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| Brothers Ernest and Stanley Walsh both endured the Bataan Death March and died while prisoners of war. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/12336132/ernest-george-walsh https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/12336141/stanley-john-walsh |
Ernest George Walsh never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.
He was born on May 7, 1919 in Janesville, Wisconsin. His parents Arthur and Florence were also both born in Wisconsin. His father worked as a pen factory foreman. Ernest had two older twin brothers and one younger brother. All four brothers served in the military during the war.
Ernest and his younger brother by two years Stanley began serving in the Wisconsin National Guard in 1939. By 1940 their unit was federalized and both served in Company A, 192nd Tank Battalion. Ernest became a tech sergeant (later transferred to the HQ Company) and Stanley became a sergeant.They were sent to the Philippines in October 1941. The men were given a Thanksgiving dinner upon arriving at Clark Field. They watched helplessly as a Japanese air attack on December 8, 1941 destroyed nearly all the planes parked on the field.
After fighting under desperate conditions on the Bataan Peninsula, the Walsh brothers were captured and took part in the Bataan Death March.
Less than two months after the Americans in the Philippines surrendered, Ernest died on June 4, 1942 at the Camp O'Donnell prison camp. Stanley died on November 6, 1942 at Cabanatuan prison camp. More than half of the men in their unit never made it home.
Their family learned of Stanley's death in July 1943, but it would not be until November 1945 that the death of Ernest was confirmed.
The Walsh brothers' graves are side by side at Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Janesville, Wisconsin.
Last year on this date I profiled Pvt. Percival Hankins, 25th Infantry Division. You can read about Percival here.
On behalf of the fallen, if you would like to see more people become aware of this project to honor the WW2 fallen, be sure to share with others on Twitter, Facebook, etc. Thanks for your interest!
I created this video to explain why I started this project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXt8QA481lY.
Please consider joining the public Facebook group to increase the exposure of this project. Go to: WW2 Fallen 100
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