Richard Bruce Maxson
PFC Richard B. Maxson served with Item Company, Third Battalion, 4th Marines.
He was captured at Corregidor and died while a prisoner of war at Cabanatuan, Philippine Islands, on 21 October 1942.
Branch
Marine Corps Regular
Service Number 267409
Current Status
Remains not recovered.
Pursuit Category
This case is under Active Pursuit by the DPAA.
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
March 2, 1917
at Kansas City, MO
Parents
Clare Daniel Maxson
Zora (Morgan) Maxson
Education
Details unknown
Occupation & Employer
Details unknown
Service Life
Entered Service
August 2, 1938
at Washington, DC
Home Of Record
400 South 2nd Street
St. Charles, MO
Next Of Kin
Mother, Mrs.Zora Maxson
Military Specialty
—
Primary Unit
I/3/4th Marines
Campaigns Served
Philippine Islands / Corregidor
Individual Decorations
Additional Service Details
—
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
PFC Richard Maxson was stationed at Cavite, Philippine Islands, when the United States entered World War II. His unit was re-designated as the Third Battalion, 4th Marines, and PFC Maxson served with Item Company in the defense of the Philippines and the siege of Corregidor during the spring of 1942.
Maxson was captured in the fall of Corregidor on 6 May 1942, and held as a prisoner of war at Cabanatuan Camp #1, Nueva Ecija province. Unsanitary living conditions, harsh treatment by guards, and a starvation diet took a rapid toll on the prisoners of war; on 12 October, Maxson was admitted to the camp hospital suffering from a lethal combination of pellagra and cerebral malaria. The twenty-five-year-old Marine breathed his last at around 2000 hours on 21 October 1942.
Burial Information or Disposition
Maxson was buried in Grave 509 of the Cabanatuan cemetery, along with fourteen other prisoners – among them a fellow Marine, PFC Lenard B. Rice.
| Name | Rank | Service Number | Age | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nanny, Clyde G. | Private | 6244140 | 41 | Identified |
| Rice, Lenard B. | PFC | 229926 | 30 | Unaccounted |
| Maxson, Richard B. | PFC | 267409 | 25 | Unaccounted |
| Sims, James D. | Corporal | 38011992 | 24 | Identified |
| Lafromboise, Frank | Private | 19054323 | 21 | Unaccounted |
| Tubb, James T. | Private | 6210845 | 42 | Identified |
| Paul, Clifford A. | Technical Sergeant | 6722467 | 33 | Identified |
| Trotter, Elmer K. | Sergeant | 7000462 | 22 | Identified |
| Hall, Milus L. | Sergeant | 38011899 | 33 | Identified |
| Looney, Virgel L. | Private | 38012349 | 36 | Identified |
| Walsh, Patrick H. | Private | 15061805 | 21 | Identified |
| Spensley, Homer V. | PFC | 20842999 | 21 | Identified |
| Wiggins, Elwood L. | Private | 19050241 | 23 | Identified |
| Hughes, James A. | PFC | 34084162 | [unknown] | Identified |
| Morgan, George E. | PFC | 37033580 | 27 | Identified |
Grave 509 was exhumed in 1946, and the remains sent to Manila for examination. In the years after the war, all but three remains were successfully identified. Rice, Maxson, and Private Frank Lafromboise of the 60th Coast Artillery are likely buried in Fort William McKinley Cemetery, Manila, as unknowns.
The unknowns listed above are associated with X-1224, X-1225, and X-1226, Manila Mausoleum #2.
Memorials
Next Of Kin Address
Address of mother, Mrs. Zora Maxson.
Location Of Loss
PFC Maxson died at Cabanatuan Camp #1.
