#27. The Truth behind This Iconic Bataan Death March Photo

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In this iconic Bataan Death March photo, Pvt. Samuel Stenzler, Pvt. Frank Spear, and Capt. Jim Gallagher listen to a Japanese guard, shortly after their capture on Bataan peninsula in April 1942.

On the morning of April 8, 1942, three American servicemen were on their knees, hands tied behind their backs, on Bataan Peninsula.

They had been captured the evening before, and so dawned their first day of captivity as prisoners of Japan.

The 3 men looked upwards at a Japanese officer standing above them. The officer questioned them through an interpreter.

 “What unit are you part of? Where are the rest of the men?” The officer asked.

27-year-old Jim Gallagher – a US Army infantry captain with red hair, a diamond-shaped face, a strong chin, and dirt streaks down a newly shaven face, replied: “According to the rules of International Warfare, I am only required to give my name and rank at this time.”

The Japanese officer looked at him for moment, then reached his hand forward and slapped Captain Gallagher across the face – not once, but 3 times.

Gallagher glared at the man in defiance but spoke no more words.

Around 7 am, the Japanese guards ordered the three men and the other 15 captured Filipino and American servicemen into two columns, placing Gallagher at the front of one column to set the marching pace.

The hungry men had had no food that morning as they began the day’s 10-hour march. It was just the beginning of what would become known as the Bataan Death March.

The Iconic Bataan Death March Photograph

On April 8 or 9, 1942, a Japanese soldier took a photograph that has become, perhaps, the most iconic Bataan Surrender/Death March photograph. The black and white photo centers on 3 American soldiers, their hands tied behind their backs, sitting side by side on a bank of dirt with bamboo behind them. In the background are unbound Filipino soldiers, whose faces can barely be made out. On the very right of the image, you can see the legs and torso of a Japanese guard. The guard’s left hand rests on a canteen at his waist.

We see mainly the profiles of the three American soldiers. The one closest to the camera is Samuel Stenzler – a 46-year-old with thinning, balding hair on his crown and a sharp, fairly prominent nose. He sits on the bank, his extended legs sloping down in front of him. He has a bag on his lap that dangles from a string looped around his neck. We see only his profile, but he appears—at least to me—calm and peaceful, almost complacent as he looks toward the Japanese guard.

Next to him is Frank Spear, his legs crossed at the ankles, and looking off into the distance toward the background of the photo. 24-year-old Frank has a square jaw, that became rounded when his wide smile pushed up his cheeks. But Frank wasn’t smiling in this photo. We see only his profile, and he looks…agitatedly bored.

Next to Spear is Captain Jim Gallagher. Jim’s legs are crossed at the knees, and his eyes are looking forward and slightly upwards, seemingly toward the guard’s face. Jim’s face is streaked with dirt, especially in the nose and mouth area, with a long streak coming from just below his right eye down his cheek. The expression on Jim’s face is pure loathing and defiance.

This photograph has become one of the most well-known photos of the Bataan Death March—and it freezes in time a single moment of the excruciating journey. But what about these men – who are they and what happened to them?

Samuel Stenzler’s Early Life

The photo’s three men came from very different backgrounds.

Samuel Stenzler was, at age 46, the oldest of the men. He was born in Tlusty, Austria – which may have been part of Poland or the Austria-Hungarian Empire when he was born. That area of Europe had so much political upheaval and boundary changes in the late 1800s, that it’s kind of confusing to nail down the precise country. Today, as far as I’m seeing, Tlusty part of the Ukraine.

But most the documents about Samuel state he was born in Austria – so that’s what we’ll go with. Also, his birthdate is either September 15, 1893 or 1895 – the date changes depending on the source. A couple of sources even state 1890 as his birth year. This date shifting isn’t uncommon in immigrant records of the late 1800s and early 1900s, as frustrating as it is.

Samuel was one of at least 4-5 children born to Movel Stenzler. I don’t know Samuel’s mother’s name. The Stenzler family was Jewish. Jewish immigrants coming from Eastern Europe in the late 1800s/early 1900s are notoriously difficult to research – mainly due to name changes and misspellings of both their personal names and the locations they came from. I’m quite proud of myself for tracking down Samuel’s father’s name – it took some digging.             

15-year-old Samuel arrived at New York on September 5, 1907, on board the USS President Lincoln, with 2 sisters, ages 21 and 18. They had sailed from Hamburg, Germany. They would have gone through Ellis Island upon arrival at New York. Interestingly, 1907, the year Samuel went through Ellis, was the immigrant processing center’s busiest year of traffic with more than 1 million arrivals.

I wasn’t able to track Samuel in New York City once he arrived. But in May 1915, at age 21, he enlisted in the US Army, 17th Cavalry – which was stationed at Ft. William McKinley – in Manila. He served as Troop M’s bugler, earned the rank of Corporal, and was honorably discharged in April 1918. April 1918 was in the middle of WW1, so Samuel’s station location and the discharge date suggest to me that he didn’t serve in Europe during WW1.

After leaving the Army, he settled in San Antonio, Texas. Two years later he became a US citizen, was working as a clerk, and was not married.

By the early 1930s, he had moved to Kilgore, Texas, where he worked as a life insurance salesman and was active in the American Legion. I’ve found his name in several newspaper articles from the 1930s about the American Legion in Kilgore. Just his name. And, unfortunately, that’s about all the newspaper coverage I’ve found about Mr. Samuel Stenzler.

