Ashby, Jack G. – ww2 Pacific

Rank and Name, Captain Jack G. Ashby.

Unit/Placed in, 200^th Coast Artillery Corps.

Camp Davao

Davao – Small port city on southeast coast of Mindanao. The POW camp was located some ten miles northwest of the port. Camp was closed in 1944 and the POWS were sent first to Cebu on the Yashu Maru. In Cebu, they were transferred to the Singoto Maru and moved to Manila and into Bilibid.

Arisan Maru

The Arisan Maru was a Hell Ships (former Cargo, used for Transport POW’s to other Camps) sunk on Nov. 24, 1944.

The Arisan Maru, sailed from Manila on October 11, 1944 for Japan. This ship was sunk by the American submarine, USS Shark with three torpedoes, on November 24, 1944. There were 1800 POWs aboard – nine men survived this sinking. Two days later, five of the survivors were rescued by a Chinese fishing junk. The Chinese helped them reach American Air Corps forces. Other survivors were recaptured by a Japanese destroyer and taken to Formosa.

This Hell Ship sank in the South China Sea making it the worst naval disaster in the history of the United States.

Jack is born approx. on 26 Nov. 1918 in Texas.

Father, Paul S. Ashby.

Mother, Mattie B. (Jurney) Ashby.

Jack enlisted the service in New Mexico with service number # 0-405941.

Jack was KIA when the Arisan Maru was Torpedoed, he tried to escape and the Japanese guards shot him on Oct 24, 1944, he is honored with a Purple Heart, POW Medal, Good Conduct Medal, American Campaign Medal, Army Presidential Unit Citation, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, WW II Victory Medal.

Jack is buried/mentioned at Manila American Cemetery and Memorial Manila, Metro Manila, National Capital Region, Philippines.

Walls of the missing.

Thanks to,

Jean Louis Vijgen, WW2-Pacific Website.

Air Force Info, Rolland Swank.

ABMC Website, https://abmc.gov

Navy Info, http://navylog.navymemorial.org

POW Info, http://www.mansell.com Dwight Rider and Wes injerd.

Family Info, https://www.familysearch.org

Marines Info, https://missingmarines.com/ Geoffrey Roecker

Info, https://www.pacificwrecks.com/

Medals Info, https://www.honorstates.org