Donald Louis Bernardy
PFC Donald L. Bernardy served with Easy Company, Second Battalion, 4th Marines.
He was captured at Bataan and died while a prisoner of war at Cabanatuan, Philippine Islands, on 9 August 1942.
Branch
Marine Corps Regular
Service Number 280239
Current Status
Remains not recovered.
Pursuit Category
This case is under Active Pursuit by the DPAA.
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
April 25, 1920
at Kenosha, WI
Parents
Ludwig John Bernardy
Nellie (Marineau) Bernardy
Education
Details unknown
Occupation & Employer
Details unknown
Service Life
Entered Service
January 8, 1940
at Chicago, IL
Home Of Record
833 Parnell Street
Marinette, WI
Next Of Kin
Mother, Mrs. Nellie Bernardy
Military Specialty
—
Primary Unit
E/2/4th Marines
Campaigns Served
Philippine Islands / Corregidor
Individual Decorations
Purple Heart
Prisoner of War Medal
Additional Service Details
—
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
PFC Donald Bernardy, a pre-war China Marine of several years service, was stationed in the Philippine Islands when the United States entered World War II. He was part of the Fort Mills garrison, and was wounded in action during a Japanese bombing raid on 2 January 1942. Bernardy was shot in the arm and shocked by the blast, but was lucky to escape with only minor injuries.
Easy Company was transferred to Bataan, and most were captured when Allied forces surrendered the peninsula on 9 April 1942. Bernardy and thousands of other men were marched into captivity, and ultimately wound up at Cabanatuan in Nueva Ecija province. Unsanitary living conditions, harsh treatment by guards, and a starvation diet took a toll on the prisoners of war; Bernardy contracted a terrible combination of malaria and dysentery. He succumbed to illness at the Cabanatuan Camp Hospital, around 2300 hours on 9 August 1942.
Burial Information or Disposition
The following morning, Bernardy was buried with nine other victims in Grave 110.
| Name | Rank | Service Number | Age | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kokitas, Albert J. | PFC | 13004748 | 27 | Identified |
| Bernardy, Donald L. | PFC | 280239 | 22 | Unaccounted |
| Ramirez, Juan | Private | 38030019 | 27 | Unaccounted |
| Sutphin, Irving R. | Second Lieutenant | 0-890831 | 48 | Unaccounted |
| Ward, Karl H. | Private | 33044917 | 26 | Identified |
| Bailey, Gerald J. | Corporal | 19018331 | 22 | Unaccounted |
| Gunn, John G. | Corporal | 6978029 | 20 | Unaccounted |
| Hueston, Joe I. | Private | 6573215 | 35 | Unaccounted |
| Wilson, Woodrow W. | Staff Sergeant | 6832712 | 28 | Unaccounted |
| Weiner, Manuel J. | PFC | 11024287 | 19 | Identified |
Only three individuals could be positively identified in the years after the war. The remainder – including Donald Bernardy – are buried in Manila American Cemetery as unknowns.
Memorials
Next Of Kin Address
Address of mother, Mrs. Nellie Bernardy.
Location Of Loss
PFC Bernardy died at Cabanatuan Camp #1.
