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Can anyone tell me about this Philippine POW camp?


Garandomatic
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I recently picked up the KW era uniform of a Filipino soldier that later joined the US Army. Near as I can tell, it is right as rain, but not too sought after (judging by what I paid for it!) because it's the dreaded postwar era. He probably served in Korea with the 25th Division.

 

In researching him, www.ww2POW.info states that he was in a camp referred to as "Philippines Unstated Philippines 14 121". Any idea what or where this camp was? That website lists people's names that the POW you look up was in camp with, and the names in this case all look Filipino, so I assume it may have been a Filipino-only camp? Incidentally, I am pretty excited to have a probable Bataan man's uniform, and find it pretty interesting that he was a FIlipino given how badly the Japanese treated them, even compared to the treatment of our guys. The people in his camp reaffirm this, as many of the names the website lists died before the end of the war.

 

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Are you sure he served in the US Army in Korea? I ask as the Philippines sent a Armored infantry bn to Korea in 1950, IIRC- 10th BCT PEFTOK

 

And they were attached to the 25th Division in September 1950.

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Salvage Sailor

I worked in California for several years beside a man who was a bona fide guerrilla on Luzon from 1942-1945. After the landings he joined up with the US invasion force and was employed as a scout as his specialty was hunting Japanese snipers. He received a direct commission and later served as a 1st LT with the 25th ID during the Korean War and retired from the US Army after 20 years service.

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I'm pretty sure of his postwar service. His obit mentions Korea, and his uniform has a 25th division insignia as his combat patch. Looks like he had quite a ribbon rack, too. Also, his name show up as enlisting with the us army in 1946, and as a Philippine POW from 1942 to 1945. Seems it was not uncommon for former Philippine scouts to enter the US Army that way. I will post his obituary later on, wife has the computer.

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Philippine Scouts were US Army regulars before and during the war. The "Scouts" is usually capitalized as it is a name and not a function. There were thousands of them forming infantry, cavalry, coast artillery regiments, and support units - all US Army regulars.

 

However if your vet enlisted in the US Army in 1946 but was POW during the war, I would hazard a guess that he may have been a member of the Philippine Commonwealth Army and fought alongside the US Army in Bataan. The US Army brought its regiments of Philippine Scouts up to full strength again after the war and many of the new recruits were former PCA and guerrilla soldiers during the war.

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He could have been commonwealth, I just have a few scant sources to go off of, and the obituary could be a bit off as wel l. I have Also seen the Nara just list the re-enlistment date for guys that got out and went back in around 46. I'd generally capitalize that, as I figured it was a proper noun, but this iPad is not the best typing device in the world. These 3 sentences have been the most difficult I have ever written. I appreciate your input, I've read about the fall of the Philippines, but if i am an expert on something, it wouldn't be what we're talking about.

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  • 1 year later...

Over a year later, I get around to his obituary! Things pile up, I guess. Anyways,

 

DINGAL, Teotimo B.
Beloved husband of Paulita for 66 years, loving father of David and father-in-law of Susan (Emmington), cherished grandfather of Kathryn, and lifelong friend of the Calpo family, peacefully passed away while at home on June 24, 2010. Born in 1919 in Samboan, Cebu, Philippines, he was a resident of Sacramento for 48 years. Tem served as a member of the Filipino Scouts, then in the U.S. Army during World War II; a survivor of the fall of Corregidor, the Bataan Death March, and a Korean War veteran, Tem was an avid gardener, who enjoyed cooking traditional foods and spending time with his loving family. He will be sadly missed and fondly remembered by all who knew and loved him. Friends are welcome for visitation at W.F. GORMLEY & SONS, 2015 Capitol Ave., on Wednesday, June 30, 2010, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and are invited to attend a Mass of Christian Burial at St. Mary's Catholic Church, 1333 58th St., on Thursday, July 1, 2010, at 11 a.m. The interment will be immediately following at St. Mary's Cemetery. Donations in Tem's memory may be made to your favorite charity.


 

The comments in the guest book were pretty enlightening as well. As you'd expect from a man that survived Bataan or Corregidor, nothing ever got him down, and people described him as 100 feet tall in terms of personality. He also put on a meal for President Reagan while he was president, it appears!

 

According to Fold3, he was a part of the Philippines Scouts, but it wasn't a definitive source, just one of their memorial pages that I think are somewhat auto-created with very basic details.

 

Would a research outfit like Golden Arrow be able to tell me more on this man?

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  • 4 months later...
  • 7 months later...

I was so surprised to read this forum post. Teotimo Dingal was my uncle, we called him Uncle Tem. He was loved much by his family and everyone who knew him. Garandomatic- do you have pictures of his old uniform? I am sure it is a small size- he had a big heart but was very small in stature. I remember as a little girl I kept wanting to out grow him in height, which of course I did. I think I an only 5'4". :)

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I recently picked up the KW era uniform of a Filipino soldier that later joined the US Army. Near as I can tell, it is right as rain, but not too sought after (judging by what I paid for it!) because it's the dreaded postwar era. He probably served in Korea with the 25th Division.

 

In researching him, www.ww2POW.info states that he was in a camp referred to as "Philippines Unstated Philippines 14 121". Any idea what or where this camp was? That website lists people's names that the POW you look up was in camp with, and the names in this case all look Filipino, so I assume it may have been a Filipino-only camp? Incidentally, I am pretty excited to have a probable Bataan man's uniform, and find it pretty interesting that he was a FIlipino given how badly the Japanese treated them, even compared to the treatment of our guys. The people in his camp reaffirm this, as many of the names the website lists died before the end of the war.