In February 1940, 22 years after leaving the service, Samuel re-enlisted in the US Army. He was 44 years old and became a Private, which I thought was interesting because he was discharged as a Corporal in before. The military enlistment record says he was a widower at this time – but I’m not sure whether to believe that because it also said he was 9 feet tall and weighed 900 pounds. He didn’t.

So I’m not sure if he ever married or had children. I suspect not because there’s no hint at a marriage in any record except the military enlistment—which is suspect.

A month after re-enlisting, he was stationed at Ft. MacArthur in San Pedro, California, and sometime after that he was sent to The Philippines.

Frank Spears Early Life

Frank Spear was the youngest of the group – just days from turning 23 when he was captured on Bataan. Frank’s early life is, um, involved.

Frank Spear with his mother and brother. Honestly, I’m not certain which of the two boys is Frank (aka Floyd Cantrell Pruett Jr.) Some online family trees mark the son on the left as Frank; other the son on the right.

Frank Spear was born Floyd Cantrell Pruett Jr in Phoenix, Arizona, on April 15, 1919. He was the oldest of 2 sons born to 28-year-old Floyd Pruett Sr and 18-year-old Leola Krebs Pruett. Sometime in the 1920s, Floyd Sr and Leola divorced.

In April 1930, 11-year-old Floyd Jr (that’s our Frank) and his 9-year-old brother Allan lived at the Maude B Booth Home for Boys and Girls in Los Angeles. The Maud B. Booth Home for Boys and Girls was a home for orphans, delinquent children, and those whose parents couldn’t afford to keep them at home (for example a mother might place her children in the home so she could work while the father was incarcerated or otherwise absent from the home).

I don’t know why the Pruitt children were at the Home. Their mother Leola was living in Los Angeles in the late 1920s. By April 1930, though, when the kids were in the home, Leola was living with her second husband in Phoenix, Arizona. I believe that their father Floyd Sr. was living in Los Angeles in the 1920s-30s.

By 1937, Floyd Jr was back in Phoenix, where he graduated high school. That July, his mother married her third husband in Denver, Colorado, and I believe both her sons lived with her there. In December 1937, 18-year-old Floyd Jr was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Colorado.

But by early 1940, Floyd Jr and his again-single mother were lodgers at a home in Kansas City, Missouri. By this time, he was going by the name “Frank Spear.” And here’s how I learned of the name change.

Around 11:14 pm on February 22, 1940, a motorist spotted the body of a young man on a highway outside of Sedalia, Missouri. He waved down a policeman and

“reported seeing a man they believed was dead on the slab. The patrolman drove on to the place and found the boy, lying on the slab about two feet from the center. They worked with him, found he was breathing, and brought him to … the county jail for the night.”

At some point, the young man became conscious, and told them his name was Frank Spear. The police believed he had collapsed on the highway because he was severely weakened by hunger.

When questioned by police the next day, Frank told them that his real name was Floyd Cantrell Pruett, but that his father was dead and his stepfather who lives in Ajo, Arizona, is named Spear.

Just a quick fact check here — Frank’s birth father – Floyd C. Pruett Sr. – was alive at this time and HE lived in Ajo, Arizona, with his 2nd wife. Floyd Jr./Frank’s mother was single in 1940, so he didn’t have a legal stepfather at the time. And, I haven’t found any record that Floyd Jr/Frank never had a stepfather named “Spear.”

So…I’m not certain where the last name “Spear” came from. Or the first name Frank for that matter. At some point Lloyd Pruett Jr began going by Frank Spear.

It was a lot easier to change your name back there. Not much, if any paperwork required. And how thankful I am for this random newspaper article – without which, I wouldn’t have been able to link Frank Spear with Lloyd Pruitt. Around 1940 records for Lloyd stop and records for Frank begin.

Also, I’m fascinated by Frank’s mother’s story. She had 4 husbands from what I’ve found and seemed to work menial jobs to keep her sons with her. I don’t know her whole story, but her life must have been…difficult.

Well, Frank further told the officers that

“He was on his way home he said, from New York, to which place he had hitch-hiked, to have an audition in Major Bowes studio. He was given the audition, he said, remained in New York just four hours, and started back to Kansas City and was [hitch-hiking] his way home when he collapsed.

“The youth said he had been selected as one of the twenty-five best singers in high school, having a high tenor voice. When in New York he said he was told that he would receive a letter in about a week from the Major Bowes studio, and that he would be given a place on his program, possibly not for a month or six weeks as their programs are planned so far ahead.”

The Missouri officers then fingerprinted and released Frank. His home was 90 miles/145 km from Sedalia where he passed out, so I think releasing him was an interesting move. I mean, he’d passed out in the street the night before due to hunger from walking. Maybe they could have called his mother?

I’m honestly not certain what to make of this story. It seems so strange to hitch-hike to New York, stay 4 hours, then hitch-hike back to Missouri.

BTW—Major Bowes was a radio personality who hosted the Major Bowes Amateur Hour, a popular amateur talent show radio program.

Well, 8 months later, Frank was living in Hooper, Utah, working for the Civilian Conservation Corps (or CCC). The CCC workers at this camp worked on the Ogden Bay Refuge, which today is called the Ogden Bay Waterfowl Management Area.

On August 13, 1941, while still in Utah, Frank enlisted in the US Army and was assigned to the ominous-sounding Chemical Warfare Service. He received 60 days of military training and in October 1941 sailed to The Philippines.

Jim Gallagher’s Early Life

Sailing to Manila at approximately the same time was 27-year-old Jim Gallagher.

Portrait of Lt. James “Jim” Gallagher, ca 1941.

