Earl K. Akers
Service # 6146927
Rank: Private First Class, U. S. Army Air Forces
Unit: Headquarters Squadron, 24th Pursuit Group
Entered Service From: Maine
Date of Death: 07 May 1942, of malaria in the Japanese POW Camp O'Donnell, Tarlac Province, Central Luzon, Philippines
Buried: Manila American Cemetery – Plot L, Row 9, Grave 90
Awards: Silver Star
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Son of Chester Adam Akers (1888 – bef. 1928) and Marion B. Peacock Akers Lord (1895 – 1992). Chester and Marion were married 23 October 1913, Eastport, Washington, Maine. Earl's father was a boatman at the time he was born.
Marion Peacock Akers married Floran Clyde Lord on 21 October 1928 in Maine.
1930 United States Federal Census (29 April 1930): Eastport (Ward 4), Washington County, Maine, (sheet 8A, family 191, Barren St.) – Earl K. Lord (9 Maine).
Earl K. Akers (1920 Maine), a resident of Washington County, Maine, enlisted as a Private (S/N 6146927) in the U.S. Army on 01 August 1939. His enlistment was for three years and for the Philippine Department. He had been working in the "skilled occupations in manufacture of electrical machinery and accessories, n.e.c."
21 Enlistments In Army Service Among Maine Men
Twenty-one Maine men enlisted for service in various branches of the United States Army during the period August 1-10, recruiting officer here reported this morning. Going into the ... Air Corps Philippine Islands – Earl K. Akers of Eastport ... Source: Portland Evening Express (Portland, Maine), Friday, 11 August 1939, page 22.
Private Akers was almost immediately sent to the Philippine Islands and assigned to Base Headquarters and 20th Air Base Squadron, stationed at Nichols Field. He was an aircraft mechanic.
Monthly Roster of Troops – 27 October 1939 to 31 December 1939
Base Headquarters and 20th Air Base Squadron, Nichols Field, Rizal, Philippine Islands
Private Earl K. Akers (S/N6146927). He was transferred to, assigned and joined Base Headquarters and 20th Air Base Squadron on 27 October 1939 from Air Corps unassigned.
There are no more Monthly Roster of Troops records online after December 1939.
Earl Kenneth Akers (21) married Lucita Flores (27) on 18 October 1941 in Manila, Philippines. He was the son of Chester A. Akers and Marion B. Peacock; Lucita was the daughter of Arcadio Flores and Petronia De La Rosa. Source: Philippines Marriages, 1941
In October 1941, air base squadrons expanded into groups and were assigned materiel squadrons for maintaining aircraft and air base squadrons to provide administrative support. Private Akers was assigned to Headquarters Squadron, 24th Pursuit Group, U.S. Army Air Corps. Headquarters Squadron, 24th Pursuit Group was stationed at Clark Field.
On the night of 07 December 1941, the 24th Pursuit Group was made up of five pursuit squadrons as reported to Far East Air Force:
3rd Pursuit Squadron at Iba Field, 18 P-40Es in commission
17th Pursuit Squadron at Nichols Field, 18 P-40Es in commission
20th Pursuit Squadron at Clark Field, 18 P-40Es in commission
21st Pursuit Squadron at Nichols Field, had 18 P-40Bs in commission
34th Pursuit Squadron at Del Carmen Field had 18 P-35As in commission
On 08 December 1941, Japanese bombers attacked Clark and Iba Fields and the war was on. Clark Field, the main air base on Luzon was devastated, and nearly half of Far East Air Force's aircraft were destroyed on the ground, and a third of the 24th Pursuit Group's aircraft lost in the attack. Clark Field was so heavily damaged it was essentially eliminated as an effective combat airfield. Over the next couple of days Japanese planes virtually destroyed the U.S. Army Far East Air Force.
Japanese forces began a full-scale invasion of Luzon on 22 December. In response, General Douglas MacArthur, ordered American and Filipino troops to withdrawal to the Bataan peninsula to be a part of the Bataan Defense Force. With no planes, most of the men of the 24th Pursuit Group became became infantrymen. On January 9th, the battle for Bataan began.
In January 1942 some of the aircraft mechanics from the Headquarters Squadron, 24th Pursuit Group (including Akers) and 17th Pursuit Squadron posed in front of a Curtiss P-40E under camouflaged revetment at Bataan Field (see attached photo). The few planes that were left were tasked with observation and reconnaissance.
As a mechanic PFC Akers was probably able to get out of being on the front line. Although he would have had to deal with a number of Japanese bombing and strafing runs on Bataan Field.
From the very beginning, Bataan men were cut to 1/2 rations, and very soon, to 1/4 rations. About four weeks later, they were living on 1/8 rations, that is, when food was available to them. Towards the end, it was changed to 1/16th of their rations...Quite often, they would go several days with no food, unless they could catch something in the jungle." Source: Federico Baldassarre letter
In the wake of starvation came diseases, such as malaria, dengue, scurvy, beriberi and amebic dysentery. The average American soldier lost 15-25 pounds and malaria was as high as 35 percent among front line units.
