John Wesley Ruark
Corporal John W. Ruark served with Baker Company, First Battalion, 4th Marines.
He was captured at Corregidor and died while a prisoner of war at Cabanatuan, Philippine Islands, on 19 November 1942.
Branch
Marine Corps Regular
Service Number 278681
Current Status
Remains not recovered.
Pursuit Category
This case is under Active Pursuit by the DPAA.
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
January 3, 1921
at Silvis, IL
Parents
Emile Franklin Ruark
Rose A. (Overton) Ruark
Education
East Moline High School (1939)
Occupation & Employer
Enlisted from high school
Service Life
Entered Service
December 11, 1939
at Des Moines, IA
Home Of Record
148 Eighth Street
Silvis, IL
Next Of Kin
Parents, Emile & Rose Ruark
Military Specialty
AA machine gunner
Primary Unit
M/3/4th Marines
Campaigns Served
Philippine Islands / Corregidor
Individual Decorations
Prisoner of War Medal
Additional Service Details
—
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
Corporal John Ruark 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 Ruark served with Mike Company in the defense of the Philippines and the siege of Corregidor during the spring of 1942. His battle station was a .50-caliber anti-aircraft gun mounted on Fort Hughes (Caballo Island) in Manila Harbor.
Ruark 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. In October, Ruark came down with malaria and finally reported to the camp hospital. There was little the doctors could do except delay the inevitable: on 19 November 1942, Corporal Ruark succumbed to the disease.
Burial Information or Disposition
Ruark was buried in Grave 717 of the Cabanatuan cemetery, along with twelve other military prisoners and a civilian contractor named George York.
Name | Rank | Service Number | Age | Status |
---|---|---|---|---|
Kelder, Arthur H. | Private | 36016623 | 26 | Identified (2015) |
Waid, Charlie M. | Private | 19049058 | 26 | Identified (2019) |
Overbey, Evans E. | Private | 13035026 | 25 | Identified (2015) |
Gutierrez, Juan F. | PFC | 20843125 | 26 | Identified (2021) |
Hirschi, Harold S. | Private | 19038407 | 29 | Identified (2015) |
Bain, Daniel C. | PFC | 33035131 | 25 | Identified (1948) |
Hanscom, Lawrence K. | Sergeant | 6137280 | 35 | Identified (1948) |
Collins, Frederick C. | Corporal | 6578818 | 23 | Identified (2015) |
Kovach, John | Private | 20500764 | 19 | Identified (2017) |
Simmons, George G. | Corporal | 190198886 | 25 | Identified (2015) |
Nichols, Harvey A. | PFC | 7009171 | 27 | Identified (2015) |
Lobdell, Lloyd J. | PFC | 20645267 | 24 | Identified (2017) |
Ruark, John W. | PFC | 278681 | 21 | Unaccounted |
York, George Sr. | Civilian | 63 | Unaccounted | |
Thomas, Everett S. | Major | O-109097 | 25 | Identified (1948) |
Rogers, Henry A. | Pricate | 11013703 | 23 | Identified (1948) |
Grave 717 was exhumed in 1946, and the remains sent to Manila, where four of the men were positively identified. The rest were buried in Fort William McKinley Cemetery, Manila as unknowns.
In 2014, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency approved the disinterment of ten caskets containing remains from Grave 717. With the benefit of modern technology and techniques, ten additional remains were identified. Today, only Corporal John Ruark and Mr. George York are unaccounted for.
Next Of Kin Address
Address of parents, Emile & Rose Ruark.
Location Of Loss
Corporal Ruark died at Cabanatuan Camp #1.