I have been researching several sets of U.S. Army WW2 uniforms that could possibly belong to a Bataan Death March survivor. Here is some of the research thus far.
Known Information:
Some of the uniforms are laundry marked repeatedly with various numbers but the constant number is M5943, (several by ink stamps and some hand written), and one pair of trousers is clearly marked with this and the name Milton. The patch on the right shoulder (combat service) is the 12th Infantry Division. The owner of the uniforms was an Infantryman, as indicated by a cap with light blue piping, also part of the uniform collection. The uniforms came from a home near Jacksonville Florida. The property owner gave the uniforms to my brother for pest control services he rendered to the home.
Assumption:
Research proceeded under the assumption that the owner was a member of the 12th Infantry Division during WW2 and having the patch on the right shoulder indicated combat service. Knowing the history of the 12th Infantry Division, I believed the owner survived the fighting in the Philippines but was possibly a POW as almost all surviving 12th Infantry Division soldiers were. There are seven stripes on the lower right sleeve which I believe indicates three years, six months overseas. (Could some of this be POW time?)
Research:
Research of the National Archives database for a man named Milton who also was a POW to Japan forces and a member of the 12th Infantry Division located a man named Glenn Milton.
Please Wait...
Glenn Milton was an Infantryman in the Philippine Division U.S. Army, a member of A Company, 31st Infantry Regiment organized under the 12th Infantry Division in the Philippines during WW2. He was an American defender of Bataan and Corregidor. He held the rank of Corporal as a Prisoner of War at Osaka Main Camp Chikko Osaka 34-135. Research stated Corporal Glenn Milton was returned to military control, liberated or repatriated.
Most startling of all
his service number matched the laundry mark of the uniforms. His service number was 6285943. In 1946 he enlisted/reenlisted again to serve three years in the Hawaiian Department in the National Guard regular army, Infantry. The left shoulder patch on the uniforms is from the Ryukyu Islands.
NARA - AAD - Display Full Records - World War II Prisoners of the Japanese File, 2007 Update, ca. 1941 - ca. 1945
NARA - AAD - Display Full Records - Electronic Army Serial Number Merged File, ca. 1938 - 1946 (Enlistment Records)
Nationwide Gravesite Locator records the following:
MILTON, GLENN
MSGT US ARMY
WORLD WAR II, KOREA
DATE OF BIRTH: 05/05/1914
DATE OF DEATH: 09/30/1978
BURIED AT: SECTION 39 SITE 104, BEAUFORT NATIONAL CEMETERY, BEAUFORT, SC 29902
Genealogy.com information confirms the same birth and death and records his last known location as Jacksonville Florida...exactly the area where the uniforms came from.
It is amazing how fun research can be. I hope to locate more military records and possible a photo of this fine hero to confirm the collection.
