US PoW Medals

[azyeoman]

The Prisoner of War Medal is a military award of the United States armed forces which was authorized by Congress and signed into law by President Ronald Reagan on 8 November 1985. The United States Code citation for the POW Medal statute is 10 U.S.C.& 1128. The Prisoner of War Medal may be awarded to any person who was a prisoner of war after April 5, 1917 (the date of the United States' entry into World War I was April 6). It is awarded to any person who was taken prisoner or held captive while engaged in an action against an enemy of the United States; while engaged in military operations involving conflict with an opposing Armed Force; or while serving with friendly forces engaged in armed conflict against an opposing Armed Force in which the United States is not a belligerent party. As of an amendment to Title 10 of the United States Code in 2013, the medal is also awarded for captivity under circumstances "which the Secretary concerned finds were comparable to those circumstances under which persons have generally been held captive by enemy armed forces during periods of armed conflict." The person's conduct, while in captivity, must have been honorable. This medal may be awarded posthumously to the surviving next of kin of the recipient. No more than one Prisoner of War Medal may be awarded. For any subsequent award of the medal, service stars will be awarded and worn on the suspension and service ribbon of the medal. The medal was designed by Jay C. Morris of the United States Army Institute of Heraldry. An excellent article covering the US PoW Medal by Fred L. Borch is in the July-August issue of the Journal of the Orders and Medals Society of America (Vol 64 No. 4).

In 1983, the Secretary of the Army announced that "conditions off the defense of the Philippines deserved special recognition." Consequently, any soldier (or airman) who performed military duties "on the island of Luzon or the Harbor Defenses in Corregidor and Battan" between December 7, 1941 and March 10, 1942, and who had been awarded the Distinguised Unit Citation (now called the Presidential Unit Citation), was authorized the retroactive award of the Bronze Star Medal. Since virtually all of these soldiers and airmen defending the Philippines were imprisoned by the Japanese after their surrender or capture, it follows that the suffering of a large number of PoWs held in the Philippines was recognized with the Bronze Star Medal. This information comes from Fred Borch's article "Decorations and Medals to Prisoners of War: A fascinating Story of Evolving Views and People" published in the July-August issue of the Journal of the Orders and Medals Society of America. It seems that the below Bronze Star was one of them.

A Bronze Star and PoW Medal to 19056411 Cpl. Harry F. Ray from Kansas and buried in Ft. Leavanworth National Cemetery

Born: 6 Sept. 1922
Died 12 Oct. 1992
Interment Date: 15 Oct. 1992 - Section 46 Row 23 Site 52

Cpl. Ray served in US Army, Coast Artillery Corps in the Philippine Islands. He was in M Battery, 60th Coast Artillery Regt. (Anti Aircraft), which defended Manila and Subic Bay at Ft. Mills on Corregidor. The 60th surrendered on 5 May 1942. Ray was held captive in Fukuoka PoW Camp #1 - Kashii (Pine Tree Camp) Kyushu Island 33-130. He was liberated and repatriated at the end of the war. First report on him was 7 May 1942 and the last report was on 12 October 1945. Specifics on M Bat., 60th CA were as follows:
Battery M ("Mobile") Initially assigned 8 December 1941 to provide AA MG defenses in Manila Port Area, until 26 December when ordered back to Ft. Mills. CP south of Kindley Field. Armament: 12 - .50 cal. MG, plus 1 - Navy Quad 1.1" (25mm) automatic cannon atop Malinta Hill, under 1Lt. Stanley L. Friedline C.O.: Capt. James R. Holmes

During WWII the 60th Coast Artillery (AA) (60th CA) was part of USAFFE's Harbor Defenses of Manilla and Subic Bay, under the Philippine Coast Artillery Command. This anti-aircraft unit was to provide air defense over Manila Bay and the southern tip of the Bataan Peninsula. The 60th CA was equipped with 3-inch guns (an older model with a vertical range of 8,200 m), 37 mm guns, 50-Caliber machine guns, and 60-inch (1.5 m) Sperry searchlights. One battery, with a platoon of searchlights, was located at Ft. Wint, in Subic Bay.

Order of Battle for Coastal Artillery. http://corregidor.org/btty_histories/control/order_battle_60.htm

Roster of the 60th Coast Artillery and Ray is listed as a PFC on page 44: http://corregidor.org/CA%20Rosters/60CA.pdf

60th Coast Artillery, M Battery History: http://corregidor.org/btty_histories/control/open.htm


Medal entitlement:
Bronze Star
PoW Medal
Good Conduct Medal
American Campaign
Pacific Campaign
WWII Victor

Philippine Defense Medal
Distinguished Unit Citation (Presidential Unit Citation) with three oakleaves

Philippine Presidential Unit Citation

Edited January 14, 2014 by azyeoman

[azyeoman]

Sgt. 1^st Class Morris W. Yount

Serial Number 37380170

Born: 5 August 1921

Captured 12 Feb. 1951

Released 5 Sept. 1953

Camp 1 Ch'ang-Song (Permanent Camp 1 - Changsong - near Camp 3 on the Yalu River.) See map below:

http://www.pownetwor...r_pow_camps.pdf

Total number of Korean War PoWs 2,701 died in captivity; 4,418 returned alive; 21 refused repatriation.

