Tramble Oresta Armstrong
PFC Tramble O. “Army” Armstrong served with Item Company, Third Battalion, 4th Marines.
He escaped from Corregidor on 6 May 1942, and fought as a guerilla until captured near Tarakan, Borneo.
Branch
Marine Corps Regular
Service Number 277640
Current Status
Remains not recovered.
Pursuit Category
The DPAA has not publicized this information
History
Tramble Oresta – just “Oresta” in his youth – was born in Andalusia, Alabama to John Henry and Ida Mae (Jeter) Armstrong.[1] He grew up in Brewton, just north of the Florida state line, with four sisters – Allie, Ida, Romie, and Nonie – and a younger brother, Brenson Neal.[2] The Armstrongs lived at 209 Mill Road; fittingly, John supported his family by working as a lumber grader at a local mill.
Comparatively little is known about Armstrong’s life before he entered the Marine Corps. He attended the local schools at least through the sixth grade, earning a certificate of grammar school education in 1936. If he continued with his studies, he likely attended the T. R. Miller high school – but never had the chance to graduate. On 20 November 1939, Armstrong enlisted in the Marine Corps to serve a four-year hitch. It appears he was so eager to join up that he lied about his age – claiming to be eighteen when he may have been just fifteen years old. Within days, he was on his way to San Diego for recruit training.[3]
As far as the people of Brewton were concerned, young Armstrong was off for a life of adventure – “in Cuba, China, Hawaii, Guam, Philippines, Alaska, Panama,” explained the local paper, or on one of the “battleships, cruisers, and aircraft carriers of the U. S. Fleet.” The reporting proved to be accurate. After completing boot camp at San Diego (with an unsuccessful attempt at Sea School) and a few chilly months of guard duty at Puget Sound, Private Armstrong was assigned to overseas duty. He arrived at Cavite, Philippine Islands on 24 April 1940 and was placed on general duty at the Navy Yard’s Marine barracks.
Armstrong applied himself readily to this new life. He “turned out” for athletics with his buddies, started learning to play “git tar” and use a typewriter, and proudly resisted the temptation to smoke. It was all very exotic to the folks at home – where the local news revolved around when Brewton’s mayor would approve a plan to pave Mill Street, and whether or not the town council would ever agree on renaming the street.[4]
In mid-1941, the Cavite Marines were reorganized into the First Separate Marine Battalion. Tramble was promoted to private first class, and assigned to duty as an officer’s orderly. Although good at his job, he was not fully satisfied, as he explained in a laboriously typed letter to his mother:
When you get this I would like for you to tell me what you think about the idear of of this staying in for 20 years, just to get a pentition? I think that I can do better on the outside I want to try to get on as a highway patroalman and with this expearence in the M. C. I will have a good chance of makeing it. If I dont do that I might get a job on a ship at Pensicola or Mobile. If I don't do that I can try Guard's man at some big bank, you just don't know how many of these kind of jobs are helt down by ex-Marines, because they want military bearing men for these jobs and the Marine is suppose to be the most military man in any kind of service. I still like the M. C. though but I had much rather be indipendent if I can, and I also don't like being chained down. I want to be free to go when and where I please. The M. C. has given me a lots of confidence and I think it has been well worth the time I have put in it. But it is too slow for me. Mother in a way I don't know what I want, that's the reason I am asking you.[5]
Life in the Marines would soon accelerate far beyond Tramble’s wildest expectations.
Late in 1941, the 4th Marine Regiment – the famous “China Marines” – arrived in Cavite to help establish a defensive strategy in case of Japanese aggression. This influx of men strained the available space and resources of the Navy Yard. And then, on the morning of 8 December 1941 (local time), word came of the attack on Pearl Harbor. Within hours, Japanese bombers were overhead, pounding Cavite into burning rubble. Armstrong’s company deployed to the High Power Radio Station at Canacao, and suffered casualties in another bombing raid on 19 December. [6] From there, the First Separate Battalion traveled south to Mariveles on the Bataan peninsula, and on 26 January 1942 arrived at the island of Corregidor. There, they were absorbed into the 4th Marines as the new Third Battalion; Armstrong himself became a member of Item Company under the command of Major Max Clark.