On Good Friday, 03 April 1942, General Homma, with the addition of fresh troops, began an all-out offensive on Bataan. Japanese aerial attacks "made a shambles of Bataan Field." By the evening of April 8, the situation was clearly hopeless. With ammunition, rations and supplies practically exhausted and most of his best units destroyed, Major General Edward P. King, commander of the forces on Bataan, was convinced his troops could not physically resist any more and decided to surrender to prevent further loss of life. On 09 April 1942, Maj. Gen. King surrendered the Luzon Force to the Japanese.
Large Number of Eastern Maine Men Took Part in Bataan Fight
A large number of men from Bangor and this section of Maine participated in the heroic defense of Bataan peninsula in the Philippines.
From files of THE NEWS was compiled the following list of soldiers who were last reported to have been members of United States Army units in the nation's Pacific outpost. There is no official word to indicate where the men are today but in view of developments in the Philippines it is interesting to not the extent that this area has been represented in the long fight that will live forever as one of the most gallant stands of American military forces.
As before stated, the list that follows, represents men who were reported to be in the Philippines when Japan launched its treacherous attack: ... Earl Akers of Eastport, with the Army Air Corps ... Source: The Bangor Daily News (Bangor, Maine), Saturday, 11 April 1942, page 19.
PFC Earl K. Akers along with 75,000 American and Filipino prisoners of war captured by the Japanese, were subjected to the infamous Bataan Death March. When the Fil-American soldiers began the Death March they were in terrible physical condition. For 6 to 9 days (depending on their starting point) they were forced to walk the roughly sixty-five miles to San Fernando, enduring abuse by Japanese guards and seeing the deaths of thousands of fellow soldiers. At San Fernando, the Japanese stuffed about 100 men into steel-sided boxcars for the twenty-five-mile trip to Capas. The scorching hot boxcars were packed so tight that the men could not even sit down. When the train arrived at Capas the POW's were offloaded and marched the final nine miles to Camp O'Donnell.
Private First Class Kenneth Akers died just a month after he was captured on 07 May 1942 of *malaria at the Japanese POW Camp O'Donnell (#4), Capas, Tarlac, Philippines.
*"Due to an order from Japanese Headquarters, the causes of death could not include starvation and malnutrition but in a very high percentage of these cases starvation and malnutrition were the causes of death." Source: Major Robert E. Conn, Jr., Graves Registration Officer. He complied the list of deaths from Camp O'Donnell.
During the seventy-one days it was open, 1,547 Americans (and over 22,000 Filipinos) perished in Camp O'Donnell – "Camp O'Death" to the men imprisoned there.
He was buried in the camp cemetery – Plot D, Row 3, Grave 7.
The 10 men buried in Camp O'Donnell prison cemetery - Plot D, Row 3.
1) Pvt. Raymond L. Cassill (S/N 17019395) 28th Mat. Sq.
2) Pvt Alfred Querback (S/N 36152242) 31st Inf.
3) Pvt. Charles G. Robinson (S/N 37072108) 91st Bomb
4) Corp. James C. Carrier (S/N 6895212) Mq Dept
5) Corp. Steward A. Jones (S/N 6978028) 31st Inf.
6) CWO Frederick A. Howell (S/N R3790809) 93 Bomb 5
7) Pvt. Earl K. Akers (S/N 6146922) Hq. Sq., 24th Pursuit Group
8) Sgt. Irwin Harr (S/N 6949341) 228 S.C.
9) Pvt John Gage (S/N 11011608) Air Corps
10) Corp. Ray Baldwin (should be Baldon) (S/N 20645301) 192 Tank
After the war (between December 1945 and February 1946) the remains of all the soldiers in the O'Donnell cemetery were disinterred and brought to the American Graves Registration Service Manila Mausoleum for identification. Prison records indicate 10 bodies were buried in this grave. After positive identification was made, he was reburied in 7747 USAF Cemetery, Manila #2, Philippine Islands - Block 2, Row 21, Grave 2666 (D-D Number 2942).
5 Maine Jap Victims Identified
Were Buried At Camp O'Donnell
(NEWS Washington Bureau)
WASHINGTON, June 6 – Five Maine dead are among the 353 American soldiers who died in the Philippine Islands during the period of Japanese occupation and who were buried as unknown who have now been positively identified the War department announced.
The Maine dead now identified are: Corporal Edward Lefebvre, West Kennebuk; Master Sergeant Sherman A. McLean, Portland; Private Calvin A. Farrar, Augusta; Private First Class Earl K. Akers, Eastport; and Private Gilbert T. Richards, Camden.
Each of the above dead was among a group of approximately 1,600 who were buried in the Camp O'Donnell Prisoner of War cemetery on Luzon, Philippine Islands. Their remains have been disinterred and reburied in the United States Armed Forces Cemetery, Manila No. 2.
More than a year of study of the individual cases was made before the identities were established by the office of the Quartermaster General. An Army Board of Review examined all the facts gathered in as supporting evidence and certified the correctness of the identification in each case. Next of kin have been notified by the Quartermaster General of the Army, T. B. Larkin. Source: The Bangor Daily News (Bangor, Maine), Saturday,07 June 1947, page 24 and the Portland Press Herald (Portland, Maine), Thursday, 12 June 1947, page 3.
In 1948, according to the wishes of his next of kin (mother, Mrs. Marion P. Lord), Private First Class Earl Kenneth Akers was buried in his final resting place in the 7701 Ft. McKinley Cemetery (now known as the Manila American Cemetery) – Plot L, Row 9, Grave 90.
