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LOM + PURPLE HEART to BATAAN COLONEL and POW


KASTAUFFER
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I originally acquired this group back when I was a young lad in 1986. I figured it was about time to add this to the forum, especially since the Anniversary of the Fall of Bataan was a few days ago on April 9th.

 

Col. Brawner was a Regular Army officer with many years of service by the time WWII Started. He began his career during WWI but did not make it overseas for that conflict. He would find himself in a much different situation in 1941. When the Japanese attacked the Philippines, he was the Asst Chief of Staff G-4 of the Philippine Dept.

 

For his service in WWII he was awarded the Legion of Merit and Purple Heart .

 

Fortunately his file survived the fire at St. Louis. The documentation showing the paper trail on how he was awarded his decorations is very interesting. His legacy is told through the documents.

 

Col. Brawner suffered greatly at the hands of his captors and he retired in 1948 based on his disabilities.

 

 

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After Bataan fell, Col. Brawner was transferred to a POW camp in Taiwan and then to Camp Hoten in Mukden Manchuria where he was liberated in 1945. Based on his own accounts he was a very physically strong individual when the war began. When the war ended he was a shadow of his former self. He never recovered fully.

 

In memory of the Battling Bastards of Bataan, No Mamma, No Papa, No Uncle Sam, and Nobody Gives a Damn. They were heroes.

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Quite a set, for sure.

 

His wounds listed are interesting, I had thought that those like he suffered after becoming a captive were not ones which normally were considered for PH awards.

 

Love that patina on the LoM too.

 

Thanks for posting the set.

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Quite a set, for sure.

 

His wounds listed are interesting, I had thought that those like he suffered after becoming a captive were not ones which normally were considered for PH awards.

 

Love that patina on the LoM too.

 

Thanks for posting the set.

 

Thanks Mike! I did recently acquire a USMC Purple Heart to an Ex-POW who also received his Purple Heart for mistreatment by the Japanese. It seems the rules were not all applied the same.

 

 

Here is another document concerning his PH award

 

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Kurt

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The second PH doc you posted is interesting as well, it would appear someone along the chain of command or awards authorization line must have questioned the award/s for the POW wounds too.

 

The paperwork which so clearly details the awards is just fantastic to have in how it lays it all out.

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Beautiful set - thank you for sharing it. Interviewed a Bataan survivor once, a hellish event that was always with him physically and mentally, as I would think for all who endured it.

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Kurt Barickman

Another great POW grouping from your amazing collection Kurt, thanks for sharing.

 

Kurt

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Great group, Kurt. I have a PH to a Guam Marine captured on Dec 10, 1941 who was awarded the PH for documented injuries received as a result of a bloody beating on Guam after capture. Thanks for sharing this great set of medals. Bob

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  • 3 years later...

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