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| Pvt. Wesley Hoch preformed force labor on the Burma-Siam Death Railway while a POW of the Japanese army. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/44473803/joyce-wesley-hoch https://www.pinterest.com/pin/452330356315590875/ |
Joyce Wesley Hoch never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.
He was born on June 8, 1919 in Perryton, Texas. His parents Albert and Anna were born in Kansas and Oklahoma, respectively. His father died in 1920. Wesley had one older sister, and two younger half-brothers and a half-sister. His mother died in 1935. By 1940 Wesley had completed four years of high school and was working as a farm laborer while living with his mother's brother.
He joined the Texas National Guard and his unit was federalized on January 1, 1941, becoming the 2nd Battalion, 131st Field Artillery Regiment. This unit boarded transport on November 17, 1941 with a planned destination of the Philippines. However, once the war started, it was diverted to Java to help the Dutch defend it from the Japanese. It arrived there in January 1942. The Dutch were overwhelmed by the Japanese and surrendered after little resistance on March 8, 1942. With the Japanese Navy and Air Force in command of the sea and air, there was no way to withdraw the 2nd Battalion. After destroying their guns, all 562 men surrendered.
In October 1942, Pvt. Hoch was one of the men transported in the hold of a Japanese merchant ship to Burma. The Japanese believed in using prisoners as slave labor. Pvt. Hoch and his fellow artillerymen were sent to work building the Burma-Siam Death Railway, made famous by the Oscar winning movie The Bridge on the River Kwai. While 133 men from Pvt. Hoch's unit died building the railroad, Pvt. Hoch died of a tropical ulcer on August 25, 1943.
For nearly three years, no one knew what had become of the 131st Artillery Regiment's 2nd Battalion. It was given the name "The Lost Battalion."
His grave is at Ochiltree Cemetery in Perryton, Oklahoma.
Last year on this date I profiled railroader Newie Rushing and Robert Preston who went on to star in the musical The Music Man. You can read about Newie 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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