Service # 6146927
Rank: Private First Class, U. S. Army Air Forces
Unit: Headquarters Squadron, 24th Pursuit Group
Entered Service From: Maine
Date of Death: 07 May 1942, of malaria in the Japanese POW Camp O'Donnell, Tarlac Province, Central Luzon, Philippines
Buried: Manila American Cemetery – Plot L, Row 9, Grave 90
Awards: Silver Star
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Son of Chester Adam Akers (1888 – bef. 1928) and Marion B. Peacock Akers Lord (1895 – 1992). Chester and Marion were married 23 October 1913, Eastport, Washington, Maine. Earl's father was a boatman at the time he was born.
Marion Peacock Akers married Floran Clyde Lord on 21 October 1928 in Maine.
1930 United States Federal Census (29 April 1930): Eastport (Ward 4), Washington County, Maine, (sheet 8A, family 191, Barren St.) – Earl K. Lord (9 Maine).
Earl K. Akers (1920 Maine), a resident of Washington County, Maine, enlisted as a Private (S/N 6146927) in the U.S. Army on 01 August 1939. His enlistment was for three years and for the Philippine Department. He had been working in the "skilled occupations in manufacture of electrical machinery and accessories, n.e.c."
21 Enlistments In Army Service Among Maine Men
Twenty-one Maine men enlisted for service in various branches of the United States Army during the period August 1-10, recruiting officer here reported this morning. Going into the ... Air Corps Philippine Islands – Earl K. Akers of Eastport ... Source: Portland Evening Express (Portland, Maine), Friday, 11 August 1939, page 22.
Private Akers was almost immediately sent to the Philippine Islands and assigned to Base Headquarters and 20th Air Base Squadron, stationed at Nichols Field. He was an aircraft mechanic.
Monthly Roster of Troops – 27 October 1939 to 31 December 1939
Base Headquarters and 20th Air Base Squadron, Nichols Field, Rizal, Philippine Islands
Private Earl K. Akers (S/N6146927). He was transferred to, assigned and joined Base Headquarters and 20th Air Base Squadron on 27 October 1939 from Air Corps unassigned.
There are no more Monthly Roster of Troops records online after December 1939.
Earl Kenneth Akers (21) married Lucita Flores (27) on 18 October 1941 in Manila, Philippines. He was the son of Chester A. Akers and Marion B. Peacock; Lucita was the daughter of Arcadio Flores and Petronia De La Rosa. Source: Philippines Marriages, 1941
In October 1941, air base squadrons expanded into groups and were assigned materiel squadrons for maintaining aircraft and air base squadrons to provide administrative support. Private Akers was assigned to Headquarters Squadron, 24th Pursuit Group, U.S. Army Air Corps. Headquarters Squadron, 24th Pursuit Group was stationed at Clark Field.
On the night of 07 December 1941, the 24th Pursuit Group was made up of five pursuit squadrons as reported to Far East Air Force:
3rd Pursuit Squadron at Iba Field, 18 P-40Es in commission
17th Pursuit Squadron at Nichols Field, 18 P-40Es in commission
20th Pursuit Squadron at Clark Field, 18 P-40Es in commission
21st Pursuit Squadron at Nichols Field, had 18 P-40Bs in commission
34th Pursuit Squadron at Del Carmen Field had 18 P-35As in commission
On 08 December 1941, Japanese bombers attacked Clark and Iba Fields and the war was on. Clark Field, the main air base on Luzon was devastated, and nearly half of Far East Air Force's aircraft were destroyed on the ground, and a third of the 24th Pursuit Group's aircraft lost in the attack. Clark Field was so heavily damaged it was essentially eliminated as an effective combat airfield. Over the next couple of days Japanese planes virtually destroyed the U.S. Army Far East Air Force.
Japanese forces began a full-scale invasion of Luzon on 22 December. In response, General Douglas MacArthur, ordered American and Filipino troops to withdrawal to the Bataan peninsula to be a part of the Bataan Defense Force. With no planes, most of the men of the 24th Pursuit Group became became infantrymen. On January 9th, the battle for Bataan began.
In January 1942 some of the aircraft mechanics from the Headquarters Squadron, 24th Pursuit Group (including Akers) and 17th Pursuit Squadron posed in front of a Curtiss P-40E under camouflaged revetment at Bataan Field (see attached photo). The few planes that were left were tasked with observation and reconnaissance.
As a mechanic PFC Akers was probably able to get out of being on the front line. Although he would have had to deal with a number of Japanese bombing and strafing runs on Bataan Field.
From the very beginning, Bataan men were cut to 1/2 rations, and very soon, to 1/4 rations. About four weeks later, they were living on 1/8 rations, that is, when food was available to them. Towards the end, it was changed to 1/16th of their rations...Quite often, they would go several days with no food, unless they could catch something in the jungle." Source: Federico Baldassarre letter
In the wake of starvation came diseases, such as malaria, dengue, scurvy, beriberi and amebic dysentery. The average American soldier lost 15-25 pounds and malaria was as high as 35 percent among front line units.