James McDonnell Gallagher was born in Philadelphia on October 18, 1914, to Joseph and Katharine Gallagher.  He was the youngest of at least 6 siblings. The Gallagher family, unsurprisingly, were Irish and Catholic. Jim grew up in the family’s stately multi-story brick home in Philadelphia. I don’t know the wards or neighborhoods of Philadelphia – at all. But I located the home using Google Maps street view, and it seems to be in an area of the city that looks almost…suburban, with detached homes and yards on all sides of the houses.

Father Joseph worked as cigar manufacturer, as an advertising agency solicitor, and then as a post-master. And he must have done very well because the family home was worth $50,000 in 1930 (which was an expensive home for the time), and they also had live-in servants.

While growing up, young Jim: “had been passionately devoted to athletics, both as a participant and as a spectator. Anything in the field of competition aroused his deepest interest.”

I believe it his father wrote that statemen, although the source isn’t clear exactly who the writer was.

That interest in sports would form his career after he graduated from Georgetown in 1936, at which time he was also commissioned as a 2nd Lt in the US Army Infantry Reserve. The newly graduated 21-year-old returned to Philadelphia and started working for the Philadelphia Record, which was, at the time one, of Philly’s leading newspapers.

At first he solicited classified ads, then became a cub reporter working on the Police, Courts and Federal activities beats. But eventually he got the position he really wanted: he became a sports reporter. During his time, he

“wrote a series of articles for the “Record” called “Dinny the Dub,” which described the frustration of an ardent duffer in such widely separated endeavors as playing goalie on a ladies field hockey team to fighting a leading light heavyweight contender.”

A couple 1940’s slang translations here – a “dub” is fool and a “duffer” is an incompetent or stupid person, someone who is inexperienced at something, especially at playing golf.

From what I gather about this article series, Jim would try a variety of sports in his guise as Dinny, then write humorous articles about the experience. Whether Jim was unfamilied with the various sports he tried or was pretending, I’m not sure.

In fact, for someone who wrote newspaper articles for a living, I have found surprisingly few newspaper articles about him. I SO wanted to find and share an article written by him. But the Philadelphia Record newspaper doesn’t seem to be digitized, and beyond that I can’t locate where the archived copies are housed.

So, in a podcast episode that is heavy on newspaper article quotes, I haven’t found a single article written by this sports writer. I think that’s what we call…ironic. Don’t ya think?

But Jim doesn’t seem to have been just a farse writer.

“Jim’s great desire and earnest aim was to be a serious writer. He devoted a portion of every day training for this goal. This was his life when in October 1940 he was called to active service.”

Again, I don’t know for certain, but I think Jim’s father wrote that.

the next year, Jim was in training at Ft. Bragg in North Carolia and possibly in South Carolina. In fall of 1941, he visited the Philadelphia Record’s office. A newspaper article described the visit:

“It came as a great surprise to learn that Jim was a reserve officer, United States Army. He came into the office one day in October of [1941], in uniform. A first Lieutenant’s bars were on his shoulders. … He looked like a soldier. He was a soldier. One of the younger reporters said: ‘Gee, when I’m drafted, I’d like to be in Jim’s platoon.’”

Just a quick note: I will quote from a few Philadelphia Record newspaper articles, despite what I said above about not being able to find archives for The Record. These articles were clippings I found in a book of Jim’s letters that his family published. Just want to clarify that.

And then, Jim was off to The Philippines, stopping in Hawaii and Guam along the way. He arrived in Manila on November 20, 1941. For the first week or so, he and his unit didn’t have a specific assignment, so he enjoyed sightseeing in Manila and buying (and shipping) Christmas presents for his family. He described them in detail in a letter home to his father.

Jim in The Philippines

By November 30, he was assigned to the Philippine Army’s Northern Luzon force. He wrote to his father:

“As I mentioned before we are to be instructors in the native army and will have direct command. Our job is to check on the Philippine officer most of whom are inexperienced.”

I haven’t discussed the Philippine Army in detail very much so far. The Philippine Army was The Philippines’ national army. It was separate from the US Army until summer 1941 when President Roosevelt, anticipating a threat from Japan, placed (most of) the Philippine Army under the umbrella of the US Forces in the Far East. That’s an official name. Or USAFFE for short.

(Don’t confuse the Philippine Army with the Philippine Scouts, which I’ve focused on in several episodes. The Scout units were part of the US Army and had been around since the early 1900s. They were highly trained and expert soldiers.)

The Philippine Army was established in 1936, so it was still relatively new when the war began. And, as I understand it, many of the men serving in late 1941 were reservists. The men in the Philippine Army (especially in the reserves) were – unfortunately – often under trained and armed with sub-par equipment (for example at least some units fought with outdated WW1-era rifles).

Thus when Lt. Jim Gallagher arrived in Manila in November 1941, it was apparent that the Philippine Army leadership needed some training – so Jim and others were ordered north to join the Philippine Army forces in Northern Luzon. (Specifically, he was assigned to the 33rd Infantry Regiment, 31st Infantry Division, which was a reserve unit that had been called into active duty.)

But, as it turns out, there wouldn’t be much time for training – as Japanese forces attacked The Philippines on December 8, 1941 – so just 8 days after Lt. Gallagher had received orders to go train their leaders.

I believe Gallagher would have been stationed near Baguio at the start of the war.

WW2 Begins

Also stationed near Baguio at outbreak of war, was Austian-native Samuel Stenzler. He was part of the US Infantry Regiment on Luzon Island, which is the Philippines’ main island.

Pvt. Frank Spear, the youngest of the three men, was part of the 4th Chemical Company, which was part of the Far East Air Force. I’m not certain where Spear was stationed when the war started. And I don’t know what his unit did as part of the chemical warfare services for the Air Corps. I can’t find any information about his unit. Maybe that…classified?

