World War II Honoree

John R. Dale

Branch of Service

U.S. Marine Corps

Hometown

Blackwell, Oklahoma

Honored By

Mrs. John R. Dale

Relationship

Wife

Enlisted in the U. S. Marine Corps on September 13, 1939 and was discharged as a Platoon Sergeant on February 28, 1946. Served in San Diego, California from September 1939 until January 1941 when the First Battalion was transferred to Pearl Harbor with the purpose of fortifying the islands of Johnson, Palmyra and Wake. Served for nine months on Palmyra and after a short time in Pearl Harbor was transferred to Wake Island. Was captured on Wake on December 23, 1941. Boarded the Nita Maru in January 1942 and after 12 days in hole of the ship we landed at Woosung, China. Spent three years and three months in the Shanghai Area at two prison camps. We were placed aboard boxcars and traveled North across the great wall of China into Manchuria, then into Korea down to Pusan. We crossed the straits and boarded a train that took us to the Northern Island of Hokkiado. Was working as a coal miner when the war ended. Received the Presidential Unit Citation, Cross of Valor Medal, State of Oklahoma, United States Prisoner of War Medal, World War II Victory Medal, The Purple Heart Medal, Good Conduct Medal, Navy Expeditionary Medal, American Defense Medal, American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal and the Wake Island Medal.