On Good Friday, 03 April 1942, General Homma, with the addition of fresh troops, began an all-out offensive on Bataan. Japanese aerial attacks "made a shambles of Bataan Field." By the evening of April 8, the situation was clearly hopeless. With ammunition, rations and supplies practically exhausted and most of his best units destroyed, Major General Edward P. King, commander of the forces on Bataan, was convinced his troops could not physically resist any more and decided to surrender to prevent further loss of life. On 09 April 1942, Maj. Gen. King surrendered the Luzon Force to the Japanese.
Large Number of Eastern Maine Men Took Part in Bataan Fight
A large number of men from Bangor and this section of Maine participated in the heroic defense of Bataan peninsula in the Philippines.
From files of THE NEWS was compiled the following list of soldiers who were last reported to have been members of United States Army units in the nation's Pacific outpost. There is no official word to indicate where the men are today but in view of developments in the Philippines it is interesting to not the extent that this area has been represented in the long fight that will live forever as one of the most gallant stands of American military forces.
As before stated, the list that follows, represents men who were reported to be in the Philippines when Japan launched its treacherous attack: ... Earl Akers of Eastport, with the Army Air Corps ... Source: The Bangor Daily News (Bangor, Maine), Saturday, 11 April 1942, page 19.
PFC Earl K. Akers along with 75,000 American and Filipino prisoners of war captured by the Japanese, were subjected to the infamous Bataan Death March. When the Fil-American soldiers began the Death March they were in terrible physical condition. For 6 to 9 days (depending on their starting point) they were forced to walk the roughly sixty-five miles to San Fernando, enduring abuse by Japanese guards and seeing the deaths of thousands of fellow soldiers. At San Fernando, the Japanese stuffed about 100 men into steel-sided boxcars for the twenty-five-mile trip to Capas. The scorching hot boxcars were packed so tight that the men could not even sit down. When the train arrived at Capas the POW's were offloaded and marched the final nine miles to Camp O'Donnell.
Private First Class Kenneth Akers died just a month after he was captured on 07 May 1942 of *malaria at the Japanese POW Camp O'Donnell (#4), Capas, Tarlac, Philippines.
*"Due to an order from Japanese Headquarters, the causes of death could not include starvation and malnutrition but in a very high percentage of these cases starvation and malnutrition were the causes of death." Source: Major Robert E. Conn, Jr., Graves Registration Officer. He complied the list of deaths from Camp O'Donnell.
During the seventy-one days it was open, 1,547 Americans (and over 22,000 Filipinos) perished in Camp O'Donnell – "Camp O'Death" to the men imprisoned there.
He was buried in the camp cemetery – Plot D, Row 3, Grave 7.
The 10 men buried in Camp O'Donnell prison cemetery - Plot D, Row 3.
1) Pvt. Raymond L. Cassill (S/N 17019395) 28th Mat. Sq.
2) Pvt Alfred Querback (S/N 36152242) 31st Inf.
3) Pvt. Charles G. Robinson (S/N 37072108) 91st Bomb
4) Corp. James C. Carrier (S/N 6895212) Mq Dept
5) Corp. Steward A. Jones (S/N 6978028) 31st Inf.
6) CWO Frederick A. Howell (S/N R3790809) 93 Bomb 5
7) Pvt. Earl K. Akers (S/N 6146922) Hq. Sq., 24th Pursuit Group
8) Sgt. Irwin Harr (S/N 6949341) 228 S.C.
9) Pvt John Gage (S/N 11011608) Air Corps
10) Corp. Ray Baldwin (should be Baldon) (S/N 20645301) 192 Tank
After the war (between December 1945 and February 1946) the remains of all the soldiers in the O'Donnell cemetery were disinterred and brought to the American Graves Registration Service Manila Mausoleum for identification. Prison records indicate 10 bodies were buried in this grave. After positive identification was made, he was reburied in 7747 USAF Cemetery, Manila #2, Philippine Islands - Block 2, Row 21, Grave 2666 (D-D Number 2942).
5 Maine Jap Victims Identified
Were Buried At Camp O'Donnell
(NEWS Washington Bureau)
WASHINGTON, June 6 – Five Maine dead are among the 353 American soldiers who died in the Philippine Islands during the period of Japanese occupation and who were buried as unknown who have now been positively identified the War department announced.
The Maine dead now identified are: Corporal Edward Lefebvre, West Kennebuk; Master Sergeant Sherman A. McLean, Portland; Private Calvin A. Farrar, Augusta; Private First Class Earl K. Akers, Eastport; and Private Gilbert T. Richards, Camden.
Each of the above dead was among a group of approximately 1,600 who were buried in the Camp O'Donnell Prisoner of War cemetery on Luzon, Philippine Islands. Their remains have been disinterred and reburied in the United States Armed Forces Cemetery, Manila No. 2.
More than a year of study of the individual cases was made before the identities were established by the office of the Quartermaster General. An Army Board of Review examined all the facts gathered in as supporting evidence and certified the correctness of the identification in each case. Next of kin have been notified by the Quartermaster General of the Army, T. B. Larkin. Source: The Bangor Daily News (Bangor, Maine), Saturday,07 June 1947, page 24 and the Portland Press Herald (Portland, Maine), Thursday, 12 June 1947, page 3.
In 1948, according to the wishes of his next of kin (mother, Mrs. Marion P. Lord), Private First Class Earl Kenneth Akers was buried in his final resting place in the 7701 Ft. McKinley Cemetery (now known as the Manila American Cemetery) – Plot L, Row 9, Grave 90.
