Johnny Skelton was my mother's cousin and also schoolmate growing up in Lorane, Oregon. During the summer, he often worked picking local cherries with his siblings, and when they got tired, he would finish filling their buckets. As the oldest in the family he always looked after the others and was a very caring man. He entered the service on August 24th 1941. He felt serving his country was the right thing to do. He wrote a number of letters home, especially to his younger sister, Lucille, who had just given birth to a son who she named for Johnny. She received her last letter from Johnny on October 1st, 1941. It was the last she would know of him for 53 years. In May of 1942, the Japanese took Corregidor where Johnny had been fighting. He was listed by the military as missing and declared dead three years later. U.S. troops didn't return to Corregidor until February of 1945. There, a paratrooper by the name of Lt. James Mullaney found in a clearing the bodies of 15-20 dead Japanese in a rough semi-circle. About 20 feet away, facing them, was the remains of a lone American. The man's helmet, a WW1 type was still cocked over his skull and cheek bone. His Springfield rifle lay under his arm with his finger still on the trigger. There was no ammo left. He checked the man's dogtags, and they read "John Skelton, Eugene, Oregon." 53 years later, after reading an article about Bataan, Mullaney decided to contact the author of the article and see if he could get in touch with any relatives of Private Skelton. They found Lucille still living in Eugene. As a result of this story coming out, a ceremony was held in Eugene in 1996 where the pentagon posthumously awarded Johnny Skelton the bronze star and a purple heart. It was received by Lucille Skelton Bowman. Her son John also has a son named John, in honor of his great uncle and has served in the army. Our family is justifiebly proud of Johnny Skelton. In the words of Major General Raymond Rees, who presented his family with the awards, "Rest Well."