Pfc. Melvin E. Buggs was a Wisconsin National Guardsman called to federal duty as a member of A Company, 192nd Tank Battalion. At Fort Knox, Kentucky, he was transferred to Hq Company when it was created. He was sent to the Philippine Islands where he fought in some of the first tank battles of WWII involving American tanks. When Bataan surrendered to the Japanese, he became a Prisoner of War. He took part in the death march from Mariveles to San Fernando. He was held at Camp O'Donnell and Cabanatuan POW Camps. On October 10, 1944, he was boarded onto the Arisan Maru. A Japanese "Hell Ship". The POWs were held in the holds for eleven days until the ship sailed for Formosa. On October 24, 1944, in the late afternoon, the ship was hit by two torpedoes from an American submarine. The Japanese refused to rescue the POWs as the ship sank. Of the 1803 POWs on the ship, only nine survived the sinking.
For more information go to:
Proviso East High School Bataan Commemorative Research Project
For more information go to:
Proviso East High School Bataan Commemorative Research Project
Pfc. Melvin E. Buggs was a Wisconsin National Guardsman called to federal duty as a member of A Company, 192nd Tank Battalion. At Fort Knox, Kentucky, he was transferred to Hq Company when it was created. He was sent to the Philippine Islands where he fought in some of the first tank battles of WWII involving American tanks. When Bataan surrendered to the Japanese, he became a Prisoner of War. He took part in the death march from Mariveles to San Fernando. He was held at Camp O'Donnell and Cabanatuan POW Camps. On October 10, 1944, he was boarded onto the Arisan Maru. A Japanese "Hell Ship". The POWs were held in the holds for eleven days until the ship sailed for Formosa. On October 24, 1944, in the late afternoon, the ship was hit by two torpedoes from an American submarine. The Japanese refused to rescue the POWs as the ship sank. Of the 1803 POWs on the ship, only nine survived the sinking.
For more information go to:
Proviso East High School Bataan Commemorative Research Project
For more information go to:
Proviso East High School Bataan Commemorative Research Project
Gravesite Details
Entered the service from Wisconsin.
Family Members
Sponsored by Ancestry
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