Earl K. Akers
Service # 6146927
Rank: Private First Class, U. S. Army Air Forces
Unit: Headquarters Squadron, 24th Pursuit Group
Entered Service From: Maine
Date of Death: 07 May 1942, of malaria in the Japanese POW Camp O'Donnell, Tarlac Province, Central Luzon, Philippines
Buried: Manila American Cemetery – Plot L, Row 9, Grave 90
Awards: Silver Star
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Son of Chester Adam Akers (1888 – bef. 1928) and Marion B. Peacock Akers Lord (1895 – 1992). Chester and Marion were married 23 October 1913, Eastport, Washington, Maine. Earl's father was a boatman at the time he was born.
Marion Peacock Akers married Floran Clyde Lord on 21 October 1928 in Maine.
1930 United States Federal Census (29 April 1930): Eastport (Ward 4), Washington County, Maine, (sheet 8A, family 191, Barren St.) – Earl K. Lord (9 Maine).
Earl K. Akers (1920 Maine), a resident of Washington County, Maine, enlisted as a Private (S/N 6146927) in the U.S. Army on 01 August 1939. His enlistment was for three years and for the Philippine Department. He had been working in the "skilled occupations in manufacture of electrical machinery and accessories, n.e.c."
21 Enlistments In Army Service Among Maine Men
Twenty-one Maine men enlisted for service in various branches of the United States Army during the period August 1-10, recruiting officer here reported this morning. Going into the ... Air Corps Philippine Islands – Earl K. Akers of Eastport ... Source: Portland Evening Express (Portland, Maine), Friday, 11 August 1939, page 22.
Private Akers was almost immediately sent to the Philippine Islands and assigned to Base Headquarters and 20th Air Base Squadron, stationed at Nichols Field. He was an aircraft mechanic.
Monthly Roster of Troops – 27 October 1939 to 31 December 1939
Base Headquarters and 20th Air Base Squadron, Nichols Field, Rizal, Philippine Islands
Private Earl K. Akers (S/N6146927). He was transferred to, assigned and joined Base Headquarters and 20th Air Base Squadron on 27 October 1939 from Air Corps unassigned.
There are no more Monthly Roster of Troops records online after December 1939.
Earl Kenneth Akers (21) married Lucita Flores (27) on 18 October 1941 in Manila, Philippines. He was the son of Chester A. Akers and Marion B. Peacock; Lucita was the daughter of Arcadio Flores and Petronia De La Rosa. Source: Philippines Marriages, 1941
In October 1941, air base squadrons expanded into groups and were assigned materiel squadrons for maintaining aircraft and air base squadrons to provide administrative support. Private Akers was assigned to Headquarters Squadron, 24th Pursuit Group, U.S. Army Air Corps. Headquarters Squadron, 24th Pursuit Group was stationed at Clark Field.
On the night of 07 December 1941, the 24th Pursuit Group was made up of five pursuit squadrons as reported to Far East Air Force:
3rd Pursuit Squadron at Iba Field, 18 P-40Es in commission
17th Pursuit Squadron at Nichols Field, 18 P-40Es in commission
20th Pursuit Squadron at Clark Field, 18 P-40Es in commission
21st Pursuit Squadron at Nichols Field, had 18 P-40Bs in commission
34th Pursuit Squadron at Del Carmen Field had 18 P-35As in commission
On 08 December 1941, Japanese bombers attacked Clark and Iba Fields and the war was on. Clark Field, the main air base on Luzon was devastated, and nearly half of Far East Air Force's aircraft were destroyed on the ground, and a third of the 24th Pursuit Group's aircraft lost in the attack. Clark Field was so heavily damaged it was essentially eliminated as an effective combat airfield. Over the next couple of days Japanese planes virtually destroyed the U.S. Army Far East Air Force.
Japanese forces began a full-scale invasion of Luzon on 22 December. In response, General Douglas MacArthur, ordered American and Filipino troops to withdrawal to the Bataan peninsula to be a part of the Bataan Defense Force. With no planes, most of the men of the 24th Pursuit Group became became infantrymen. On January 9th, the battle for Bataan began.
In January 1942 some of the aircraft mechanics from the Headquarters Squadron, 24th Pursuit Group (including Akers) and 17th Pursuit Squadron posed in front of a Curtiss P-40E under camouflaged revetment at Bataan Field (see attached photo). The few planes that were left were tasked with observation and reconnaissance.
As a mechanic PFC Akers was probably able to get out of being on the front line. Although he would have had to deal with a number of Japanese bombing and strafing runs on Bataan Field.
From the very beginning, Bataan men were cut to 1/2 rations, and very soon, to 1/4 rations. About four weeks later, they were living on 1/8 rations, that is, when food was available to them. Towards the end, it was changed to 1/16th of their rations...Quite often, they would go several days with no food, unless they could catch something in the jungle." Source: Federico Baldassarre letter
In the wake of starvation came diseases, such as malaria, dengue, scurvy, beriberi and amebic dysentery. The average American soldier lost 15-25 pounds and malaria was as high as 35 percent among front line units.
