Capt. Hanes

Capt. Donald L. Hanes was born on August 10, 1903, in Hoopeston, Illinois, to Charles K. Hanes & Opha D. Kincade-Hanes.  His given name was Marion Donald LeRoy Hanes, but he was known as “Don” to his family.  His family moved to New Castle, Pennsylvania.  While living there, he graduated from Bethany College in Bethany, West Virginia.

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During one engagement, Capt Hanes’s tank was hit from behind by a 75 mm shell.  The shell’s concussion knocked the crew out for an indefinite period of time.  When they came to their senses, the tank was still moving but in the opposite direction.

The theory on how this had happened was that the impact from the 75 mm shell had lifted the tank and spun it around.  When the tank landed, it was headed toward home.  Unlikely as it may have seemed at the time, this theory was the one that the tank crew accepted.

Read the rest of this story on the Proviso Bataan Commemorative website: http://www.proviso.k12.il.us/Bataan%20Web/hanes.htm

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Pvt. Wisniowski

Pvt. Joseph L. Wisniowski was born on March 12, 1919, in Chicago.  He was the son of Frank Wisniowski & Bernice Kadzik-Wisniowski .  With his five sisters and two brothers, he grew up at 2108 West Eighteenth Street in Chicago.  Like so many other boys of the time, Joe never went to high school.  Instead, he went to work at a company that manufactured globes as an assembler.

Joseph was inducted into the U. S. Army on March 4, 1941, and joined B Company during its training at Fort Knox, Kentucky.  Joe was a replacement put into B Company to fill-out the company roster after the original National Guardsmen from Illinois were transferred to Headquarters Company in early 1941.

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Joe was later assigned to the tank of Sgt. Jim Griffin.  With him in the tank crew was Pvt. Orrie Mulholland.  He would serve with this tank crew until the surrender on April 9, 1942.

Joe took part in the Death March and was held as a prisoner at Camp O’Donnell.  It is not known if he went out on a work detail to escape the conditions in the camp.  He was later sent to Cabanatuan.  It was while he was at this camp that he was came down with dysentery and malaria.

Read the rest of this story on the Proviso Bataan Commemorative website: http://www.proviso.k12.il.us/Bataan%20Web/Wisniowski.htm

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In addition, the footage starts with the dedication of Bataan Drive in Maywood and the presentation of a plaque commemorating that dedication presented by Brig. Gen. James R. N. Weaver. Brigadier General Weaver was the commanding general of the Provisional Tank Group, of which the 192nd was one part. Co. B, from Maywood, Illinois, was one of the companies in that battalion.

Video edited by Steve Gibson. Sound effects added.

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PFC Louis Zelis

Pfc. Louis C. Zelis was born on February 13, 1914, and was one of the four sons born to Mary & John Zelis.  Louis was married to Mae and lived on the southside of Chicago at 1528 West Jackson Boulevard.  He worked as advertisement distributor for a dry good company.

Louis was drafted into the Army on January 22, 1941, in Chicago, and sent to Fort Knox, Kentucky.  At Ft. Knox, he was assigned to Company B, 192nd Tank Battalion.  He became a member of the company because the army was attempting to fill vacancies in each of the companies with men from the home states of each company.

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On December 22, 1941, as the driver of 2nd Lt. Ben Morin’s tank, Louis and the other members of the crew were sent north, with four other tank crews, to come to the aid of the 26th U. S. Cavalry of Filipino Scouts. The cavalry was engaged in a battle with the Japanese near Damortis and attempting to withdraw.

As the tanks proceeded north, they were bombed by Japanese planes.  When the tanks found the 26th Cavalry, the Japanese had deployed along the sides of the road.  Louis weaved the tank allowing the other members of the crew to fire their stationary machine guns at the enemy alongside the road.

Being the first member of B Company liberated, Louis returned to Chicago and told the families what he knew about the other members of Company B.