When the Far East Air Force was all but decimated during the first few weeks of the war, most FEAF servicemen joined the American infantry units on Bataan. So, although I don’t have specific information about Pvt. Spear, I believe he joined the infantry fighting forces on Bataan.

Regardless of where they spent the first few weeks of the war, by early January 1942, all three men had withdrawn to Bataan Peninsula with their assigned units.

Jim Gallagher’s Letters from Bataan

While on Bataan, Lt. Jim Gallagher, the sports writer, wrote several letters to his father. On February 16, he told his father:

“All in all we are not badly off. [I] am acting as Executive or second in command [of the battalion]. Our boys are green but some do exceedingly well.”

On February 24, Jim told his father:

“Boy, my voice has grown very loud and I am most explicit. In short, I am a very rough guy to deal with right now. I even look rugged. I have, believe it or not—a flowing very red beard and practically no hair. (My razor blades have given out, but we have a barber.)

“Big news! Big news! You now have in your family a full-fledged United States Army Infantry CAPTAIN. The promotion came through effective the 20th.

“We have had a lot of very pretty rumors lately, but have our fingers well crossed [that they’re untrue]….You hear the most fantastic stuff, most of which falls flat….We are all anxiously waiting to hear what Roosevelt has to say today. It will be a few days before we do so. I hope it is plenty juicy.

“Hear vague reports that this particular bit of jungle…called Bataan has become somewhat famous back in the US. … It sure seems funny to us here. We are a most disreputable and unwashed looking crew, who are most hungrily looking forward to the first meal we will have in Manila—God willing.”

He then goes on to describe, in detail, the milkshakes, steaks, and other food he’s dreaming of. From many of the first-hand Bataan accounts I’ve read – the servicemen and women there often fantasized about food.

Soon there after, Jim wrote another letter to his father.

“Meant to mention it before but just wanted to tell you that I took out a $10,000 insurance policy in your favor the other day.

“You probably read about the Jap shelling [of] the California refinery. As the story goes, General McArthur [sic]has sent a cable to the commanding general of the Corps Area of Which California is a part. [In it MacArthur said]: ‘Hold out for 90 days and we’ll get aid to you.’

“They tell of capturing a Jap Lieutenant, with a dairy on his person. He said among many other things the he had fought two years in China, but never experienced anything like the ‘hell the American Artillery gave him.’”

Amid their increasing hunger and sickness and the decreasing morale on Bataan, the men, as Jim points out, had a few laughs and high moments. But, all in all, the situation on Bataan was dire.

Bataan Peninsula Surrenders

On April 3, 1942, Japanese forces mounted a huge assault on the Bataan front lines near the US stronghold of Mt. Samat. All three men fought with their units in this area. As the US lines crumbled, American and Filipino servicemen near the front lines began retreating southward. Bataan surrendered 6 days after the initial assault, on April 9, 1942.  

And this is where the iconic photograph comes in. This photo was taken on April 8 or 9, 1942. Sources, even the ones that should be the most factually correct and official, say it was taken on April 9. However, first-hand accounts of the surrender state that these 3 men were POWs on April 8, a full day before official surrender on April 9. Thus, the photo could have been taken on April 8.

A Sgt. Emanuel Hamburger later wrote:

“I first encountered [Capt. Gallagher] early the morning of April 8, 1942. He evidently was captured the evening before. He and two others, Frank Spears and Sam Stenzler were being questioned by a Japanese officer through an interpreter. The whole (time) the three were on their knees and all looked pretty woozy. During the questioning I overheard your son tell the Japs that according to the rules of International Warfare he was only required to give his name and rank at this time. He was slapped in the face by the Jap officer about three times.

“In this area there were about six of us Americans and about 12 Filipino soldiers who had been captured in the Mt. Samat area, on the front line.”

Based on this first-hand account, it seems that Gallagher, Stenzler, and Spear were captured on the evening of April 7, 1942, near the disintegrated front line. Also, don’t you just love Jim Gallagher’s defiance – “I don’t have to tell you more than my name and rank.” Of course, the consequence of that defiance was just the beginning of the tortures awaiting the captured men.

I don’t know if the questioning Hamburger describes here was when the iconic picture was taken. In another letter, Hamburger later describes seeing the three men on their knees because they were talking to a Japanese officer who was sitting on a bank of dirt. By kneeling, the three men were eye level with that officer. That interaction happened on the early morning of April 8.

In the picture, Spear, Stenzler and, Gallagher are the ones sitting on a bank, with hands tied behind their backs, and looking up at a Japanese soldier/guard.

So maybe the photo was taken at a completely different time and place. Or perhaps the scene Hamburger described is when the picture was taken, and the specific details of Hamburger’s memory are wrong. I haven’t been able to determine for certain.

Jim Gallagher’s Final Moments

Well, Hamburger gives the best account of what comes next, so I’ll leave that to him:

“Around 7 a.m. [on April 8] we were lined up prepared to march. [Captain Gallagher] and I were placed in front of the column to set the pace. We marched all day until about 5 p.m. … we were placed under a large Mango tree and the Japs gave us some hot tea and a small sack of cakes for each two men.

“Capt. Gallagher and I split one bag which had 34 small cakes. He insisted I take them all as he didn’t care to eat. He was pretty much weakened after the day’s march without food, most likely not having any food the previous day. While we were sitting there he went out [of] his head for a few seconds. I asked him what was the matter and he replied, “I wish I knew.” From all appearances he was full of malaria.

