Bataan Memorial Collection

Honoring the Men of Company C

By Connie L. Cedoz

          Seventy years ago American & Filipino troops fighting the Japanese on the Bataan Peninsula surrendered to the Japanese Army. The Japanese had no method for housing as many prisoners as they had in their custody. The Japanese then subjected the prisoners to a forced march to the Northern end of the Bataan Peninsula. That march from Mariveles to San Fernando has become known as the Bataan Death March. It would have been a severe trial for any healthy man; the American & Filipino prisoners were severely dehydrated, malnourished and demoralized. The condition of the prisoners set the stage for what was to become extreme cruelty and brutality.

          Included in the complement of prisoners was a contingent of National Guard troops from Port Clinton. The 42 men of Company C, 192^nd Tank Battalion, Camp Perry, Port Clinton, Ohio left for training at Fort Knox, Ky, November 29, 1940. By  November 20, 1941, the men of Co. C had arrived at Fort Stotsenburg in the Philippines.

          On December 8, 1941, Clark Field was bombed by the Japanese who later invaded the islands and marched southward towards Manila. On December 22, the unit was engaged in ground combat with the Japanese who had landed at Lingayen Gulf.

          Of the 42 men who left Port Clinton in 1940, 32 were still with the unit as they fell back to assume new defensive positions on the Bataan Peninsula. On April 9, 1942, the Bataan Peninsula fell to the Japanese Army and began one of the most grueling survival stories in WWII. Of the thirty two Port Clinton men captured; only 10 survived the Death March and the next 3 ½ years in captivity as POWs. These 10 men eventually returned to Port Clinton after being treated for malnutrition and various tropical diseases.

          The Ida Rupp Public Library has had a separate Bataan Memorial Collection for many years. The library has received many donations for the collection since the core books were donated by Philip J. Heineman. The most recent donations were artist prints received from Donald C. Caldwell, for which we are very grateful.  These prints are the work of Ben Steele, a Bataan survivor whose experiences are related in Tears in the darkness: the story of the Bataan Death March and its aftermath by Michael and Elizabeth M. Norman.      
       We continue to purchase new materials to further honor the men of Company C. We have digitized some of the photographs in the collection for online research in the Ohio Memory project.

          The large framed photograph of the men of Company C located in the library was taken by Willis G. Misch the night before the Tank Corps left Port Clinton in November 1940 for a year of additional training before being sent to the Philippines. Three of the thirty-two men from the Company not shown in this picture were officers: Arthur Burholdt, Harold Collins and Robert Sorensen.

The survivors of the War who returned to Port Clinton:

1.    Harold Beggs

2.    Charles Boeshart

3.    Charles Chafin

4.    Wade Chio

5.    Joseph Hrupcho, the final Bataan survivor to pass away

6.    Virgil Janes

7.    Silas L. LeGrow

8.    John Minier

9.    John Short

10.  Kenneth Thompson

“Lest We Never Forget”

Sources:

          Articles, Books from our Collection

Fort Sandoski & the de Lery Portage

I am often asked about the pyramid shaped monument at the North end of Fulton Street made of “Boulders.”

My response is that there is a twin monument at the South end of Fulton Street. Usually the questioner is unaware of this fact.

The Marker at the South end of Fulton Street marks the location of the original Fort Sandoski. Built in 1745, Sandoski was the first fort built in Ohio. Sandoski was used by the French, the English, and the Ohio  tribes for trading and protection.

The marker at the North end of Fulton Street marks the terminus of the Sandoski area. The northern monument is located near Lake Erie and was used as the portage for the local traders, trappers and other woodsmen. This location is also the location from which General William Henry Harrison departed on his campaign to defeat the British in Canada. The importance of the Fort is also detailed by the fact that Harrison garrisoned his horses when he departed via ship for Canada.  There is some discussion about the exact location of the brush fence being much closer to Danbury, not likely, say others.

The major source for the history of this area is the journals of explorer Joseph Gaspard de Lery,   who found the remains of Fort Sandoski. Another important source for the history of this area is Old Fort Sandusky and the De Lery Portage by Lucy Elliot Kessler.

Betsy "Mojohn"

Visitors often ask about the cabin on the grounds of Mon Ami Restaurant. This cabin was the home of Betsy "Mojohn", one of the last of the Ottawa Indians. Her name reported came out the local expression for corn liquor, "John" and her desire for "more". What we do know is that "Betsy", Mary Elizabeth, married Henry Luckert on May 1, 1852 with Justice of the Peace, H.J. Miller officiating. It was known that Luckert spoke only German and we assume that Betsy did not. We also know that he did build her a 6 room, story and one half black walnut cabin. They did not remain married for long, reportedly her fondness for alcohol contributed to her temper. Betsy later married L.C. Bonnet, a tavern owner and they moved to Bogart's Corners near Sandusky. Betsy died at an advanced age in 1909 and is buried in the Bloomville Cemetery. Sources for this blog were Last of the Ottawa Indians,  Port Clinton Daily News, 7/5/1928, and A Little Log House On Catawba Island Reeks Indian Romance, The Progressive Times, 8/6/1928.