supportive gesture in this entry from his secret diary: “Yesterday was my birthday and believe it or not I had a party. There wasn’t much to it as we only had bread and sugar to eat for cake. I thought it was swell of the fellows to remember. They gave me a couple of packs of cigarettes and a ring made out of a quarter. It made me feel fine to think I had friends like that.” Pages: 1 2 3 4 5Help HistoryNet by bookmarking to
            Tags: 20th - 21st Century, Historical Conflicts, World War II
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10 Comments to “How Marine POWs Hung Tough”
SEMPER FI, BROTHERS .
By otto11 on Jun 17, 2008 at 7:37 pm
What more is there to say?
The Few, The Proud, The Marines.
I hope my son grows up to be a Marine.
By Tim on Jun 27, 2008 at 4:32 pm
I want to thank all the amreicans at that time for their hardwork in liberating our
country…
By Unknown on Jul 1, 2008 at 3:08 pm
Thank GOD for our “Greatest” generation! My personal belief is that the entire generation was 10 times tougher than the present group of wusses that call themselves Americans. As far as the Mairines losing less men they are just some bad men………
By rsmith68 on Jan 3, 2009 at 6:51 pm
Just read ghost soldiers about the US prisoners liberated by the rangers on luzon.
What a shame macarthur vetoed a similar jailbreak for 2400 australian soldiers at sandakan,north borneo.
And shameful that we executed general homma but the man probably most responsible for the death march general tsuji escaped punsihment,later served in the parliament and was unrepentant about his crimes.
Shame macarthur,shame.
But a great book.
By humphrey on Jan 20, 2009 at 4:36 am
how didnt they survuve were they in the way
By domonique bazemore on Jan 27, 2009 at 1:30 pm
Read about the Marines who were sent to Mukden Manchuria. Arriving on Nov 11, 1942, these great American Heroes- Marines, AirCorps and Sailors stood in freezing weather in this infamous POW slave labor camp. A recently published story entitle Undaunted Valor details the horrendous activities of these abandoned and forgotten National Treasures. They survived the Death March, the slopes of Corregidor and Cabanatuan and O’Donnell. They survivied the Tottori Maru. Arrivivng in tattered threads from their worn uniforms, they were provided with Japanese summer uniforms where the thermometer seldom moved above minus 22 until March. They had to walk 6 miles in this tundra like weather. Performing slave labor tasks, they fought back the only way possible. Sabotague. In the summer of 43, they were relocated to the new camp in Mukden, (now the city of Shenyang. Two hundred of these heroes died during the first 90 days. In June of 43, three men, two Marines and one Sailor escaped and evaded capture for a couple of weeks. Betrayed by the Chinese, they were brought back to camp and executed in July 43. The men continued their frugal existence. Most weighed below 100 – but didnt realize how bad they looked – why- they all appeared the same.
On Dec 7, 1944, American B29’s bombed the camp and killed 19 men and wounding 54. Bob Brown an Air Corp PFC and medic helped save the lives of those wounded in this tragic error. ByJan 45, the war in Europe was coming to a conclusion, and FDR allowed the3 Russians to sing treaties that would enable them to declare war against the Japanese. By May of 45,with the war over, our focus was back in the Pacific. This area abandoned initially by Marshall and FDR was now the last bastion againt fascism. In May, Gen wainright and other senior officers were in the Mukden area camps. Early that month, most of the seniors were sent to the main amp in Mukden and in August, the OSS team Cardinal was assigned to parachute into the camp area and liberate these men. Hours from execution, their lives were saved on the 16th of Aug and on Aug 20, 1945, the men were freed by the Russian Army. Over the next few weeks, the camp survivors were on their way home. Marines like Roy Weaver, Glenn Stewart had survived. tragically on the way home, SGt Wm Frisier 4th Marines was killed when his ship hit a Japanese mine.
These men have never told their story until the narrative Undaunted Valor was published this past Sept 08.
These men although surrendered and captured were never defeated,. Many returned to serve in Korea and a few in Viet Nam. Today, they meet annually as the Mukden Survivors and Edescendants Group. They along with their fellow service men and woman changed the course of the war. They had given our nation the time to keep the enemy from invading Austraila and allowed MacArthur and our country to reinforce Australia. Most importantly halted the Japanese advance. Yes, they had been surrendered by their officers, but had stopped the Japanese in the Philippines. They were invaded hours after Pearl Harbor- but no one celebrates nor commemorates their great courage and sacrifice.
God Bless these great American Heroes-
By Shelly Zimbler on Jan 29, 2009 at 4:52 pm
thank you allyou brave men. thanks to you i live in freedom today.
By mike cox on Apr 13, 2009 at 4:28 pm
“Not one of the 650 Americans who died on the Death March was a member of the U.S. Marine Corps.” Need I say more?
By Matthew Harper on Apr 24, 2009 at 3:52 pm
All the best from the son of Captive 1210
By Maurice A Christie on Oct 2, 2009 at 4:11 pm