 

 

I got a copy of the POW list from the National Archives back in the 1990's and converted it into an Excel spreadsheet at the time. This was back in the days before any of this stuff was on the Internet.

 

The code for " Philippine Camp Unstated" is exactly that, it means he was a POW held in the Philippines, but the Japanese never reported which one he was held in. If the NARA had known which camp he was in they would have used the code for that camp. The most common camp is Camp # 1 which is Cabanatuan. Camp #13 was O'Donnell.

 

Kurt

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Are you sure he served in the US Army in Korea? I ask as the Philippines sent a Armored infantry bn to Korea in 1950, IIRC- 10th BCT PEFTOK

 

And they were attached to the 25th Division in September 1950.

Linedoggie, I think I misunderstood your post way back when. Certainly could have been the case. His left-side patch is 7th Army.

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I was so surprised to read this forum post. Teotimo Dingal was my uncle, we called him Uncle Tem. He was loved much by his family and everyone who knew him. Garandomatic- do you have pictures of his old uniform? I am sure it is a small size- he had a big heart but was very small in stature. I remember as a little girl I kept wanting to out grow him in height, which of course I did. I think I an only 5'4". :)

So happy to see your post... Your uncle's uniform is among my favorites, most definitely. I'll post pictures later tonight if possible, have to get my little boy ready for bed. I'd be overjoyed to know more about the man, military service and otherwise.

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Per the obit you posted, he was loved very much by the Calpo family. My grandfather, Mauricio Calpo, served in the army in the Philippines before immigrating here to the U.S. and I was raised knowing Tem as my uncle. Tem and his wife are buried side by side with my grandparents. I'll do some digging for you on his history and look for pictures. I am happy to hear you have preserved his memory and uniform.

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I'm very sorry it took so long, just got busy, I suppose. Here is Tem's uniform. Like I said, one of my favorites. I am humbled by the fact that, knowing that the American POWs had it rough, the Filipino people often had it even worse. Definitely an honor to have found his uniform and add it to my collection. I hope you are able to turn some information or a picture of him up; I always give the Fall of the Philippines a hefty amount of time in my class, and I have always been proud to talk about it with Tem's uniform hanging on my wall as I do so. Anything to add to the story to make it that much more possible for people to connect to him would just be fantastic.

post-9670-0-23507600-1447817518.jpg

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Woah....That has some serious serious history attached to it. I just finished a book called Ship of ghosts its about the crew of the USS Houston and what they went thru from fighting in the java sea all the way to building of the Burma/Thai railway. Though its not about the filipino's directly they are mentioned thru out the book and what they and all P.O.W's went thru in Japanese captivity to say it was horrific is an understatement. Amazing find Garandomatic congrats!

 

Ray

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EXCELLENT book. I'm a diehard Hornfischer fan, and if you liked that at all, pick up Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors and Neptune's Inferno. Both great.

 

That said, I recall in Ship of Ghosts that Hornfischer describes Camp 100 Kilo as the worst camp in the entire Japanese Empire, in terms of conditions, really hit home for me, as one of my town's WWII KIAs died there. Albert James Lindsley, RIP. A while back, my wife's cousin who is in the Navy, got to participate in a wreath laying when their ship passed over the Houston.

 

The main book I have read about the Philippines was Lester Tenney's "My Hitch in Hell." Really good book, and he covers the treatment of Filipinos as well as Americans.

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  • 4 months later...

I recently picked up the KW era uniform of a Filipino soldier that later joined the US Army. Near as I can tell, it is right as rain, but not too sought after (judging by what I paid for it!) because it's the dreaded postwar era. He probably served in Korea with the 25th Division.

 

In researching him, www.ww2POW.info states that he was in a camp referred to as "Philippines Unstated Philippines 14 121". Any idea what or where this camp was? That website lists people's names that the POW you look up was in camp with, and the names in this case all look Filipino, so I assume it may have been a Filipino-only camp? Incidentally, I am pretty excited to have a probable Bataan man's uniform, and find it pretty interesting that he was a FIlipino given how badly the Japanese treated them, even compared to the treatment of our guys. The people in his camp reaffirm this, as many of the names the website lists died before the end of the war.

 

 

POW Camp 14 121 is Camp Olivas in San Fernando, PI., south of Camp O'Donnell. This was a location for the POWs assigned to one of the scrap medal details. It was here my Uncle died of malaria and dysentery. My uncle was one of 14 men who were buried here.

 

 

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  • 2 years later...
Garandomatic

Teaching it today, bump for Tem. Found on a spreadsheet that he was in a field artillery outfit during the fight for the Philippines.

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POW Camp 14 121 is Camp Olivas in San Fernando, PI., south of Camp O'Donnell. This was a location for the POWs assigned to one of the scrap medal details. It was here my Uncle died of malaria and dysentery. My uncle was one of 14 men who were buried here.

Where did you find the reference? I couldn't find that code being assigned to that camp in the archives. Your Uncle was at Olivas, but when the list was made and he was assigned code 14 121 they may not have known he was in Olivas which is why the " Unstated" code was assigned.

 

Kurt

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  • 11 months later...

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