CORREGIDOR MARINE - WIA in POW CAMP- PURPLE HEART to Del R. DeRolf

[KASTAUFFER]

This group was purchased on the Forum a while back and I just got his records. He received both the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star post war based on information he provided and a medical survey.

 

This Marine enlisted on January 4th 1940 and served with the 4th Marines in China until war clouds began to appear on the horizon. Along with the rest of the 4th Marines, he was transported to the Philippines in November 1941 and served on Corregidor until it fell on May 6, 1942. He was held as a POW in both the Philippines and Japan.

 

He was held in POW camps in the Philippines until he was transported to Japan. He was liberated there in 1945. While still at the Cabanatuan POW camp, he was beaten by a guard with a club, which caused a fracture in his back. He later applied for a Purple Heart based on this and was awarded one in 1946. In 1946 he was awarded the Army PUC based on his Corregidor service. In 1951 he was issued the GCM and the 2nd Award Bar. In 1988 he applied for and was awarded the POW medal. In 1992 he was awarded the Bronze Star based on service in the Philippines with the 4th Marines on Corregidor.

 

The documents detailed below show the timeline of how and and when he received his awards. It took over 40 years for him to receive all the awards he earned.

 

 

[KASTAUFFER]

 

[KASTAUFFER]

 

[KASTAUFFER]

[bobgee]

Very nice! Bob

[KASTAUFFER]

Based on the fact the engraving is the same on the Purple Heart, Bronze Star, and POW medal, my assumption is that his family had them engraved when the Bronze Star medal was issued to him in 1997. He passed away in 1993.

 

 

[KASTAUFFER]

 

[KASTAUFFER]

 

The award letter for the Purple Heart from 1946. The Purple Heart is a USN Type II medal which fits in with this timeline.

 

 

 

[ViewfinderGyrene]

You have phenomenal stuff, Kurt!

[KASTAUFFER]

At the same time that he was awarded the Purple Heart he was also awarded the Army PUC with 1 OLC and his discharge emblems.

 

 

 

In 1951, he received his Good Conduct Medal and the campaign medals. He was clearly eligible for a China Service medal, but I can find no record of him requesting or receiving one in his records.

 

 

 

 

[Squeaker]

I'm glad this group went to a good home. Excellent research and write up.

[KASTAUFFER]

[KASTAUFFER]

In 1988 he received the POW medal

 

 

 

[KASTAUFFER]

The final medal he would receive was the Bronze Star. He applied for it in 1984. After jumping through red tape he was awarded it in 1997.

 

 

 

[BEAST]

Nice Hoosier group Kurt!

[KASTAUFFER]

Based on the wound he received at the hands of the Japanese Guards, he was deemed " Unfit For Service" during his medical survey and was honorably discharged.

 

He passed away in 1993, and did not live long enough to see his Bronze Star officially awarded to him in 1997.

 

RIP Marine.

 

[KASTAUFFER]

I'm glad this group went to a good home. Excellent research and write up.

 

Thank you for the kind words. Thank you for making it available. I had been looking for a nice WWII POW group to a Marine with a GCM and this group certainly fits the bill!

 

Kurt

[Timberwolf]

Very cool! I'm actually from Hammond, so definitely liking this Hoosier group!

[katieony]

Kurt,

Another nice addition to your collection!

Mike

[aerialbridge]

Excellent research, Kurt. Thank you for telling his amazing story. A thirteen year wait to be awarded the Bronze Star seems excessive and a shame that he did not live to receive it.

[ViewfinderGyrene]

Citation for the BS, Kurt? Sad if it wasn't in his file...

[KASTAUFFER]

The BS was presented based on the PUC awarded to the Army in 1942. It's a similar situation as the BS awards to CIB recipients after WWII.

 

Kurt

[ViewfinderGyrene]

The BS was presented based on the PUC awarded to the Army in 1942. It's a similar situation as the BS awards to CIB recipients after WWII.

 

Kurt

 

Fascinating, never knew that, thanks!

[FriscoHare]

Another superb grouping, Kurt. I love reading about the 4th Marines. See you at SoS!

[KASTAUFFER]

Back to the top in remembrance of the 75th Anniversary Fall of Corregidor .