On Good Friday, 03 April 1942, General Homma, with the addition of fresh troops, began an all-out offensive on Bataan. Japanese aerial attacks "made a shambles of Bataan Field." By the evening of April 8, the situation was clearly hopeless. With ammunition, rations and supplies practically exhausted and most of his best units destroyed, Major General Edward P. King, commander of the forces on Bataan, was convinced his troops could not physically resist any more and decided to surrender to prevent further loss of life. On 09 April 1942, Maj. Gen. King surrendered the Luzon Force to the Japanese.
Large Number of Eastern Maine Men Took Part in Bataan Fight
A large number of men from Bangor and this section of Maine participated in the heroic defense of Bataan peninsula in the Philippines.
From files of THE NEWS was compiled the following list of soldiers who were last reported to have been members of United States Army units in the nation's Pacific outpost. There is no official word to indicate where the men are today but in view of developments in the Philippines it is interesting to not the extent that this area has been represented in the long fight that will live forever as one of the most gallant stands of American military forces.
As before stated, the list that follows, represents men who were reported to be in the Philippines when Japan launched its treacherous attack: ... Earl Akers of Eastport, with the Army Air Corps ... Source: The Bangor Daily News (Bangor, Maine), Saturday, 11 April 1942, page 19.
PFC Earl K. Akers along with 75,000 American and Filipino prisoners of war captured by the Japanese, were subjected to the infamous Bataan Death March. When the Fil-American soldiers began the Death March they were in terrible physical condition. For 6 to 9 days (depending on their starting point) they were forced to walk the roughly sixty-five miles to San Fernando, enduring abuse by Japanese guards and seeing the deaths of thousands of fellow soldiers. At San Fernando, the Japanese stuffed about 100 men into steel-sided boxcars for the twenty-five-mile trip to Capas. The scorching hot boxcars were packed so tight that the men could not even sit down. When the train arrived at Capas the POW's were offloaded and marched the final nine miles to Camp O'Donnell.
Private First Class Kenneth Akers died just a month after he was captured on 07 May 1942 of *malaria at the Japanese POW Camp O'Donnell (#4), Capas, Tarlac, Philippines.
*"Due to an order from Japanese Headquarters, the causes of death could not include starvation and malnutrition but in a very high percentage of these cases starvation and malnutrition were the causes of death." Source: Major Robert E. Conn, Jr., Graves Registration Officer. He complied the list of deaths from Camp O'Donnell.
During the seventy-one days it was open, 1,547 Americans (and over 22,000 Filipinos) perished in Camp O'Donnell – "Camp O'Death" to the men imprisoned there.
He was buried in the camp cemetery – Plot D, Row 3, Grave 7.
The 10 men buried in Camp O'Donnell prison cemetery - Plot D, Row 3.
1) Pvt. Raymond L. Cassill (S/N 17019395) 28th Mat. Sq.
2) Pvt Alfred Querback (S/N 36152242) 31st Inf.
3) Pvt. Charles G. Robinson (S/N 37072108) 91st Bomb
4) Corp. James C. Carrier (S/N 6895212) Mq Dept
5) Corp. Steward A. Jones (S/N 6978028) 31st Inf.
6) CWO Frederick A. Howell (S/N R3790809) 93 Bomb 5
7) Pvt. Earl K. Akers (S/N 6146922) Hq. Sq., 24th Pursuit Group
8) Sgt. Irwin Harr (S/N 6949341) 228 S.C.
9) Pvt John Gage (S/N 11011608) Air Corps
10) Corp. Ray Baldwin (should be Baldon) (S/N 20645301) 192 Tank
After the war (between December 1945 and February 1946) the remains of all the soldiers in the O'Donnell cemetery were disinterred and brought to the American Graves Registration Service Manila Mausoleum for identification. Prison records indicate 10 bodies were buried in this grave. After positive identification was made, he was reburied in 7747 USAF Cemetery, Manila #2, Philippine Islands - Block 2, Row 21, Grave 2666 (D-D Number 2942).
5 Maine Jap Victims Identified
Were Buried At Camp O'Donnell
(NEWS Washington Bureau)
WASHINGTON, June 6 – Five Maine dead are among the 353 American soldiers who died in the Philippine Islands during the period of Japanese occupation and who were buried as unknown who have now been positively identified the War department announced.
The Maine dead now identified are: Corporal Edward Lefebvre, West Kennebuk; Master Sergeant Sherman A. McLean, Portland; Private Calvin A. Farrar, Augusta; Private First Class Earl K. Akers, Eastport; and Private Gilbert T. Richards, Camden.
Each of the above dead was among a group of approximately 1,600 who were buried in the Camp O'Donnell Prisoner of War cemetery on Luzon, Philippine Islands. Their remains have been disinterred and reburied in the United States Armed Forces Cemetery, Manila No. 2.
More than a year of study of the individual cases was made before the identities were established by the office of the Quartermaster General. An Army Board of Review examined all the facts gathered in as supporting evidence and certified the correctness of the identification in each case. Next of kin have been notified by the Quartermaster General of the Army, T. B. Larkin. Source: The Bangor Daily News (Bangor, Maine), Saturday,07 June 1947, page 24 and the Portland Press Herald (Portland, Maine), Thursday, 12 June 1947, page 3.
In 1948, according to the wishes of his next of kin (mother, Mrs. Marion P. Lord), Private First Class Earl Kenneth Akers was buried in his final resting place in the 7701 Ft. McKinley Cemetery (now known as the Manila American Cemetery) – Plot L, Row 9, Grave 90.
