Lost Battalion (Pacific, World War II)

Last updated
Texas Historical Marker for the Lost Battalion (Jacksboro, Texas) Lost Battalion, Jacksboro, Texas Historical Marker (9715742652).jpg
Texas Historical Marker for the Lost Battalion (Jacksboro, Texas)

The Lost Battalion was the 2nd Battalion, 131st Field Artillery, 36th Infantry Division (Texas National Guard) of the U.S. Army. The men of the battalion, plus the survivors of the sunken cruiser USS Houston, were captured by the Japanese on the island of Java in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) in March 1942. It is called the lost battalion because the fate of the men was unknown to the United States until September 1944. They were prisoners of war for 42 months until the end of World War II. 534 soldiers from the battalion and 368 survivors of Houston were taken prisoner. Most of the men were sent to Thailand to work on the Burma Railway, the building of which is portrayed in the film The Bridge on the River Kwai . Of the 902 soldiers and sailors taken captive, 163 died in captivity. [1] Most of the prisoners of war were from western Texas. [2]

Contents

Sergeant Frank Fujita was a notable survivor who was a POW for three and a half years. He went on to write the memoir Foo: A Japanese-American Prisoner of the Rising Sun.

2nd Battalion

The 2nd Battalion, 131st Field Artillery Regiment (75mm Gun) (Truck-Drawn) was assigned to the 36th Division, Texas National Guard and was mobilized on 25 November 1940. The battalion of Texas soldiers consisted of a Headquarters Battery from Decatur and Wichita Falls, Firing Batteries D, E, and F from Wichita Falls, Abilene, and Jacksboro, a Service Battery from Lubbock and Plainview, and a Medical Detachment from Plainview. The majority of the men were from 18 to 22 years old. [3] The battalion was armed with twelve (four per battery) 75mm M1897A4 guns known as "French seventy-fives."

The Battalion sailed from San Francisco on 21 November 1941 assigned to the Philippines, but with the outbreak of World War II in the Pacific the convoy was rerouted to Brisbane, Australia. After Christmas in Brisbane, the Battalion sailed again on a Dutch freighter, arriving on the island of Java on 11 January 1942 with 558 men. The 2nd Battalion was the only U.S. ground force to arrive in the Dutch East Indies. The mission of the Battalion was to help the Dutch defend the islands from a possible Japanese invasion, which in fact began on 27 February 1942. [4] During the Battle of Java, the Battalion distinguished itself supporting the Australian defense of Leuwiliang and fighting alongside the Dutch at Porong. The Battalion would later be awarded a Presidential Unit Citation. [5]

On 8 March 1942, the allies in the Dutch East Indies surrendered to the Japanese. Among the 32,500 soldiers taken prisoner, mostly Dutch, British, and Australian, were 534 members of the U.S. battalion, 21 men of the original 558 having been transferred and three killed in action. 99 of the American POWs were from E Battery which had been detached from the main body of the battalion. They would have a different POW history than the others. [6]

USS Houston

USS Houston was commissioned in 1929 and had a crew of 1,100. On 3 Nov 1941, Houston left the United States and sailed to the Philippines, arriving 19 November, to become the flagship of the United States' Asiatic Fleet. She was at sea on 7 December when the Pacific War began and spent the first two months of the war escorting convoys from Australia to the Dutch East Indies. On 3 February 1942, Houston was damaged in an air attack at the Battle of Makassar Strait which killed 48 men. Houston also participated in the Battle of the Java Sea on 27 February before being sunk in the Battle of Sunda Strait on 28 February – 1 March 1942, along with the Australian light cruiser HMAS Perth and the Dutch destroyer HNLMS Evertsen. 696 crew members died; the remaining 368 were captured and made prisoners of war by the Japanese. [7]

Burma railway

Map of the Burma Railway Death Railway.png
Map of the Burma Railway

The captured American soldiers and sailors were held for seven months in a prison camp on Java along with thousands of Dutch, British, and Australian soldiers. In October 1942, they were taken to Singapore and 668 of them then continued onward to Moulmein, Burma. In Singapore about 140 of the Americans with industrial skills were separated from the main body and sent to Japan to work there. [8]

