Conway
Maurice Conway – DIED AS POW WWII
Brother of Leo M. Conway who resided in Chicago, Illinois.
Maurice served as a Private First Class, Headquarter’s Squadron, 19th Bomber Group, Heavy, U.S. Army Air Force during World War II.
He resided in Cook County, Illinois prior to the war.
He enlisted in the Army Air Corps on May 23, 1941, prior to the war, in Seeley, California. He was noted, at the time of his enlistment, as being employed in amusements and also as Single, without dependents.
He became a POW of the Japanese Army in the “Fall Of The Philippines” in April-May, 1942.
Maurice “Died While A POW” of the Japanese Army at POW Camp 4 – O’Donnel Tarlac Luzon Philippines 15-120 during the war.
He was awarded the Prisoner Of War Medal and the Purple Heart.
The POWs at Camp O’Donnell died in large numbers for a number of reasons. Japanese soldiers rarely surrendered and held those who did in contempt.
The Japanese soldier was the product of a brutal military system in which physical punishment was common and so they treated the POWs accordingly. Moreover, the Filipino and American soldiers arriving at Camp O’Donnell were in poor physical condition and had survived on short rations for several months. Many were suffering from malaria and other diseases.
The Japanese had made little provision for the treatment of prisoners and were surprised at the large number that they captured. They had believed the force opposing them in Bataan was much smaller and that the prisoners would number only about 10,000, rather than the 70,000 or more who were actually captured.
The Japanese were unprepared to provide the POWs with adequate food, shelter, and medical treatment. Japanese military leadership was inattentive to the POWs and were preoccupied with completing their conquest of the Philippines. Moreover, the Japanese declined to treat the POWs in accordance with the Geneva Convention of 1929, which Japan had signed but had not ratified
Camp O’Donnell was a notorious Imperial Japanese Army World War II prisoner-of-war (POW) camp in the Philippines, primarily used to house American and Filipino soldiers who survived the Bataan Death March in April 1942. Known for its horrific conditions and high death rates, it became synonymous with suffering and death.
Key Facts About Camp O’Donnell
Location: The camp was located in the municipality of Capas, Tarlac Province, on the island of Luzon, approximately 65 miles north of Manila. It was originally a partially built Philippine Army training camp.
Operational Period: The Japanese used it as a POW camp from April 1942 until it was effectively closed for American prisoners in June 1942 and fully closed in January 1943.
Conditions: Prisoners suffered from extreme overcrowding, malnutrition, lack of water and sanitation, rampant disease (such as malaria and dysentery), and physical abuse. The Japanese commandant, Captain Yoshio Tsuneyoshi, reportedly told arriving prisoners they were not recognized as POWs and would not be treated as such.
Death Toll: The conditions led to staggering mortality rates. Estimates suggest that around 1,500 American and over 26,000 Filipino soldiers died at Camp O’Donnell within a few months of its operation. The American death rate peaked at around 40-50 per day in late May 1942.
Transfer and Closure: In June 1942, the surviving American prisoners were transferred to Camp Cabanatuan, a different POW camp, while many Filipino prisoners were released on conditional parole.
Post-War: After the war, the site was recaptured by U.S. and Philippine forces in January 1945. The Capas National Shrine was later established on the site as a memorial to the American and Filipino soldiers who died there.
CONWAY (48 individuals)
US Navy (1946-1951)
Conway Genealogy
Genealogy (from Greek: γενεαλογία genealogia from γενεά genea, “generation” and λόγος logos, “knowledge”), also known as family history, is the study of families and the tracing of their lineages and history.