Service # 6146927
Rank: Private First Class, U. S. Army Air Forces
Unit: Headquarters Squadron, 24th Pursuit Group
Entered Service From: Maine
Date of Death: 07 May 1942, of malaria in the Japanese POW Camp O'Donnell, Tarlac Province, Central Luzon, Philippines
Buried: Manila American Cemetery – Plot L, Row 9, Grave 90
Awards: Silver Star
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Son of Chester Adam Akers (1888 – bef. 1928) and Marion B. Peacock Akers Lord (1895 – 1992). Chester and Marion were married 23 October 1913, Eastport, Washington, Maine. Earl's father was a boatman at the time he was born.
Marion Peacock Akers married Floran Clyde Lord on 21 October 1928 in Maine.
1930 United States Federal Census (29 April 1930): Eastport (Ward 4), Washington County, Maine, (sheet 8A, family 191, Barren St.) – Earl K. Lord (9 Maine).
Earl K. Akers (1920 Maine), a resident of Washington County, Maine, enlisted as a Private (S/N 6146927) in the U.S. Army on 01 August 1939. His enlistment was for three years and for the Philippine Department. He had been working in the "skilled occupations in manufacture of electrical machinery and accessories, n.e.c."
21 Enlistments In Army Service Among Maine Men
Twenty-one Maine men enlisted for service in various branches of the United States Army during the period August 1-10, recruiting officer here reported this morning. Going into the ... Air Corps Philippine Islands – Earl K. Akers of Eastport ... Source: Portland Evening Express (Portland, Maine), Friday, 11 August 1939, page 22.
Private Akers was almost immediately sent to the Philippine Islands and assigned to Base Headquarters and 20th Air Base Squadron, stationed at Nichols Field. He was an aircraft mechanic.
Monthly Roster of Troops – 27 October 1939 to 31 December 1939
Base Headquarters and 20th Air Base Squadron, Nichols Field, Rizal, Philippine Islands
Private Earl K. Akers (S/N6146927). He was transferred to, assigned and joined Base Headquarters and 20th Air Base Squadron on 27 October 1939 from Air Corps unassigned.
There are no more Monthly Roster of Troops records online after December 1939.
Earl Kenneth Akers (21) married Lucita Flores (27) on 18 October 1941 in Manila, Philippines. He was the son of Chester A. Akers and Marion B. Peacock; Lucita was the daughter of Arcadio Flores and Petronia De La Rosa. Source: Philippines Marriages, 1941
In October 1941, air base squadrons expanded into groups and were assigned materiel squadrons for maintaining aircraft and air base squadrons to provide administrative support. Private Akers was assigned to Headquarters Squadron, 24th Pursuit Group, U.S. Army Air Corps. Headquarters Squadron, 24th Pursuit Group was stationed at Clark Field.
On the night of 07 December 1941, the 24th Pursuit Group was made up of five pursuit squadrons as reported to Far East Air Force:
3rd Pursuit Squadron at Iba Field, 18 P-40Es in commission
17th Pursuit Squadron at Nichols Field, 18 P-40Es in commission
20th Pursuit Squadron at Clark Field, 18 P-40Es in commission
21st Pursuit Squadron at Nichols Field, had 18 P-40Bs in commission
34th Pursuit Squadron at Del Carmen Field had 18 P-35As in commission
On 08 December 1941, Japanese bombers attacked Clark and Iba Fields and the war was on. Clark Field, the main air base on Luzon was devastated, and nearly half of Far East Air Force's aircraft were destroyed on the ground, and a third of the 24th Pursuit Group's aircraft lost in the attack. Clark Field was so heavily damaged it was essentially eliminated as an effective combat airfield. Over the next couple of days Japanese planes virtually destroyed the U.S. Army Far East Air Force.
Japanese forces began a full-scale invasion of Luzon on 22 December. In response, General Douglas MacArthur, ordered American and Filipino troops to withdrawal to the Bataan peninsula to be a part of the Bataan Defense Force. With no planes, most of the men of the 24th Pursuit Group became became infantrymen. On January 9th, the battle for Bataan began.
In January 1942 some of the aircraft mechanics from the Headquarters Squadron, 24th Pursuit Group (including Akers) and 17th Pursuit Squadron posed in front of a Curtiss P-40E under camouflaged revetment at Bataan Field (see attached photo). The few planes that were left were tasked with observation and reconnaissance.
As a mechanic PFC Akers was probably able to get out of being on the front line. Although he would have had to deal with a number of Japanese bombing and strafing runs on Bataan Field.
From the very beginning, Bataan men were cut to 1/2 rations, and very soon, to 1/4 rations. About four weeks later, they were living on 1/8 rations, that is, when food was available to them. Towards the end, it was changed to 1/16th of their rations...Quite often, they would go several days with no food, unless they could catch something in the jungle." Source: Federico Baldassarre letter
In the wake of starvation came diseases, such as malaria, dengue, scurvy, beriberi and amebic dysentery. The average American soldier lost 15-25 pounds and malaria was as high as 35 percent among front line units.
