Of Special Note…

Interesting facts about the men of the 192nd, as well as their families.

• Robert Brooks, D Company, an African-American, was the first tanker killed in WWII at Clark Field. Brooks Field at Fort Knox, Kentucky is named in his honor.
• Henry Deckert, B Company, was the first tanker KIA in tank to tank combat.
• First tank engagement was Ben Morin on Dec. 22, 1941
• First tank battle victory was under the command of William Gentry (D Co) in command of a platoon of C Company tanks.
• A Company was the last American unit to enter the Bataan Peninsula.
• Before deploying to the Philippines, Corp. Russell Vertuno saw his two sisters Rose and Virginia get engaged to Pvt. James Bainbridge and Pvt. Ralph Ellis, respectively. None of those men returned from Bataan.
• On the day that Bataan fell, April 9th, 1942. Funeral services were held for Matthew McDowell of Maywood, IL. His son, Lt. Matthew MacDowll, Jr. would be one of those rescued and safely returned to America.
• Pvt. Alexander Gorr died in the sinking of the Hell Ship Arisan Maru. Alex’s family tells the story that on the night Pvt. Gorr died, his mother awoke, very upset, from a dream. She told her family that she dreamt that he had drowned. She also told them that he had a difficult time swimming because he had a leg wound.
• Pvt. Elmer Roberts, Company “C”, was just 16 years old when he was taken prisoner. He survived the Death March, prison camps in the Philippines, the hellships and was liberated from a Japanese steel mill less than a week after his 20th birthday.