Ernest served as a Private First Class, 698th Ordnance Company, Aviation, U.S. Army Air Force during World War II.
He resided in Wyoming County, West Virginia prior to the war.
He enlisted in the Army on June 2, 1941, prior to the war, in Spokane, Washington. He was noted, at the time of his enlistment, as being employed as a lumbermen and also as Divorced, without dependents.
He became a POW of the Japanese Army in the "Fall Of The Philippines" in April-May, 1942 and was held at the Japanese POW Camp 4, O'donnel, Tarlac, Luzon, Philippines 15-120.
While a POW he was later loaded onto the Japanese cargo ship "Arisan Maru".
The Japanese ship "Arisan Maru" was loaded with 1,782 U.S. POW's and about 100 civilians in the cargo holds. The U.S.S. Shark, not knowing that American POW's were on board, fired three torpedoes at 5:30pm that hit the ship, causing it to break into two pieces that floated before sinking.
The entire crew except for nine of the POWs aboard died in the sinking. The sinking was the largest loss of American lives in a single disaster at sea.
Ernest was declared "Missing In Action" in the sinking of the "Arisan Maru" during the war.
He was awarded the Prisoner Of War Medal and the Purple Heart.
Service # 19006338
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Note: Later that same day the U.S.S. Shark (SS-314), which sank the "Arisan Maru", was also sank by the Japanese destroyer Harukaze off Taiwan with a loss of 87 crew members.
Bio by: Russ Pickett
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He resided in Wyoming County, West Virginia prior to the war.
He enlisted in the Army on June 2, 1941, prior to the war, in Spokane, Washington. He was noted, at the time of his enlistment, as being employed as a lumbermen and also as Divorced, without dependents.
He became a POW of the Japanese Army in the "Fall Of The Philippines" in April-May, 1942 and was held at the Japanese POW Camp 4, O'donnel, Tarlac, Luzon, Philippines 15-120.
While a POW he was later loaded onto the Japanese cargo ship "Arisan Maru".
The Japanese ship "Arisan Maru" was loaded with 1,782 U.S. POW's and about 100 civilians in the cargo holds. The U.S.S. Shark, not knowing that American POW's were on board, fired three torpedoes at 5:30pm that hit the ship, causing it to break into two pieces that floated before sinking.
The entire crew except for nine of the POWs aboard died in the sinking. The sinking was the largest loss of American lives in a single disaster at sea.
Ernest was declared "Missing In Action" in the sinking of the "Arisan Maru" during the war.
He was awarded the Prisoner Of War Medal and the Purple Heart.
Service # 19006338
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Note: Later that same day the U.S.S. Shark (SS-314), which sank the "Arisan Maru", was also sank by the Japanese destroyer Harukaze off Taiwan with a loss of 87 crew members.
Bio by: Russ Pickett
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ernest served as a Private First Class, 698th Ordnance Company, Aviation, U.S. Army Air Force during World War II.
He resided in Wyoming County, West Virginia prior to the war.
He enlisted in the Army on June 2, 1941, prior to the war, in Spokane, Washington. He was noted, at the time of his enlistment, as being employed as a lumbermen and also as Divorced, without dependents.
He became a POW of the Japanese Army in the "Fall Of The Philippines" in April-May, 1942 and was held at the Japanese POW Camp 4, O'donnel, Tarlac, Luzon, Philippines 15-120.
While a POW he was later loaded onto the Japanese cargo ship "Arisan Maru".
The Japanese ship "Arisan Maru" was loaded with 1,782 U.S. POW's and about 100 civilians in the cargo holds. The U.S.S. Shark, not knowing that American POW's were on board, fired three torpedoes at 5:30pm that hit the ship, causing it to break into two pieces that floated before sinking.
The entire crew except for nine of the POWs aboard died in the sinking. The sinking was the largest loss of American lives in a single disaster at sea.
Ernest was declared "Missing In Action" in the sinking of the "Arisan Maru" during the war.
He was awarded the Prisoner Of War Medal and the Purple Heart.
Service # 19006338
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Note: Later that same day the U.S.S. Shark (SS-314), which sank the "Arisan Maru", was also sank by the Japanese destroyer Harukaze off Taiwan with a loss of 87 crew members.
Bio by: Russ Pickett
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He resided in Wyoming County, West Virginia prior to the war.
He enlisted in the Army on June 2, 1941, prior to the war, in Spokane, Washington. He was noted, at the time of his enlistment, as being employed as a lumbermen and also as Divorced, without dependents.
He became a POW of the Japanese Army in the "Fall Of The Philippines" in April-May, 1942 and was held at the Japanese POW Camp 4, O'donnel, Tarlac, Luzon, Philippines 15-120.
While a POW he was later loaded onto the Japanese cargo ship "Arisan Maru".
The Japanese ship "Arisan Maru" was loaded with 1,782 U.S. POW's and about 100 civilians in the cargo holds. The U.S.S. Shark, not knowing that American POW's were on board, fired three torpedoes at 5:30pm that hit the ship, causing it to break into two pieces that floated before sinking.
The entire crew except for nine of the POWs aboard died in the sinking. The sinking was the largest loss of American lives in a single disaster at sea.
Ernest was declared "Missing In Action" in the sinking of the "Arisan Maru" during the war.
He was awarded the Prisoner Of War Medal and the Purple Heart.
Service # 19006338
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Note: Later that same day the U.S.S. Shark (SS-314), which sank the "Arisan Maru", was also sank by the Japanese destroyer Harukaze off Taiwan with a loss of 87 crew members.
Bio by: Russ Pickett
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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