Show us your Memorial Day veterans Kia photos

[mes]

. Every Memorial Day I honor veterans from my collection who made the ultimate sacrifice Stanley Kasten was a HA 1-C from Hoyleton Illinois. He joined the navy in November 1943 and after boot camp he attended six weeks medical training in Farragut Idaho. In May of 1944 he was assigned to the USS Indianapolis. I found a letter online from from an officer who said Stanley was on duty in the bow section and was most likely killed instantly and when down with the ship. He was twenty years,one month and ten days old. Rip

[Linedoggie]

7 men from 1/69 INF and 2/156 INF KIA January 7 2005 in Taji Iraq.

 

SFC KURT COMEAUX

 

SGT CHRISTOPHER BABIN

 

SGT ARMAND FRICKEY

 

SGT BRADLEY BERGERON

 

SGT WARREN MURPHY

 

SGT HUEY FASSBENDER

 

Also killed in the same vehicle was

 

SPC KENNETH VONRONN HHC 1/69INF

 

 

 

[JimD]

7 men from 1/69 INF and 2/156 INF KIA January 7 2005 in Taji Iraq.

 

SFC KURT COMEAUX

 

SGT CHRISTOPHER BABIN

 

SGT ARMAND FRICKEY

 

SGT BRADLEY BERGERON

 

SGT WARREN MURPHY

 

SGT HUEY FASSBENDER

 

Also killed in the same vehicle was

 

SPC KENNETH VONRONN HHC 1/69INF

 

 

 

 

Heroes in our time. RIP.

[Patricia Murphy Minch]

This Memorial Day I'd like to honor 1st Lieutenant Grafton Jacob Spencer (birth name Grafton Jacob Christ, Jr.), killed in action on April 8, 1943, near Dalupirip, Benguet Province, Philippine Islands. This young man enlisted in the U.S. Army not long after he graduated from high school in Kenmore, New York, a northern suburb of Buffalo. He was sent to the Philippines, where he was offered an opportunity to take some aptitude tests. When he passed with flying colors, he was sent to the Philippine Military Academy in Baguio (5000' elevation) for a nine-month refresher course in high school basics, following which, if he performed well, he'd be able to return to the States and attend West Point. It was the chance of a lifetime for a kid from a modest background who'd never even considered college before. He had high hopes for a bright future as he arrived for his classes on December 8, 1941. But shortly after 8 a.m. on that cold, foggy morning, eighteen Japanese bombers roared overhead in a surprise attack, machine guns chattering, and dropped 120 "eggs" on Baguio and their primary target, the adjacent Camp John Hay, a U.S. military post. Grafton, or "Spence" for short, wasn't injured that morning, but the events of that day changed his life forever.

 

For more than two weeks following the initial bombing, confusion reigned at Camp John Hay as its commandant, Colonel John P. Horan, tried to get new orders from General Douglas MacArthur's headquarters in Manila as to how the troops under his command should proceed. At first he was told to "Sit tight and don't worry," that everything was under control. But Japanese planes again flew over and dropped more bombs. Then a massive Japanese army numbering more than 43,000 men and equipment came ashore at Lingayen Bay 25 miles west of Baguio, allied coastal defenses soon collapsed, and the enemy started up the mountain toward Baguio. Still, Colonel Horan was told to stay put, while throughout the island of Luzon thousands of US-led forces were retreating toward the Bataan Peninsula, where they were to make a defensive stand against the invaders. Again and again, a desperate Colonel Horan called Manila. By the time MacArthur's headquarters realized their plight, the enemy had blocked both exit roads out of Baguio. On December 23rd, the new orders finally came: "Save your command. Use mountain trails." Colonel Horan divided the trapped forces into two groups and they set out eastward over the mountains, the first group on December 23rd and the second on the afternoon of December 24th.

 

Spence was assigned to the the second group, led by Colonel Horan himself. The trip was a nightmare, the narrow trail clogged by civilians and their livestock, all trying to escape the Japanese. On the second day out, Colonel Horan received conflicting directions, took a wrong fork in the trail, and ended up lost, wasting two days while they retraced their steps. By the time they crossed the mountains and reached Highway #5, the second north-south route to Manila and the Bataan Peninsula, a second wave of enemy troops had already blocked that route, too. By now the food they'd carried on their backs was gone. Colonel Horan gave up, deciding to take his native troops back to their mountain homes, disband them, and hide out until American reinforcements and supplies arrived. At the last moment, he offered to release from his command any American officers who still wanted to try for Bataan. A young officer named Art Murphy stuck up his hand, then another named Parker Calvert, then a civilian named Tom Jagoe. Spence quickly stuck up his hand too. That was all, just the four of them. What followed was a two-and-a-half-month perilous odyssey during which the foursome tried unsuccessfully to get to Bataan, failed, then returned through Japanese-controlled territory to the northern mountains. Back into familiar territory, they came across a group of several dozen native soldiers who still wanted to fight, were looking for leadership, and a small guerrilla army was born.

 

In April and May 1942, allied troops on Bataan and Corregidor, outnumbered and starving, were ordered to surrender by General Jonathan Wainwright. But the enemy refused to accept their surrender unless ALL allied troops surrendered, including those still loose in the mountains. Spence's group refused. Their little army continued to organize and grow and eventually joined forces with other small groups intent on defying the Japanese. Commandeering weapons and ammunition from the local populace, they attacked enemy garrisons and blew up enemy troop convoys. The Japanese offered huge bounties to anyone who could capture or kill them, and many died. With a shortage of officers to command, Spence was commissioned a second lieutenant.

 

In September of 1943, Spence was promoted to first lieutenant and placed in charge of the 2nd Battalion of the 66th Infantry Composite, a guerrilla mountain outpost near Dalupirip in Benguet Province, about 25 miles southeast of Baguio. For six months he operated successfully there, further organizing his group as additional natives showed up and clamored to join. On April 8, 1944, one of Spence's native lookouts came running up the trail, advising that an enemy patrol had left Baguio and was coming their way, evidently tipped off by some unknown traitor as to their location. The patrol wasn't expected for several hours, so Spence didn't evacuate right away but instead busied himself destroying rosters and other documents so they wouldn't fall into the hands of the Japanese. His bravery cost him his life. The patrol arrived within the hour and captured, bound, tortured and interrogated Spence in an effort to gain further information. Bloodied and in extreme pain, he reportedly just kept grinning and gave up nothing beyond his name, rank and serial number. Exasperated, the brutal Japanese beheaded him on the spot, took his head as a souvenir, and left his body for the wild pigs and dogs.

 

Spence's remains were never recovered. He was posthumously awarded the Legion of Merit and the Purple Heart. He has a memorial headstone at the Manila American Cemetery (Plot A, Row 7, Grave 10), Fort Bonifacio, Manila, Philippines (formerly Fort William McKinley).

 

Further details about Grafton Jacob Spencer can be found in a 2018 book, "The Luckiest Guerrilla: A True Tale of Love, War and the Army," by Patricia Murphy Minch.

[mes]

. S1c Marvin Stock born 8-15-1924 Enlisted USN and volunteered for Submarine duty and was assigned to the USS Trigger. The Trigger was lost on March 28,1945 with all hands. Remembering Marvin Stocks sacrifice. Rip

[Brian Keith]

 

RIP Marine!

BKW