After the tank took a shell hit to the right side of the hull knocking the door in front of Pvt. John Cahill loose, Louis pulled the tank into a dry rice patty to allow the tank crew to replace the door.  It was at this time that a Japanese tank rammed Louis’s tank at the left front sprocket causing the track to jam.

Read the rest of this story on the Proviso Bataan Commemorative website: http://www.proviso.k12.il.us/bataan%20web/zelis.htm

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http://www.proviso.k12.il.us/bataan%20web

Lt.Col. Wickord (Proviso Bataan Commemorative website)

Lt. Col. Theodore F. Wickord was born on August 2, 1907, in Chicago, to Peter & Julia Wickord.  With his wife, Marie, he lived at 1839 South 7th Avenue in Maywood, Illinois.  He was the father of two sons.  He was employed as a Field Engineer by the Public Service Company which supplied gas and electric power to the Chicago area.  As a captain, he became the commanding officer of 33rd Tank Company when they were called to federal service on November 25, 1940.

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Under Lt. Col. Wickord’s command, 13 tanks of the 192nd were deployed as the rear guard of the North Luzon Force as it retreated into the Bataan Peninsula.  His battalion was the last American unit to withdraw into the peninsula.

During the withdraw into the peninsula, Wickord crossed over the last bridge which was mined and about to be blown.  He wanted to see if all Allied forces had crossed the bridge.  On the other side of the bridge, he discovered a platoon of his tanks parked along the road.   The crews were asleep inside the tanks.  Over the next several months, the battalion fought battle after battle with tanks that were not designed for jungle warfare.

For his actions on this day, Lt. Col. Wickord received the Silver Star for gallantry in action.

For five days, during the Battle of the Anyasan Pocket, American tank forces had attempted to recover a tank as salvage.  It was during this battle that  Lt. Col. Wickord, personally led an effort to recover a tank.

On February 6, while under heavy fire, Lt Col. Wickord took his own command tank into combat to tow out the disabled tank.  The crew of the tank had been killed and the tank was being used by the Japanese as a hostile strong point.  Lt. Col. Wickord’s actions inspired the supporting tank maintenance and tank troops to make the salvage possible.  For his actions on this day, Lt. Col. Wickord received the Silver Star for gallantry in action.

Read the rest of this story on the Proviso Bataan Commemorative website: http://www.proviso.k12.il.us/bataan%20web/Wickord.htm

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“We are bound no longer in a relationship of dependence, nor by common peril, but in a far richer bond — that of free and sovereign nations with like aims and aspirations.”

That really speaks volumes about how not only did the Defenders of Bataan prevail — the bonds created in that battle were forged in such a way that they are standing the test of time and bridging the changing tides of politics.

Pres. Eisenhower statement on 1954 Bataan Day resolution

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A deformed machine gun from the Nakajima Ki-27 spoke volumes to Ralph Wetterhahn (center).

On the morning of February 9, 1942, a Japanese and American fighter plane dogfight ended just above the Mariveles volcano on the Bataan Peninsula of the Philippines. Initial efforts to recover the remains of either pilot failed and for nearly 7 decades those remains lay undisturbed. In 2008, a team of researchers returned to the mountains to again look, and this time, the outcome was decidedly different. Read more about this article at Air & Space Magazine using this link…

http://www.airspacemag.com/history-of-flight/Above–Beyond-.html?c=y&page=1

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If you have any questions, please ask.

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Click here to go directly to the Maywood Bataan Day album.

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Alberta purchased the Marker to honor her brother, LaPrade D. Brown, who died a Japanese POW at Bilibid Prison. LaPrade Brown was a member of Company B, 192nd Tank Battalion, the Maywood, IL unit.

This Marker was purchased from and maintained by the Filipino American Memorial Endowment (FAME).

FAME has been an outstanding supporter of “Remember Bataan.”  MBDO applauds their efforts.

The City of San Fernando is thanked for preserving the Km 102 Death March Marker.

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