Armstrong and his buddies endured months of brutal siege conditions on “the Rock” which increased in intensity after Bataan fell on 9 April 1942. Despair began to run through the garrison; a number of men committed suicide, while others resigned themselves to dying in action. Others, however, found wellsprings of determination to survive – even as the Japanese launched an overwhelming amphibious assault on the night of 5 May 1942.
At noon the next day, the Allied garrison surrendered and lay down their arms. The Japanese had control of the air, sea, and nearby shores; escape seemed impossible, but a handful of men dared to try. Platoon Sergeant Harry Pinto of the 4th Marines happened to be down by Breakwater Point on the miserable evening of 6 May 1942 and saw a handful of men struggling with a cabin launch. Pinto recognized Armstrong and Corporal Reid C. Chamberlain of Third Battalion, accompanied by some uniformed sailors and Filipinos sailing off in the direction of Cavite. He watched as the boat passed Fort Hughes, then turned and walked away. Rumors later reached Pinto’s ears that Japanese troops ambushed the boat and killed everyone aboard.
Pinto later told this story while held prisoner at Cabanatuan; with no other witnesses to contradict his tale, and with no reports of either Armstrong or Chamberlain held elsewhere as prisoners of war, the two Marines were determined to be dead. The requisite telegrams were sent in the summer of 1943; memorial services were held, and families began the laborious process of healing.
And then in 1944, the newspapers picked up the story of Reid Chamberlain’s daring escape. It was the stuff of swashbuckling movies: escaping from Japanese patrols, hiding out in the jungle, boat voyages from safe place to safe place, hit-and-run guerilla battles, and even a romance with a pretty Filipina nurse. Chamberlain and a small band made the treacherous trip to Australia where they were debriefed, decorated, and flown back the the United States as heroes – and to tell of the hellish conditions in Japanese prison camps. Several requested to be sent back to combat; Chamberlain was reassigned to the 3rd Marine Division, and was killed in action at Iwo Jima on 1 March 1945.[7]
It was a fascinating story by any measure, but for the Armstrongs of Brewton it was particularly important: Chamberlain had traveled with Tramble for a time, and knew him well. In 1945, parts of his story appeared in Leatherneck Magazine under the title “A Marine Guerilla’s Diary.”
Ten of us from Cass Battery discussed the surrender and believed there must be some way of escaping from the island. But later when we made our dash for freedom, there were only two of us: PFC T. O. Armstrong of Bruton [sic] Ala., and myself.
Armstrong is a tall, well-built blond Norwegian youth weighing about 180 pounds. He is a wild, cocky chap who thinks there isn't anything in the world he can't lick. However, he's very good-natured and loses his temper only when he's called "Swede." We always call him "Army."
Chamberlain related how he and “Army” reached shore and traveled together, hooking up with a group of fighters he judged to be little more than bandits. The two Americans operated together as lieutenants in the guerilla band until January 1943. Tensions between the two began to build and finally blew up in a loud argument.
I had felt that Army was taking too many unncessary chances – he wanted to travel through Jap-infested sectors during the daylight, and I had insisted tha twe should be more caution and that it was foolish to risk our necks unnecessarily. He began taunting me, saying I was scared. This made me angry, so I told him this was a good place to part company and we left each other. I believe both us us regretted the move, but were too proud to back down.
It was clear that Armstrong survived the trip from Corregidor – but still, no word of his whereabouts was officially forthcoming, and there was no motion to reverse the declaration of his death.