Dossier C8055073

Medal entitlement:

PoW Medal (named Morris W. Yount)

National Defense Medal

US Korean War Medal

UN Korean War Medal

Edited November 3, 2013 by azyeoman

[Brett Hendey]

John

Thank you for these interesting posts. I have always admired American medals, but never collected them. I was amazed by the US POW statistics for the Korean War. Surely that death rate must be unequalled by any other conflict.

Regards

Brett

[azyeoman]

John

Thank you for these interesting posts. I have always admired American medals, but never collected them. I was amazed by the US POW statistics for the Korean War. Surely that death rate must be unequalled by any other conflict.

Regards

Brett

Hi Brett,

Check this information out. It's most informative and will answer your comment on PoW stats in detail, but in short, 14,072 American PoWs died in captivity in WWII. I suspect most of them died at the hands of the Japanese. http://www.va.gov/vetdata/docs/SpecialReports/POWCY04Final4-7-05forweb.pdf

All the best,

John

Edited November 4, 2013 by azyeoman

[Brett Hendey]

Thank you for the link, John. I had forgotten about the Japanese. I remember reading that some of the most brutal men guarding British and Australian POW's were not only Japanese, but Koreans as well.

Regards

Brett

[brian conyngham]

John

Very nice article and I echo Bretts comment...thanks for sharing.

I only have 2 American awards a named DFC to a SA Chap that flew with the poms in WW2 with the Air Sea Rescue in the Med. And a single Purple Heart, un-named sadly I believe it is a Korean issue with a medal bar and 3 oak clusters, thats how it came in the box.

I have heard that some US medals are named and did see a Silver Star once named up but did not buy as I thought it was nonsense but now kick myself for not buying it!

When are US medals named, rumour has it when they are KIA, is this true?

Regards

Brian

Edited November 6, 2013 by brian conyngham

[Doc]

Basically, the government will engrave any medal for the recipient, but the medal has to be sent to Washington, and then wait a long time for the work to be done. Therefore, most recipients (including me) never bother to get them engraved. It is simply too big a system to have all the medals engraved before presentation. I would guess that engraved US medals are a small proportion of the total out there, including any engraved at recipient's cost at the local jeweler shop, and will be concentrated in the "higher level" medals. Basically, most of us simply have better things to do than ensure our own medals are engraved-- we know which ones we earned.

Edited November 6, 2013 by Doc

[azyeoman]

Also if the recipient asks for his medals later on or applies for replacements, they will be engraved; at least that's what happened with my father's WWII and Korean War medals. They engraved his BS, PH and GC medals without me having to send them anywhere. It took about a year to receive them, but it was worth the wait and the engravings are similar to the ones above.

[Paul R]

Nice grouping!!!

Are they still engraving replacement medals?

[azyeoman]

Hi Paul,
As far as I know they are. I've no clue as to hope long it will take to get them though. It literally took just over a year when my father's came through. The below group to Raymond W. Breedlove appears to be one of those as the Good Conduct Medal is a newer one.

Edited March 2, 2014 by azyeoman

[azyeoman]

WWII PoW group to:

PFC 36881353 Randall W. Breedlove, 351st Infantry Regiment, 88th Inf. Division

Dental Corps; captured Italy.

PoW 26 October 1944 - repatriated 25 June 1945.

Group consists of:

Bronze Stare - Randall W. / Breedlove

PoW Medal - Randall W. / Breedlove

Good Conduct Medal - Randall W. Breedlove

American Campaign Medal

European, African and Middle Eastern Campaign Medal - two stars

WWII Victory Medal

Combat Infantry Badge

Ruptured Duck

From the Good Conduct Medal, it appears that these were late issues.

http://www.ww2pow.info/index.php?page=directory&rec=47479

Randall Wilson Breedlove died in 2008 at the age of 87. He was drafted on October 6, 1943 and went overseas in March 1944, spending a few weeks in North Africa before the invasion of Italy began. He was captured in Italy and transported to Germany and imprisoned in Stalag VII A (Moosburg). The camp was liberated on May 2, 1945. In June 1945, Randall was returned to the U.S., his wife and infant son. He and Elizabeth had three more children. He described his capture in an article his hometown newspaper wrote about his return on June 12th:

"We were making a roadblock to keep the Germans from getting through on hill in the north when the Jerries outnumbered us. Being Americans, though, we certainly weren't going to let them take us without our fist putting up a good fight, but they were just too many for us. We were disarmed and marched in the pouring rain to a German observation post where they relieved us of our raincoats. Then we were questioned by German officers. They wanted to know all about our movements, our plans, how many men there were in the whole outfit, and how much equipment we had; but we didn't tell them a thing. They soon found it was useless to try to force anything out of us. We were marched up the main highway and then shoved into trucks to Mantavia where we were put in box cars, like cattle, for the trip to Mooseburg, the journey taking three days and nights through the Alps. Our next stop was Stalag 7-A. There were always guards with ready rifle butts close by. Sometimes they hit the poor fellows that were too weak to work. They hit them any place they could -- on the head, across the back, they didn't care. Not long before we were liberated we were served grass soup, yes that's what it was, and our ration of bread that tasted like sawdust. In all the six months we were prisoners we never had clean clothing. We wore the same shirt, pants and underwear and were pestered by lice. On May 2nd, I was working in the kitchen when the first American scout came up the street. We were liberated that day by the 14th Armored Division. Well, you can probably guess the excitement that followed."

For more information on the 88th Infantry Division in Italy: https://armyhistory.org/09/the-88th-infantry-division-in-italy/

For more information on Stalag VII A (Moosburg): http://www.moosburg.org/info/stalag/indeng.html

Edited March 2, 2014 by azyeoman

[azyeoman]

WWII Battle of the Bulge PoW group to:

Staff Sargeant 35676063 Elmer E. Merryman, 99th Infantry Division

Group consists of:

Bronze Star - Elmer E. Merryman

PoW Medal

Good Conduct Medal

American Campaign Medal

European, African, Middle East Campaign Medal

Victory Medal

Occupation Medal with Germany clasp

Elmer E. Merryman, 74, of Lexington, Ky., died Sunday, April 7, 1996, after a long illness. Born in Versailles, Ky., he was a son of the late Edward and Eliza Bumgardner Merryman. He was a U. S. Army veteran of WW II, serving with the 99th Infantry Division. He was wounded and captured by the German Army in the Battle of the Bulge and remained a POW until the end of the war. Survivors are his wife of almost 50 years, Blanch Million Merryman; a daughter, Peggy Lee McCord of Lexington; three sons, Edward Hughes Merryman of Hopkinsville, Glenn Ray Merryman of Marietta, Ga., and Elmer Daryl Merryman of Quinton, Va.; nine grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Burial in Camp Nelson National Cemetery in Jessamine County, Ky.

Edited March 2, 2014 by azyeoman

[azyeoman]

2nd Lt. Eric W. Smith

Eric W. Smith Jr. was inducted into the USAAF as an aviation cadet. After pre-flight he "washed out" of primary, passed gunnery, then graduated as a bombardier. Commissioned 2nd Lt. by Gen. Ramey on 26 February 1944, and married Micki Kaiser from Rochester NY by post chaplain at Kirtland AFB, Albequerque, New Mexico immediately after graduation. On 27 September 1944, he was flying as bombardier with 702 Sqd. of the 445th BG on the ill-fated Kassel mission. The group was badly mauled and Smith was captured and spent the remainder of the war in Stalag Luft I, Barth, Germany. He was demobilized on 19 September 1945. He received the Air Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters, a Purple Heart and several Bronze Stars. He was discharged 15 November 1945.

Eric Wilborne Smith Jr. was born on 15 August 1916 and died at 82 of a heart attack on 18 June 1999 at his home in Glendale a suburb of St. Louis, Missouri. Smith graduated with a BSc in architecture from U of Illionois in June 1939 and taught design at the Washington University School of Archetecture. He 1949 he opened his own offece and was a principal for 32 years with Smith & Entzeroth Architectural frim which designed some major area projects includeing the Pierre Laclede Center, the Interco Corporate Tower and the 500 Broadway Building in St. Louis. The firm also renovaated the west wing of the St. Louis Art Museum and desigend many local churches and schools. In 1954 he won a national award for the design of the chapl at Baumont Scout Reservation in St. Louis Co., near Eureka. Smith was involved with Boy Scouts most of his life. He Retired in 1989 and enjoyed golf, traveling and being with his wife to whom he was married for at least 48 years.

Edited January 2, 2015 by azyeoman

[Paul R]

Amazing groups... Keep them coming!

[azyeoman]

For more information on the disastorous Kassel mission in which 2Lt Eric W. Smith above took part (in plane "Donald") and more on the B-24 Liberator, please visit the following fascinating sites:

http://www.kasselmission.com/

http://www.jcs-group.com/military/war1941born/kassel.html

http://www.tankbooks.com/ninelives/chapter7.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consolidated_B-24_Liberator