The Americans were part of a group of about 300,000 workers, mostly Southeast Asians but including 66,000 POWs, put to work building the railroad that would cross the mountains for a distance of 258 miles (415 km) between Burma and Thailand. Before World War II, the British had contemplated building the railway, but had rejected the idea. For more than a year, the Asian laborers and POWs worked on the railway using only hand tools. It was completed on October 23, 1943. [9]

Conditions during the construction were brutal. The POWs and other workers suffered from insufficient food, poor medical care, murderous guards, and heavy work quotas. Tens of thousands died during the construction, including 133 Americans, 19.6 percent of the total number of American POWs who worked on the Burma railway. By the end of the construction only about 40 of the Americans were still capable of manual labor. [10]

After the completion of the railroad, the survivors of the Lost Battalion were separated, some remaining to maintain the railroad, others being assigned to work in Thailand or Vietnam, and some sent to Japan to labor in coal mines on Hokkaido. 18 Americans were killed on June 24, 1944, when an American submarine sank the Japanese freighter on which they were traveling en route to Japan. [11]

E Battery

The 99 men of E Battery were captured and held prisoner separately from the other personnel of the lost battalion. Captured in early March 1942, E Battery was housed initially in Surabaja with Dutch, British, and Australian soldiers. In October 1942 they were sent to Changi Prison in Singapore on board an overcrowded cargo ship and in November they were sent by ship to Fukuoka, Japan to work in the shipyards there. In June 1945 they were moved again to labor in coal mines on Kyushu and remained there until the end of the war in August. Ninety-one of the members of E Battery survived the war. [12]

The Lost Battalion is found

American authorities had no information about the fate of the lost battalion until September 16, 1944. On that date, American submarines sank two Japanese freighters which were transporting more than 2,000 British and Australian POWs to Japan. The surviving POWs told the U.S. that American soldiers from the Second Battalion and sailors from USS Houston had worked with them on the Burma railroad. [13] After the end of the war in August 1945, the POWs of the lost battalion were repatriated from their various locations to the United States.

Of 534 personnel of the 2nd Battalion taken prisoner, 86 (16%) died in captivity. Of 368 Navy and Marine Corps personnel taken prisoner, 77 (21%) died in captivity. Five commissioned officers (3 percent of the total dead) were among those dying in captivity. About 10 percent of the prisoners were officers. [14]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burma Railway</span> WWII Japanese Thai–Burma railway

The Burma Railway, also known as the Siam–Burma Railway, Thai–Burma Railway and similar names, or as the Death Railway, is a 415 km (258 mi) railway between Ban Pong, Thailand, and Thanbyuzayat, Burma. It was built from 1940 to 1943 by civilian laborers impressed or recruited by the Japanese and prisoners of war taken by the Japanese, to supply troops and weapons in the Burma campaign of World War II. It completed the rail link between Bangkok, Thailand, and Rangoon, Burma. The name used by the Japanese Government was Tai–Men Rensetsu Tetsudō (泰緬連接鉄道), which means Thailand-Burma-Link-Railway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of the Java Sea</span> 1942 naval battle on the Pacific campaign of WWII, in present-day western Indonesia

The Battle of the Java Sea was a decisive naval battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">8th Division (Australia)</span> Former infantry division of the Australian Army

The 8th Division was an infantry division of the Australian Army, formed during World War II as part of the all-volunteer Second Australian Imperial Force. The 8th Division was raised from volunteers for overseas service from July 1940 onwards. Consisting of three infantry brigades, the intention had been to deploy the division to the Middle East to join the other Australian divisions, but as war with Japan loomed in 1941, the division was divided into four separate forces, which were deployed in different parts of the Asia-Pacific region. All of these formations were destroyed as fighting forces by the end of February 1942 during the fighting for Singapore, and in Rabaul, Ambon, and Timor. Most members of the division became prisoners of war, waiting until the war ended in late 1945 to be liberated. One in three died in captivity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American-British-Dutch-Australian Command</span> World War II combined command (1942)

The American-British-Dutch-Australian (ABDA) Command, or ABDACOM, was the short-lived supreme command for all Allied forces in South East Asia in early 1942, during the Pacific War in World War II. The command consisted of the forces of Australia, the Netherlands, United Kingdom and the United States. The main objective of the command, led by General Sir Archibald Wavell, was to maintain control of the "Malay Barrier", a notional line running down the Malay Peninsula, through Singapore and the southernmost islands of the Dutch East Indies. ABDACOM was also known in British military circles as the "South West Pacific Command", although it should not be confused with the later South West Pacific Area command.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Sunda Strait</span> 1942 naval battle in the Pacific theatre of WWII, in present-day western Indonesia

