Mason Frank Chronister
First Lieutenant Mason F. Chronister served with Baker Company, First Battalion, 4th Marines.
He was captured at Corregidor and died while a prisoner of war at Cabanatuan Camp #3, 17 June 1942.
Branch
Marine Corps Regular
Service Number O-6617
Current Status
Remains not recovered.
Pursuit Category
This case is under Active Pursuit by the DPAA.
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
December 31, 1917
at Baltimore, MD
Parents
Franklin Young
Christiana “Anna” (Ripper) Young
later Mrs. Anna Chronister
Education
Baltimore City College (1936)
University of Maryland College Park (1940)
Occupation & Employer
Commissioned from college
* Born as Mason Frank Young; name changed to Chronister before 1930.
Service Life
Entered Service
July 20, 1940 (officer)
Home Of Record
1212 North Montford Avenue
Baltimore, MD
Next Of Kin
Mother, Mrs. Anna Chronister
Military Specialty
Platoon leader
Primary Unit
B/1/4th Marines
Campaigns Served
Philippine Islands / Corregidor
Individual Decorations
Purple Heart
Prisoner of War Medal
Additional Service Details
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Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
Burial Information or Disposition
Primary sources offer differing accounts of Chronister’s burial; he may have been buried in the main Cabanatuan camp cemetery, on the Cabanatuan hospital grounds, or somewhere within the barrio itself. The DPAA writes that Chronister was “buried across a creek from the Cabanatuan city dump in a grave reportedly marked by a cross.”
The location was never found after the war, and Chronister’s remains have not been accounted for.
Memorials
Next Of Kin Address
Address of mother, Mrs. Anna Chronister.
Location Of Loss
Chronister died and was reportedly buried at a hospital in Cabanatuan.