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Pvt Ben Franklin Leslie Veteran

Birth
Death
9 Jan 1945 (aged 31)
Monument
Manila, Capital District, National Capital Region, Philippines Add to Map
Plot
Walls of the Missing
Memorial ID
View Source
Pvt. Ben F. Leslie was held as a POW in the Philippine Islands. In December 1944, he was boarded onto the Oryoku Maru for transport to Japan. The ship sailed on December 13th and came under attack from American planes on December 14th. As evening approached, the attack was called off. The next day the planes returned and continued the attack. When the pilots saw the large number of men climbing from the ship’s holds, they realized the ship was carrying POWs and called off the attack. After the POWs were off the ship, the attack resumed and the ship was sunk by American planes at Subic Bay, Philippine Islands, on December 15, 1944. The surviving POWs were boarded onto the Enoura Maru which sailed on December 27th and reached Takao, Formosa, by the New Year. While docked it was bombed by American planes on January 9, 1945, killing many of the POWs. On January 12th, the dead were removed from the ship’s holds and buried in a mass grave on Formosa. After the war, the remains of the dead that were not identified were buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Pvt. Ben F. Leslie was held as a POW in the Philippine Islands. In December 1944, he was boarded onto the Oryoku Maru for transport to Japan. The ship sailed on December 13th and came under attack from American planes on December 14th. As evening approached, the attack was called off. The next day the planes returned and continued the attack. When the pilots saw the large number of men climbing from the ship’s holds, they realized the ship was carrying POWs and called off the attack. After the POWs were off the ship, the attack resumed and the ship was sunk by American planes at Subic Bay, Philippine Islands, on December 15, 1944. The surviving POWs were boarded onto the Enoura Maru which sailed on December 27th and reached Takao, Formosa, by the New Year. While docked it was bombed by American planes on January 9, 1945, killing many of the POWs. On January 12th, the dead were removed from the ship’s holds and buried in a mass grave on Formosa. After the war, the remains of the dead that were not identified were buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Bio by: JimO

Gravesite Details

Entered the service from New Mexico.


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  • Maintained by: Eric Ackerman
  • Originally Created by: War Graves
  • Added: Aug 8, 2010
  • Find a Grave Memorial ID:
  • Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/56789405/ben_franklin-leslie: accessed ), memorial page for Pvt Ben Franklin Leslie (4 May 1913–9 Jan 1945), Find a Grave Memorial ID 56789405, citing Manila American Cemetery and Memorial, Manila, Capital District, National Capital Region, Philippines; Maintained by Eric Ackerman (contributor 48445240).