The Battle of Sunda Strait was a naval battle which occurred during World War II in the Sunda Strait between the islands of Java, and Sumatra. On the night of 28 February – 1 March 1942, the Australian light cruiser HMAS Perth, American heavy cruiser USS Houston, and Dutch destroyer HNLMS Evertsen faced a major Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) task force. After a fierce battle lasting several hours, all Allied ships were sunk. Five Japanese ships were sunk, three of them by friendly fire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arthur Blackburn</span> Australian lawyer and recipient of the Victoria Cross

Brigadier Arthur Seaforth Blackburn, was an Australian soldier, lawyer, politician, and recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest award for valour in battle that could be awarded to a member of the Australian armed forces at the time. A lawyer and part-time soldier prior to the outbreak of World War I, Blackburn enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in August 1914, and was assigned to the 10th Battalion. His unit landed at Anzac Cove, Gallipoli, on April 25, 1915, and he and another scout were credited with advancing the furthest inland on the day of the landing. Blackburn was later commissioned and, along with his battalion, spent the rest of the Gallipoli campaign fighting Ottoman forces.

The Battle of Ambon occurred Ambon Island in the Dutch East Indies, as part of the Japanese offensive on the Dutch colony during World War II. In the face of a combined defense by Dutch and Australian troops, Japanese forces conquered the island and its strategic airfield in several days. In the aftermath of the fighting, a major massacre of many Dutch and Australian prisoners of war by the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) followed. Following the war, many of the IJA personnel were tried for war crimes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philippines campaign (1941–1942)</span> Invasion of the Philippines by Japan during World War II

The Philippines campaign, also known as the Battle of the Philippines or the Fall of the Philippines, was the invasion of the American territory of the Philippines by the Empire of Japan and the defense of the islands by United States and the Philippine Armies during World War II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Timor</span> 1942–1943 WWII battle in Southeast Asia

The Battle of Timor occurred in Portuguese Timor and Dutch Timor during the Second World War. Japanese forces invaded the island on 19 February 1942 and were resisted by a small, under-equipped force of Allied military personnel—known as Sparrow Force—predominantly from Australia, United Kingdom, and the Dutch East Indies. Following a brief but stout resistance, the Japanese succeeded in forcing the surrender of the bulk of the Allied force after three days of fighting, although several hundred Australian commandos continued to wage an unconventional raiding campaign. They were resupplied by aircraft and vessels, based mostly in Darwin, Australia, about 650 km (400 mi) to the southeast, across the Timor Sea. During the subsequent fighting, the Japanese suffered heavy casualties, but they were eventually able to contain the Australians.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sparrow Force</span> Allied formation deployed to Timor during World War II

Sparrow Force was a detachment based on the 2/40th Australian Infantry Battalion and other Dutch, British, US and Australian 8th Division units during World War II. The force was formed to defend the island of Timor from invasion by the Empire of Japan. It formed the main part of the Allied units in the Battle of Timor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hell ship</span> Japanese ships infamous for poor treatment

A hell ship is a ship with extremely inhumane living conditions or with a reputation for cruelty among the crew. It now generally refers to the ships used by the Imperial Japanese Navy and Imperial Japanese Army to transport Allied prisoners of war (POWs) and rōmusha out of the Philippines, the Dutch East Indies, Hong Kong and Singapore in World War II. These POWs were taken to the Japanese Islands, Formosa, Manchukuo, Korea, the Moluccas, Sumatra, Burma, or Siam to be used as forced labor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Java (1942)</span> Battle in the Pacific theatre of World War II

The Battle of Java was a battle of the Pacific theatre of World War II. It occurred on the island of Java from 28 February – 12 March 1942. It involved forces from the Empire of Japan, which invaded on 28 February 1942, and Allied personnel. Allied commanders signed a formal surrender at Japanese headquarters at Bandung on 12 March.

