World War II Honoree

George J. Eckhardt, Jr.

Branch of Service

U.S. Army

Hometown

Rochester, New York

Honored By

Orville L. Kline

Rank: Sergeant. Inducted into the United States Army from New York. After completing the required phases of his training, he was deployed to the Philippine Islands, and based at Camp John Hay Location: Baguio City, Luzon Island. He served with the Thirty-First Infantry Regiment, attached to the Philippine Army Division. His regiment participated in the Battle of the Philippines, the conquest of the Philippine Islands by the Imperial Japanese Armed Forces. While in retreat to the Bataan Peninsula, he was captured Thursday, April 9, 1942 during the ensuing Bataan Battle. The enemy subjected him to participate in the Bataan Death March, with incarceration at the Prisoner of War Camp #2 Davao, Mindanao Island. Sunday, August 20, 1944 he boarded the Japanese ‘Hell Ship’ Shinyo Maru Destination: Japan via Formosa. Reported Missing in Action or buried at sea Thursday, September 7, 1944, when the transport was torpedoed and sunk by the USS Submarine Paddle (SS-263), off the northwest coast of Mindanao Island. In remembrance of the Brave, his name is permanently inscribed in the Tablets of the Missing, memorialized at Manila American Cemetery and Memorial Location: Fort Bonifacio, Manila, Philippine Islands. In his Memory and Honor, this American Patriot received the following decorations posthumously: Bronze Star and the Purple Heart. The Bronze Star was awarded for Bravery, Act of Merit and Meritorious Service in combat, and the Purple Heart, for his Heroism and ultimate sacrifice.