“At the start of the march Jim appeared as normal as any of us. We were all somewhat weakened and hungry. He didn’t mention anything about feeling badly and seemed OK until at the end of the march that evening.

“After we had rested around an hour we were placed on trucks and were taken to Balanga, capitol of Bataan. We were locked up in the basement of a large dwelling and kept there all nite. There were about a hundred Filipinos and one more American there when we arrived. During that evening and early the next morning [Capt. Gallagher] passed out several times. I had some aromatic spirits of ammonia which I held under his nose which seemed to revive him. We had a few quinine tablets which he also took.

“The next morning [April 9] the Japs fed us some rice and canned fish, but [Gallagher] wouldn’t eat; he appeared to be too exhausted.

“After breakfast we loaded on trucks and left for Orani. Capt. Gallagher had to be lifted in [to] the truck.

“We detrucked at Orani and were taken in a building, formerly a public market, and were required to fill out some blank forms. During that period, around an hour, Jim was lying on his back [and seemed to be asleep] and Frank Spear was trying to take care of him.”

“When we were ordered back on the trucks [Gallagher] couldn’t get up, so Frank Spear picked him up with a fireman’s carry and started for the truck. At this time the Japs ordered Spear to take him across the road and into a small shack.

“Spear came back just before the trucks pulled out, about ten minutes. He sat down beside me and told me that Capt. Gallagher died in that shack and that he searched him and took his billfold and identification tags. I told Spear he should leave one of the tags on him so he could be identified later, but just then the trucks pulled out and it was too late. Spear later told me he turned in the tags and billfold to an army chaplain….

“When I last saw him on Spears’ back I noticed his face was real purple and remarked that he needed medical attention, but under the conditions none was available. In my opinion, [Capt. Gallagher’s] death was due to malaria, malnutrition and exhaustion…[He] died about 12 noon April 9, 1942.”

Captain James “Jim” Gallagher was 27 years old. He died mere hours after that iconic photo was taken.     

You may have noticed Hamburger mentioned that Pvt. Frank Spear returned with Gallagher’s billfold and dog tags. Keep that in mind – we’ll come back to those items later.

Two days after his death, which no one in the United States knew about, Jim’s former employer, the Philadelphia Record, ran this story:

“A couple of desks away from where these lines are being written, Jim Gallagher once pounded away at a typewriter. Jim is a slender blue-eyed kid, and he’s so far away and we are all so helpless. … He was one of the gang. … He was one of us. Jim Gallagher was. Jim is over there, somewhere in what is left of the torment that for 96 days made a hell of a peaceful jungle. … There is no denying the fact that the battle of Bataan was a physical defeat… Yet it cannot be that the spirit of the men who fought for that little strip of land ever will be defeated. As long as there is a Bataan, it will be there. And some day it will rise again and the Stars and Stripes will proclaim anew that for which our buddy, Jim Gallagher, and his brothers in arms, fought.”

Over the next three years, the Japanese would definitely try their best to defeat the spirit of the men captured on Bataan.                            

Samuel Stenzler at Camp O’Donnell

The truck carrying Pvts. Stenzler and Spear left Orani, which was about 15 miles/28 km north of where the three men were captured. I don’t know where that truck took them. And I don’t know if they had to do more marching.

The “traditional” Bataan Death March route is along the eastern coastal road of Bataan northward to the city of San Fernando, where they were trained north to Camp O’Donnell. The POWs captured at the very southern point of Bataan had to march 65 miles/106 km to San Fernando. But when Pvts. Samuel Stenzler and Frank Spear left Orano on the truck (right after Gallagher had died) they were only 25 miles/41 km from San Fernando. So if Stenzler and Spear did have to march part of that, their march was much shorter than most Bataan Death march survivors.

Also, you might be wondering why they rode in trucks at all. Well. the Death March didn’t “officially” begin until April 10 – the day after surrender. While Gallagher, Spear, and Stenzler were riding toward Orani on the morning of April 9, Major General Ed King was surrendering to Japanese forces. So…my best guess is that on the morning of April 9, the Japanese leaders hadn’t decided to have the POWs march to San Fernando. In that sense, I suppose, Spears and Stenzler were … lucky?

But, regardless of whether they marched or were trucked, the two men were sent to Camp O’Donnel. I’ll cover this camp in detail in a few weeks – but conditions here were … inhumane. The men were sick and became more so as the torturous weeks there went on. Malaria and dysentery ran rampant.  Dysentery is a gastrointestinal disease that causes severe, bloody diarrhea. Patients get stomach cramps, bloating, fever, nausea, fatigue, and painful defecation. Left untreated it causes severe dehydration, which leads to death.

Death rates at Camp O’Donnell due to dysentery were astronomically high. And among those victims was 46-year-old Pvt. Samuel Stenzler. He passed away from dysentery on May 26, 1942 – about 7 weeks after Bataan’s surrender. He was buried in the Camp O’Donnell cemetery – Plot J, Row 2, Grave 6.

Frank Spear Transferred to Cabanatuan then Japan                                                                                                                          

In early June, the remaining American POWs at O’Donnell – Pvt. Frank Spear included – were sent to the Cabanatuan POW camps. Spear remained at Cabanatuan for nearly 1.5 years, and, during that time, he swore to an American officer (also a POW):

“That he saw the dead body of James Gallagher, Captain Infantry, who died at about 3 pm on April 9, 1942, near Orani, Philippine Islands.”

This affidavit is dated September 16, 1943, and included Frank’s signature at the bottom. The American officers in camp had foresight to keep such records of POW deaths. And without such records, we may not have details on the deaths of men who died during the Bataan Death March.