The Pensacola Convoy is a colloquialism for a United States military shipping convoy that took place in late 1941 as the Pacific War began. The name was derived from that of its primary escort ship, the heavy cruiser USS Pensacola. Pensacola was officially designated Task Group 15.5 and Army sources may use the term Republic convoy for the senior convoy vessel. The convoy, dispatched in peacetime, was intended to reinforce the United States Army Forces Far East (USAFFE), created to defend the U.S. Commonwealth of the Philippines and commanded by General Douglas MacArthur, with artillery, aircraft, munitions and fuel, as the threat of war with the Empire of Japan loomed. After war broke out, and Japanese forces attacked the Philippines, the convoy was diverted to Brisbane, Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Fujita</span> United States Army soldier

Frank Fujita was a Japanese American soldier of the US Army who, during his service in World War II became one of only two Japanese American combat personnel to be captured by the Japanese. Part of the 2nd Battalion, 131st Field Artillery of the 36th Infantry Division, Texas National Guard, he was captured during the Battle of Java when the Dutch surrendered.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reginald Newton</span> Australian Army officer

Lieutenant Colonel Reginald William James Newton, was an Australian Army officer noted for his leadership while in Japanese prisoner of war camps during the Second World War. He became well known among Australian military circles, where he was affectionately known as "Roaring Reggie."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Leuwiliang</span> Japanese victory over Allied forces, Java, 1942

The Battle of Leuwiliang was a battle during the Dutch East Indies campaign of the Pacific War that took place between 3 and 5 March 1942. Australian forces, supported by American artillery batteries and British tanks, launched a holding action starting at Leuwiliang, West Java, to cover the retreat of allied Dutch forces in the face of the Japanese invasion of Java.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Camp Nong Pladuk</span> Building in Ratchaburi, Thailand

Camp Nong Pladuk was a Japanese prisoner of war transit camp during World War II. It was located about five kilometres from the main railway station of Ban Pong near a junction station on the Southern Line to Bangkok. Nong Pladuk served as the starting point of the Burma Railroad. Numerous British, Dutch, and allied troops passed through Nong Pladuk to construct the railroad. Nowadays, it serves as a rail road maintenance and repair facility.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Naval Base Borneo</span> 1945 World War II Base in Borneo

Naval Base Borneo and Naval Base Dutch East Indies was a number of United States Navy Advance Bases and bases of the Australian Armed Forces in Borneo and Dutch East Indies during World War II. At the start of the war, the island was divided in two: British Borneo and Dutch East Indies. Both fell to the Empire of Japan, Japan occupied British Borneo and the Dutch East Indies in 1942 until 1945.

Henri Hekking (1902/03–1994) was a Dutch medical officer with the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army (KNIL) noted for his service in Japanese prisoner-of-war camps during the Second World War.

References

  1. ↑ "History of the Lost Battalion", Lost Battalion Association, http://texasmilitaryforcesmuseum.org/lostbattalion/history.htm, accessed 29 Dec 2014
  2. ↑ Marcello, Ronald E. "Lone Star POWs: Texas National Guardsmen and the Building of the Burma-Thailand Railroad, 1942-1944" The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Vol. 95, No 3 (Jan 1992), p. 293. Downloaded from JSTOR.
  3. ↑ Marcello, p. 295
  4. ↑ "History of the Lost Battalion", Lost Battalion Association, http://texasmilitaryforcesmuseum.org/lostbattalion/history.htm, accessed 29 Dec 2014
  5. ↑ "East Indies".
  6. ↑ Marcello, p. 296
  7. ↑ "U.S.S. Houston" http://www.perthone.com/phou.html, accessed 29 Dec 2014
  8. ↑ Marcello, pp 297-298
  9. ↑ MacArthur, Brian (2005), Surviving the Sword, New York: Random House, pp. 43-46, 143
  10. ↑ Marcello, pp. 299-319
  11. ↑ Marcello, pp. 317-320
  12. ↑ Crager, Kelly E. "'God Knows What's Going to Happen to Us' The Lost Battery of Texas's 'Lost Battalion", The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Vol. 112, No. 2 (July 2008), pp. 1-32. Downloaded from JSTOR
  13. ↑ Marcello, p. 293
  14. ↑ "Lost Battalion Association", http://www/texasmilitaryforcesmuseum.org/lostbattalion/stats.htm, accessed 1 Jan 2015. Statistics of total personnel and deaths vary slightly depending upon the source; Evans, David "An Overly Large Officers Corps is Costing us Plenty", Chicago Tribune, March 25, 1988, http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1988-03-25/news/8803030455_1_army-officer-enlisted-lieutenant-colonels, accessed 2 Jan 2015
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.