WWII

Carl Raymond Harrell

Rate / Rank
PFC

Birthdate
July 11 1920

Date of Death
October 24 1944

Branch
USAAC

Active Duty Service
September 15 1939 - October 24 1944

Conflicts & Campaigns

Philippine Defensive

Significant Duty Stations

Aviation gunner, 28th Material Squadron, 20th Air Base Unit, Nichols Field, Philippines

Decorations & Citations

POW Medal; Purple Heart; American Defense Medal; Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal

Notes

Taken prisoner by Japanese Forces in the Philippines, May 1942. Imprisoned POW Camp #10, Batangas, Luzon. Was loaded onto the Arisan Maru, a 6,886 ton cargo ship with 1781 other prisoners. The Arisan Maru was one of the ships referred to as hell ships because of the conditions endured by the prisoners living aboard. The ship sailed for Palawan, Philippines but returned to Manila Oct 20 and departed Manila for Japan Oct 21. Was torpedoed by the submarine USS Shark II (SS-314) in the Bashi Straits, South China Sea, (east of Hong Kong), Oct 24th 1944. Nine prisoners survived the sinking. Four recaptured, five made it to China, later to USA. Memorial marker: Piedmont Cemetery, Grady County, Georgia. Recorded: Tablet of the Missing, Manila National Cemetery, Manila, Philippines.