Shortly after giving this statement, Pvt. Frank Spear and 350 other men were transferred to Japan on board the hell ship Koho Maru. Hell ships were so named because of their hellish conditions.

He arrived at camp Niigata #5, on October 7, 1943. This camp was located near the city of Niigata on Japan’s main island’s western coast, and about 200 miles/320 km north of Tokyo. The prisoners at camp worked as laborers at the Niigata port and at a foundry.

After a year and 9 months at the camp, Spear attempted to escape from the camp in July 1945. I’m not certain how successful he was in the attempt, but he was recaptured. At first, he was confined to the camp’s penitentiary.

Then, on July 19, 1945, Pvt. Frank Spear was personally executed by the camp’s commandant, Lt. Tetsutaro Kato. One source about Niigata Camp’s deceased POWs states that Frank Spear was “beaten to death for walking out of gate in a delirious state of mind.”

In November 1945, Spear’s hometown newspaper reported:

“According to information given [by a fellow] prisoner at Niigata when Pvt. Spear was there, Pvt. Spear was taken with a group of other prisoners from the camp and shot.”

Still other sources state that Kato killed Spear with a bayonet. All of these sources are secondary sources – meaning derived from other people’s diaries or spoken words – so I don’t know which is correct. The bayonetting form of death was the most widely reported in US newspapers.

Despite all that – Spear’s official US military report of death states that he died of “Stricture of the Heart.” That diagnosis, at least as far as I can find on the interwebs, doesn’t seem to be an actual diagnosis. The word “stricture” means constriction. So, I guess that would translate to “constriction of the heart.”

However, I suspect this “official” death information was provided to the US military or the Red Cross by the Japanese government – which wouldn’t have put “bayonetted by Camp Commandant Kato” as the cause of death. Remember – the Japanese were trying to keep up appearances that they were treating the POWs well.

Frank’s body was cremated, and his remains were put in a marked box. He was 26 years old.

6 weeks later, on September 5, 1945, the Niigata camp was liberated by American forces. If only he could have withstood captivity for a bit longer…

After the war, his remains were returned to US control, and today he interred at the Manila American Cemetery in The Philippines.

War Trials for Spear’s Alleged Killer

Despite Pvt. Frank Spear’s “official” report of death, it obviously came out later than he was killed by the camp commandant, Lt. Tetsutaro Kato. After the war, the US interviewed former POWs to ascertain information about war crimes. And my suspicion is the true information about Spear’s death came out then.

After the war, the US arrested and held war crimes trials against individual Japanese leaders. One of the named leaders was Lt. Kato – specifically for the death of Spear. A newspaper reported that:

“Spears was bayonetted after his escape from a Niigata prison camp and his recapture. Kato also is accused of beating and kicking five other Allied internees, one of whom lost an eye.”

But Kato, apparently, became a fugitive. A December 1948 newspaper article reported he was “recently nabbed by the Japanese police after a three-year hunt.”

And US newspapers reported that Kato was charged with “ordering and participating in the bayoneting of Pvt. Frank Spear, 26, of Kansas City, Mo., in July 1945”

Kato pled not-guilty to the charges, but was found guilty and sentenced to execution in early 1949. However, 5 months later, Gen. Douglas MacArthur “Set aside the death sentence imposed on Lieut. Tetsutaro Kato, [and] ordered the case retried with the explanation that the military commission which tried Kato had admitted ‘prejudicial evidence without informing the defendant.’”

In June 1949, Kato’s second trial began in Yokohama, Japan. He was again found guilty of fatally bayonetting Frank Spear and sentenced to life imprisonment. But, a couple months later, that sentence was reduced to 30 years because of “Testimony from American prisoners of war that [Kato] tried to improve conditions at their camp. … Affidavits from American prisoners [say] Kato ‘acted beyond what his superior officers deemed necessary to assist the prisoners.’”

Kato was released just a few years later in 1952. He wrote a book about his war-time experiences called “I Want to Be a Shellfish,” which was made into two movies.

Searching for Jim Gallagher

While the American and Japanese authorities were hunting for Kato, sportswriter Jim Gallagher’s father, Joseph, was on a hunt of his own – for information about his son.

In April and May 1942, so mere weeks after the surrender, Jospeh wrote to the War Department seeking information about Jim. The War Department responded that they didn’t yet know the status of any individual servicemen from Bataan.

Information about everyone who had served on Bataan was slow in coming. The main reason was that US officials had to rely on information from enemy sources. If the enemy didn’t provide that information, the US officials wouldn’t know specific servicemen’s fates from April 9 onward. Most POWs’ families found out their loved ones’ status in late 1942/early 1943, after the Red Cross received information from Japanese sources.

Unfortunately, Jospeh Gallagher never received official word of his son’s status. Instead, those letters that Jim had written his father on Bataan, finally arrived at the Gallagher home. As her read them, Joseph had no idea his son was already dead.

Between the fall of Bataan and the war’s end, Jospeh Gallagher continued to write letters to anyone who might have information about the status of his son.      

In early 1943, her attempted to get information directly from Gen. MacArthur. One of the general’s secretaries responded:

“General MacArthur has asked me to answer your letter of inquiry concerning your son, Captain ames M. Gallagher. I regret to inform you that there is no information concerning him at this headquarters and the General does not recall any contact with him.”

In response to a June 1944 letter, the War Department stated:

 “It is regretted exceedingly that up to the present time no further report concerning Captain Gallagher has reached the War Department.”

