Maj Robert Douglass Glassburn

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Maj Robert Douglass Glassburn

Birth
Suffolk County, New York, USA
Death
30 Jan 1945 (aged 34)
Japan
Burial
Arlington, Arlington County, Virginia, USA Add to Map
Plot
Memorial Section G
Memorial ID
View Source
Son of Colonel Robert P. Glassburn and Anne Maxwell Moore Glassburn. Husband of Zelda M. Eggleston Glassburn. He served with the Coast Artillery at Fort Mills in the defense of Corregidor. He was taken prisoner by the Japanese and died of wounds, starvation, and exposure while a prisoner at Moji, Kyushu, Japan. He was decorated with a Silver Star.

Major William D. Glassburn 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. The surviving POWs were boarded onto the Brazil Maru which sailed on January 13th and reached Japan on January 29, 1945.
Son of Colonel Robert P. Glassburn and Anne Maxwell Moore Glassburn. Husband of Zelda M. Eggleston Glassburn. He served with the Coast Artillery at Fort Mills in the defense of Corregidor. He was taken prisoner by the Japanese and died of wounds, starvation, and exposure while a prisoner at Moji, Kyushu, Japan. He was decorated with a Silver Star.

Major William D. Glassburn 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. The surviving POWs were boarded onto the Brazil Maru which sailed on January 13th and reached Japan on January 29, 1945.