The story finally began to take shape in 1946, as former prisoners returned home. A letter to Ida Mae Armstrong from Major William F. Harris (USMC) fills in many of the gaps. Harris – formerly a first lieutenant of the 4th Marines – met “Army” and “Carlos” in June of 1942, after escaping from a Japanese camp. The two enlisted men were sheltering near Balayan, Batanges, on a plantation owned by the prominent Lopez family.[8] They hoped to sail to Australia, and spent a month making their preparations.[9] On 25 July, the Americans set sail in a boat provided and equipped by the Lopezes. Bad storms and poor winds hampered their progress, and when they arrived in Tabayas on 8 August it was decided to wait for better conditions.
Once again a sympathetic family – the Rosaleses – sheltered the Americans, and local guerilla forces helped procure supplies for the next step of the journey. A month passed, and the weather was not quite prevailing when an uptick in Japanese military activity forced the escapees to move on. Once again, “a great deal of trouble” on the journey caused delays and dismay before reaching Panay on 25 September. Exhausted by their trials, the Americans decided to “get a new boat and reorganize completely.”
On 14 November 1942, the party – now equipped with a 50-foot motor launch and seven new companions for a crew – departed from Panay. Lacking sufficient fuel to reach Australia, they hoped instead to reach friendly shores in China. This attempt, however, was almost their last.
We finally reached a point about halfway from Panay when our engine broke down. Unfortunately, we could not fix it, and so we rigged up a small makeshift sail.... We had so many storms. About 3 weeks out of Panay we ran out of food, 2 days later, we ran out of water. However, we made a still and made fresh water from sea water. Also, every now and then we would catch a fish or shoot a bird.
The voyagers managed to get as far as southern Palawan before giving up the enterprise. At this point, Harris relates, the group split apart. Armstrong and Chamberlain, accompanied by 2Lt. Paul Cothran (US Army), Sergeant Felix Tumolak, and Private Julian Flores (Philippine Army), wanted to find yet another boat and try again. Harris and the others headed off on foot to northern Palawan. While he never saw Armstrong alive again, Harris later followed “Army’s” path while making his own successful escape several months later, and was able to piece together some more information.
After buying and provisioning the next boat, the five men departed from Balabas in January 1943, hoping to reach Borneo. Inevitably, storms blew them astray and damaged their boat so badly that they had to pause at Banguey for repairs. From here, they proceeded south along Borneo’s eastern coast; Chamberlain left the group at some juncture, and went alone to Tawi-Tawi and his life as a guerilla fighter. With the boat now requiring almost daily repairs, the men landed at Sebatik Island in Borneo – territory controlled by a chief named Soliman, who harbored Japanese sympathies. Armstrong, Cothran, Tumolak, and Flores were duped, captured, and handed over to the Japanese military and imprisoned at Tarakan. When Harris passed the area in April 1943, he was told that the prisoners were still alive and treated “generally all right” by their captors.
The American Graves Registration Service obtained a statement from Major Harris, and used that evidence as a starting point in their search for Cothran and Armstrong. Interviews with former Dutch POWs held at Tarakan confirmed the presence of Sergeant Tumolak, Private Flores, and two unnamed Americans.[10] As confirmed escapees, they were kept strictly segregated from the rest of the population. One of the Americans – thought to be Cothran – reportedly died of dysentery. The other – Armstrong – was beheaded. Interviews with natives of Tarakan contained many rumors and piecemeal details, but no solid evidence to confirm a cause or date of death, or a potential burial site.
In 1948, the AGRS wrote up a report of its accumulated findings. After eight weeks of interviewing the population and digging through the sparse records captured with the camp, they concluded that “there are no living eyewitnesses, unless it be Japanese. Nevertheless, all Japanese officers of the former Tarakan prison camp have been executed according tothe records of the Dutch war crimes at Balikpapan, Borneo.” Isolated graves were exhumed to no avail; minuscule clues were followed into dead ends. “In view of the above facts,” they concluded, “it is believed that the remains of Lt. Cothran and PFC Armstrong are permanently lost. It is requested that authority be granted to discontinue active search for these remains.”
