World War II Honoree

Paul A. Fechner

Branch of Service

U.S. Army

Hometown

Mishawaka, Indiana

Honored By

Orville L. Kline

Rank: Private. On March 14, 1941, he entered the United States Army at Fort Benjamin in Harrison, Indiana. Deployed to the Philippine Islands, Southwest Pacific Theater of Operations where he served with the Corps of Engineers assigned to Able Company, 803rd Aviation Battalion. Assigned to a Provisional Infantry Company, he participated in the Battle of the Philippine Islands (Battle Dates: December 8, 1941-May 8, 1942), the conquest of the Philippine Islands by the Imperial Japanese Army and Naval forces. While his unit was retreating to the Bataan Peninsula on Luzon in the Battle of Bataan, the Japanese captured him April 9, 1942. His captors subjected him to participate in the Bataan Death March and held in captivity at the Prisoner of War Camp #1 Cabanatuan Nueva Province, Luzon for 85 days. On July 3, 1942, he died of unknown causes and buried in a common grave along with seven other prisoners in the Cabanatuan Prisoner of War Cemetery. On February 17, 1950, they reinterred the eight Soldiers in a group burial at the Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in Saint Louis, Missouri. This Soldier, an American Patriot, so gallantly gave up his life in the service of his country.