On Good Friday, 03 April 1942, General Homma, with the addition of fresh troops, began an all-out offensive on Bataan. Japanese aerial attacks "made a shambles of Bataan Field." By the evening of April 8, the situation was clearly hopeless. With ammunition, rations and supplies practically exhausted and most of his best units destroyed, Major General Edward P. King, commander of the forces on Bataan, was convinced his troops could not physically resist any more and decided to surrender to prevent further loss of life. On 09 April 1942, Maj. Gen. King surrendered the Luzon Force to the Japanese.
Large Number of Eastern Maine Men Took Part in Bataan Fight
A large number of men from Bangor and this section of Maine participated in the heroic defense of Bataan peninsula in the Philippines.
From files of THE NEWS was compiled the following list of soldiers who were last reported to have been members of United States Army units in the nation's Pacific outpost. There is no official word to indicate where the men are today but in view of developments in the Philippines it is interesting to not the extent that this area has been represented in the long fight that will live forever as one of the most gallant stands of American military forces.
As before stated, the list that follows, represents men who were reported to be in the Philippines when Japan launched its treacherous attack: ... Earl Akers of Eastport, with the Army Air Corps ... Source: The Bangor Daily News (Bangor, Maine), Saturday, 11 April 1942, page 19.
PFC Earl K. Akers along with 75,000 American and Filipino prisoners of war captured by the Japanese, were subjected to the infamous Bataan Death March. When the Fil-American soldiers began the Death March they were in terrible physical condition. For 6 to 9 days (depending on their starting point) they were forced to walk the roughly sixty-five miles to San Fernando, enduring abuse by Japanese guards and seeing the deaths of thousands of fellow soldiers. At San Fernando, the Japanese stuffed about 100 men into steel-sided boxcars for the twenty-five-mile trip to Capas. The scorching hot boxcars were packed so tight that the men could not even sit down. When the train arrived at Capas the POW's were offloaded and marched the final nine miles to Camp O'Donnell.
Private First Class Kenneth Akers died just a month after he was captured on 07 May 1942 of *malaria at the Japanese POW Camp O'Donnell (#4), Capas, Tarlac, Philippines.
*"Due to an order from Japanese Headquarters, the causes of death could not include starvation and malnutrition but in a very high percentage of these cases starvation and malnutrition were the causes of death." Source: Major Robert E. Conn, Jr., Graves Registration Officer. He complied the list of deaths from Camp O'Donnell.
During the seventy-one days it was open, 1,547 Americans (and over 22,000 Filipinos) perished in Camp O'Donnell – "Camp O'Death" to the men imprisoned there.
He was buried in the camp cemetery – Plot D, Row 3, Grave 7.
The 10 men buried in Camp O'Donnell prison cemetery - Plot D, Row 3.
1) Pvt. Raymond L. Cassill (S/N 17019395) 28th Mat. Sq.
2) Pvt Alfred Querback (S/N 36152242) 31st Inf.
3) Pvt. Charles G. Robinson (S/N 37072108) 91st Bomb
4) Corp. James C. Carrier (S/N 6895212) Mq Dept
5) Corp. Steward A. Jones (S/N 6978028) 31st Inf.
6) CWO Frederick A. Howell (S/N R3790809) 93 Bomb 5
7) Pvt. Earl K. Akers (S/N 6146922) Hq. Sq., 24th Pursuit Group
8) Sgt. Irwin Harr (S/N 6949341) 228 S.C.
9) Pvt John Gage (S/N 11011608) Air Corps
10) Corp. Ray Baldwin (should be Baldon) (S/N 20645301) 192 Tank
After the war (between December 1945 and February 1946) the remains of all the soldiers in the O'Donnell cemetery were disinterred and brought to the American Graves Registration Service Manila Mausoleum for identification. Prison records indicate 10 bodies were buried in this grave. After positive identification was made, he was reburied in 7747 USAF Cemetery, Manila #2, Philippine Islands - Block 2, Row 21, Grave 2666 (D-D Number 2942).
5 Maine Jap Victims Identified
Were Buried At Camp O'Donnell
(NEWS Washington Bureau)
WASHINGTON, June 6 – Five Maine dead are among the 353 American soldiers who died in the Philippine Islands during the period of Japanese occupation and who were buried as unknown who have now been positively identified the War department announced.
The Maine dead now identified are: Corporal Edward Lefebvre, West Kennebuk; Master Sergeant Sherman A. McLean, Portland; Private Calvin A. Farrar, Augusta; Private First Class Earl K. Akers, Eastport; and Private Gilbert T. Richards, Camden.
Each of the above dead was among a group of approximately 1,600 who were buried in the Camp O'Donnell Prisoner of War cemetery on Luzon, Philippine Islands. Their remains have been disinterred and reburied in the United States Armed Forces Cemetery, Manila No. 2.
More than a year of study of the individual cases was made before the identities were established by the office of the Quartermaster General. An Army Board of Review examined all the facts gathered in as supporting evidence and certified the correctness of the identification in each case. Next of kin have been notified by the Quartermaster General of the Army, T. B. Larkin. Source: The Bangor Daily News (Bangor, Maine), Saturday,07 June 1947, page 24 and the Portland Press Herald (Portland, Maine), Thursday, 12 June 1947, page 3.
In 1948, according to the wishes of his next of kin (mother, Mrs. Marion P. Lord), Private First Class Earl Kenneth Akers was buried in his final resting place in the 7701 Ft. McKinley Cemetery (now known as the Manila American Cemetery) – Plot L, Row 9, Grave 90.
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