The recommendation was approved in 1949. Armstrong and Cothran were declared non-recoverable, and to date no additional information about their fate is known.
Tramble Armstrong has cenotaphs at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial and Pensacola Memorial Gardens, Pensacola.
A sample of the documents used in the Armstrong - Cothran case.
[1] Armstrong’s exact date of birth is somewhat difficult to verify. Marine Corps records show a date of 28 May 1921, while Census records and family genealogy point towards 15 December 1923. A gravestone in the Pensacola Memorial Gardens lists 11 December 1915 (which is not supported by Census documentation), and at least one newspaper account mentions that Armstrong was 25 years old in July 1943 – putting his birthday sometime in early 1921.
[2] Infant Romie died in 1919.
[3] As far as the Marine Corps knew, Armstrong was born in 1921. Lying about age to enlist was considered cause for investigation (and dismissal for fraudulent enlistment) – but recruiters and instructors often turned a blind eye if the young Marine was willing and capable enough.
[4] The winning name, “St. Nicholas Avenue,” was announced on 4 December 1941. This is still the name of the street today.
[5] Tramble Armstrong, undated letter found on Ancestry.com. All spelling as in the original document.
[6] Among the casualties were Corporal Melvin O. Tuley, Assistant Cook Walter J. Theise, and Private Raymond D. Ford, who are still unaccounted for.
[7] In a great and tragic irony, Reid Chamberlain has never been identified. Investigations into his case are ongoing.
[8] Don Sixto Castelo Lopez (whom Harris calls Senator Lopez) was a major campaigner for Philippine independence.
[9] A detailed account of this period may be found in Edgar D. Whitcomb’s Escape from Corregidor. Whitcomb, who arrived at the plantation with Harris, remembered how Armstong (“the silent one in our party”) found new interest in life whilst taking care of some newborn kittens on the plantation.
[10] H. A. van Seijl of the Netherland Indies Army stated that Tumalak and Flores were “mixed up” with Indonesian prisoners and survived their ordeal; both returned home to the Philippines after the war.
Next Of Kin Address
Address of parents, John & Ida Mae Armstrong.
Location Of Loss
Armstrong was last known to be a prisoner at Tarakan, Indonesia.
Comment from TF
7 June 2014
See Edgar T. Whitcomb “Escape from Corregidor” 1958 in which Armstrong is nicknamed “Army” Armstrong. According to Whitcomb, Armstrong along with William Harris {killed in Korean War} and Reid Carlos Chamberlain {killed on Iwo Jima} tried to escape Luzon across the sea in a power boat to China; after drifting 29 days they were washed back to the Southern part of the Phillippines where they split up to join various guerrilla bands. Alas his fate is unknown…
Reply on 7 June 2014.
Great story, TF! Thanks for sharing. Always enjoy your comments.
I ran across a few of the 4th Marines who joined up with guerrilla bands; one in particular (George Dorrell Davis) was fascinating. And the story or Reid Chamberlain’s exploits is nearly unbelievable. If you get a chance (and haven’t already) check out “The Long And The Short And The Tall” by Alvin M. Josephy, Jr. – he served with Chamberlain on Iwo Jima and has a firsthand account of Chamberlain’s death
Comment from TF
24 January 2015
Armstrong memorial at Manila Wall of the Missing
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=pv&GRid=56758667&PIpi=105382477
Note DOD MIA has updated DOD for Armstrong to 12 June 1942 }Apparently last time he was seen alive]
According to Lt. William Harris’ testimony (one of the men who also had escaped) he stated “that he was with Chamberlain and Armstrong until 15 December 1942”.
2nd Lt Paul Cochran [Bronze Star] DOD given as 9 March 1943 and is memorizled on Walls of the Missing Manila National Cemetery [ABMC record]-he served in 52nd Infantry Regiment/51st Phillippine Infantry Division