On May 26, 1945, more than 3 years after his son’s death and as the war was coming to an end, Jospeh Gallagher received a telegram from the War Department:

“I am deeply distressed to inform you corrected report just received states your son Captain James McD Gallagher who was previously reported missing in action was killed in action on 9 April 1942 on Philippine Islands Period The Secretary of War asks that I express his deep sympathy in your loss and his regret that unavoidable circumstances made necessary the unusual lapse of time in reporting your sons death to you confirmation letter follows.”

In January 1945, the Cabanatuan POW camp was liberated, and, with that, US Officials got access to Frank Spear’s affidavit regarding Capt. Jim Gallagher’s death. Thus, that document became the official report/record of Gallaher’s death.

Not long after word of Jim’s death reached his family, Jim’s former employer the Philadelphia Record wrote:

“We of The Record can never forget “Young Jim.” To his father, Postmaster Jospeh F. Gallagher, we can offer a sympathy that at least has an understanding of the fine qualities and the greatness of his son. It is from the lives of so many Young Jims that victory for America has been achieved.”

The Search for Jim Gallagher’s Remains

But news of his son’s death didn’t end Jospeh Gallagher’s search.

You’ll recall Sgt. Hamburger’s account of Jim’s death from earlier. That account was in a letter written to Jim’s father. The account states that his body was left in a shed near the Bataan town of Orani and that Spear handed over Jim’s billfold and dog tags to a chaplain.

Armed with that information – Jospeh mounted a 4-year campaign to identify his son’s remains as well as to obtain that billfold.

He wrote letter after letter to anyone who might be able to help him: the Quartermaster General’s Office, his US senator, the mayor of Orani (where Jim died), and even the Catholic Archbishop of Manila. Joseph’s US senator sent multiple letters to various other military and war department sources.

Joseph’s letters – both before and after the war – show an anguished parent’s searching for any information about his son. And it’s heartbreaking to read through the letters, especially when they’re presented one right after the other, just begging anyone to help find his son. It’s tragic.

The Quartermaster General’s Office – the military office (at the time) charged with identification of soldiers’ remains as well as soldiers’ personal items — does seem to have attempted to locate Jim’s remains and his belongings.  But they never did.

And, honestly, both requests were probably impossible.

Regarding the billfold, Japanese soldiers stole anything of value from American and Filipino soldiers after surrender. Odds are the billfold was taken from the American chaplain by a Japanese soldier, and there’s absolutely no documentation of what would have happened to it after that.

Regarding Jim’s remains: Jim died on that chaotic day of surrender. And Spear had taken his dog tags, rather than leave them with Gallagher’s body. So, it was anyone’s guess what happened to the body of a deceased American POW with no identification.

After the war, some human remains believed to be American servicemen were exhumed in Orani (the barrio where Jim died). But none of these unknown remains matched Jim’s dental and other identifiers.

In 1948 a farmer near Orani was excavating an avocado tree and found human remains. The US Army dug around the area and found the bones, which were in very bad shape, described as “rotting,” because the avocado tree’s roots had grown into them. The remains seem to have been unusable for identification.

If only Spear had left one of the dog tags with Gallagher…

In 1949 – 7 years after his death – Jim Gallagher’s remains were declared non-recoverable, which remains his status to this day.

Searching for Samuel Stenzler’s Final Resting Place

The Quartermaster General’s Office, however, was able to locate and identify the remains of Austrian-native Samuel Stenzler. You’ll recall that he was buried at Camp O’Donnel. And thanks to meticulous record keeping by Americans at the camp, his grave was easily located after the war. Then dental records further confirmed the identity of Samuel’s remains.

The Quartermaster General’s office, however, had to spend time identifying…Samuel’s next of kin.

At first, a cousin of Samuel’s, who lived in Dallas, Texas, attempt to collect Samuel’s remains for reburial in the US.

There was quite a bit of back and forth between Harry’s attorneys and the QMG to obtain information about all of Samuel’s living blood relatives. That info was needed in order to determine exactly who was the next of kin – and thus had rights to his remains and possessions (and probably his back pay and insurance money).

As an FYI – rights to remains went in this order:

  1. Surviving widow
    1. Sons over 21 – in order of seniority
    1. Daughters over 21 – in order of seniority
    1. Father
    1. Mother
    1. Brothers over 21 – in order of seniority
    1. Sisters over 21 – in order of seniority
    1. Extended family

It didn’t pass my notice that son and brothers had next-of-kin rights before daughters and sisters. I’m side-eyeing that, but won’t say anything more…

Well, after several letters back and forth, the QMG learned that Samuel had a sister in Texas, a brother in New York City, another sister in Romania, and another brother in Brazil.

Eventually they determined that Sol Stenzler of NYC was Samuel’s eldest living brother, thus Sol had rights to determine where Samuel’s remains would rest – he chose the Long Island.

Thus, on October 18, 1949, Pvt. Samuel Stenzler’s remains were interred at Long Island National Cemetery on Long Island, New York – section H, site 9577.

So that’s the story, as far as I can find, behind the iconic Bataan Surrender Photo. None of the men survived the war. And that feels…especially tragic because of how well-known the photo has become.

But Spear, Stenzler, and Gallagher were just 3 of some 70,000 American and Filipino servicemen captured on Bataan and who would endure the Bataan Death March.

More on that next time.

This is Left Behind.

