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NAME Walter Pat Andersen |
NICKNAME Wallie |
SERVICE NUMBER 273370 |
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| UNIT Company M Third Battalion 4th Marines |
HOME OF RECORD 3324 North Minnesota Avenue, Portland, OR |
NEXT OF KIN Mother, Mrs. Erma Bates |
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| DATE OF BIRTH June 17, 1921 |
ENTERED SERVICE August 1, 1939 |
DATE OF LOSS October 1, 1942 |
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| REGION Philippine Islands |
CAMPAIGN / AREA Cabanatuan POW Camp |
CASUALTY TYPE Died while POW |
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| CIRCUMSTANCES OF LOSS PFC Walter P. Andersen, a member of M/3/4th Marines, participated in the defense of the Philippine Islands and was captured in the fall of Corregidor on 6 May 1942. He was interned at Cabanatuan POW Camp. In September 1942, Andersen contracted diphtheria and reported to Hospital Building #1. He succumbed to the disease at 0200 hours on 1 October 1942, and was reportedly buried in Grave #502 of the camp’s cemetery. However, his remains were not identified at the end of the war. |
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| INDIVIDUAL DECORATIONS Purple Heart, Prisoner of War Medal |
LAST KNOWN RANK Private First Class |
STATUS OF REMAINS Buried Grave 502, Cabanatuan cemetery. Possibly an unknown in Manila American Cemetery. |
MEMORIALS Manila American Cemetery |
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Biography:
Coming soon. Contact the webmaster for more information about this Marine.
Buried in Plot 5, Grave 502, Cabanatuan Cemetery
| Name | Rank | Unit | Date of Death | Cause of Death | Identified |
| Sapp, James A. | Pvt. | 194th Tanks | September 30, 1942, 8:50 PM | Diphtheria / Cardiac Failure | No |
| Watson, Don | Sgt. | 515th Coast Artillery | September 30, 1942, 11:00 PM | Beri Beri / Avitaminosis | Yes |
| Bryant, Francis E. | Pvt. | 31st Infantry | September 30, 1942, 4:30 PM | Dysentery | No |
| Andersen, Walter P. | PFC | 4th Marines | October 1, 1942, 2:00 AM | Diphtheria / brain abscess | No |
| Fuller, Harold A. | MSgt. | Luzon Force HQ | October 1, 1942, 4:00 AM | Avitaminosis / Scurvy | Yes |
| Golinski, Leo J. | Sgt. | 31st Infantry | October 1, 1942, 9:25 AM | Malaria / Beri Beri | Yes |
| Arnone, Arthur | Pvt. | 454th Ordnance | October 1, 1942, 8:00 AM | Dysentery | Yes |
Articles & Records:
25 March was a busy and bloody day on Corregidor, with multiple bombing and shelling attacks striking the garrison.
PFC Andersen was one of several men wounded in action on 25 March. The extent of his injuries isn’t known, but he was put in for a Purple Heart. Excerpt from the 4th Marines Record of Events, March 1942, and Muster Roll, M/3/4, April 1942.
Andersen was erroneously reported as having died in June 1943. A handwritten addendum to this muster roll provided the corrected date of death.
The hospital log from Cabanatuan Camp #1 included “Walter Andersen” on 1 October. His immediate cause of death is listed here as “brain abscess” which was likely a result of his diphtheria.
The report of PFC Andersen’s death at Cabanatuan Camp Number 1. Philippine Archives Collection.
The daily report of deaths from Cabanatuan Camp #1. These men were all buried together in Grave #502.
A compilation of Marine POW casualties in the Philippines gives Andersen’s burial location as Grave #502.
