An Unexpected WWII Grouping Reunification

[Javelin4life]

Fate has a way of working out. You either walk right into a situation you never expected, or everything falls into place at just the right time. In 2015, I became the caretaker of a Purple Heart that was posthumously awarded to Tec. 5th Class Edward C Jensen, who was part of the 28th Bomber Squadron, 19th Bomber Group. Tec 5 Jensen, along with his grounded squadron, were ambushed by Japanese patrol forces and became a POW, both part of the Bataan Death March and a captive on the infamous hellship, the Shinyo Maru, which was accidentally torpedoed by the USS Paddle. Tec 5 Jensen and 667 of his brothers lost their lives in the ensuing retaliatory onslaught by their captors.

 

I believed for a long time this was his only decoration, but When i stumbled across this bronze star at the beginning of May, I couldn’t believe what i saw. I learned there were two possible ID’s- one to the PH recipient, and another to a KIA Nebraskan soldier. Superficially, evidence pointed in the direction of the Nebraskan, but upon further investigation, neither his grave marker, news article about his death or his tombstone paperwork mentioned his awarding. In addition, the engraving is an official post-war style. Through the help of a knowledgeable OMSA member, I learned that Al Gleim once made mention of what General John Wainwright, commander of the Allied Forces in the Philippines during tail end of WWII did after the war ended.

 

A POW himself, upon his release, he put through a large number of recommendations for men for extraordinary service or heroism; these became known as The Wainwright Citations. These citations were unofficial, so they don’t appear on records. Due to the fact that the names are an exact match on both medals, the points made before ruling out the other potential recipient and the Wainwright Citations, both he and I agreed all evidence points to this having been awarded to Tec. 5 Jensen some short time after the war. To be the caretaker of this now group, is an incredible honor, and a testament that crazier things have not only happened, but can still happen.

 

 

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[Javelin4life]

Correction- the Wainwright citations were apparently issued in 1946 or 47 as War Department General Orders.

[bobgee]

Great work! A really historic group. Congrats! Bobgee

[Javelin4life]

Great work! A really historic group. Congrats! Bobgee

Thank you! Its a very somber group. I really have USMCR79 (Bill) to thank for helping me confirm the bronze star was his.

[decwriter]

Congrats on reuniting these two medals! It's always good to keep digging into the history and when luck is on your side, you can't go wrong.