James Gallagher Sources
Frank Spear Sources
Samuel Stenzler Sources
  • Samuel Stenzler entry, “U.S., World War II Prisoners of the Japanese, 1941-1945,” database online: Ancestry.com, Provo, Utah, 2010, original data:  National Archives and Records Administration, World War II Prisoners of the Japanese File, 2007 Update, 1941-1945. ARC ID: 212383, World War II Prisoners of the Japanese Data Files, 4/2005 – 10/2007, ARC ID: 731002, Records of the Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor, Collection ADBC, ARC: 718969, National Archives at College Park. College Park, Maryland, accessed 8 August 2023.
  • Samuel Stenzler entry, “US, National Cemetery Interment Control Forms, 1928-1962,”; Stenzler, Samuel, Identification Data, Identification Section, Memorial Division, in Stenzler, Samuel, Individual Deceased Personnel File, digitized, PDF version, given to Anastasia Harman by John Eakin.
  • Stenzler entry, “U.S., World War II American and Allied Prisoners of War, 1941-1946,” database online: Ancestry.com, Provo, UT, 2005, original data: World War II Prisoners of War Data File [Archival Database], Records of World War II Prisoners of War, 1942-1947, Records of the Office of the Provost Marshal General, Record Group 389, National Archives at College Park, College Park, Md., accessed 8 August 2023.
  • Samuel Stenzler entry, 15 April 1918, San Antonio, Texas, “U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918,” database online: Ancestry.com, Provo, Utah, 2005, original data: United States, Selective Service System. World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration. M1509, 4,582 rolls. Imaged from Family History Library microfilm, accessed 8 August 2023
  • PVT Samuel Stenzler (1895-1942) – Find a Grave Memorial, accessed 8 August 2023.
  • Samuel Stenzler, 5 September 1907, New York, New York, “New York, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957,” database online: Ancestry.com, Provo, Utah, 2010, original data: Passenger and Crew Lists of Vessels Arriving at New York, New York, 1897-1957; Microfilm Publication T715, 8892 rolls; NAID: 300346; Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, Record Group 85; National Archives in Washington, D.C., accessed 8 August 2023.
  • Samuel Stenzler, “New York, U.S., Abstracts of World War I Military Service, 1917-1919,” database online: Ancestry.com, Provo, Utah, 2013, original data: New York State Abstracts of World War I Military Service, 1917–1919. Adjutant General’s Office. Series B0808. New York State Archives, Albany, New York, accessed 8 August 2023.
  • Samuel Stenzler, 15 April 1920, “Texas, U.S., Naturalization Records, 1852-1991,” database online: Ancestry.com, Provo, Utah, 2012, original data: Records of District Courts of the United States, Record Group 21; The National Archives at Fort Worth, TX, accessed 8 August 2023.
  • “Samuel Stenzler, War Victim, Was Here during Boom,” The Kilgore News Herald, Kilgore, Texas, 29 Oct 1947, page 4, onlinet Newspapers.com, accessed 8 August 2023.
  • Samuel Stenzler entry, 1936, “U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995,” database online: Ancestry.com, Provo, Utah, 2011, Original data, accessed 8 August 2023.
  • Samuel Stenzler entry, “US, World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946,” database online: Ancestry.com, Provo, Utah, 2005, original data: National Archives and Records Administration, Electronic Army Serial Number Merged File, 1938-1946 [Archival Database], ARC: 1263923, “World War II Army Enlistment Records,” Records of the National Archives and Records Administration, Record Group 64, National Archives at College Park, College Park, Maryland, accessed 8 August 2023; Stenzler, Samuel, Report of Death, 5 September 1945, part of Stenzler, Samuel, Individual Deceased Personnel File, digitized, PDF version, given to Anastasia Harman by John Eakin.
  • Stenzler, Samuel, Identification Data, Identification Section, Memorial Division, in Stenzler, Samuel, Individual Deceased Personnel File, digitized, PDF version, given to Anastasia Harman by John Eakin.
  • Samuel Stenzler entry, “U.S., Veterans’ Gravesites, ca. 17725-2019,” database online: Ancestry.com, Provo, Utah, 2006, original data: National Cemetery Administration, Nationwide Gravesite Locator, accessed accessed 8 August 2023; Stenzler, Samuel, Report of Death, 5 September 1945, part of Stenzler, Samuel, Individual Deceased Personnel File, digitized, PDF version, given to Anastasia Harman by John Eakin.
  • Stenzler, Samuel, Report of Death, 5 September 1945, part of Stenzler, Samuel, Individual Deceased Personnel File, digitized, PDF version, given to Anastasia Harman by John Eakin.
  • Stenzler, Samuel, Non-Battle Casualty Report, 31 August 1945, Stenzler, Samuel, Report of Death, 5 September 1945, part of Stenzler, Samuel, Individual Deceased Personnel File, digitized, PDF version, given to Anastasia Harman by John Eakin.
  • Stenzler, Samuel, Report of Internment, 4 January 1946, part of Stenzler, Samuel, Report of Death, 5 September 1945, part of Stenzler, Samuel, Individual Deceased Personnel File, digitized, PDF version, given to Anastasia Harman by John Eakin.
  • Samuel Stenzler entry, “U.S., Rosters of World War II Dead, 1939-1945.” database online: Ancestry.com, Provo, Utah, 2007, original data: United States, Army, Quartermaster General’s Office, Rosters of World War II Dead (all services), Washington, D.C.: U.S. Army, accessed 8 August 2023
  • Samuel Stenzler entry, “US, National Cemetery Interment Control Forms, 1928-1962,” database online: Ancestry.com, Provo, Utah, 2012, original data: Interment Control Forms, 1928–1962, Interment Control Forms, A1 2110-B, NAID: 5833879, Record Group 92, Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General, 1774–1985, The National Archives at St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, accessed 8 August 2023.

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