Walter John Theise
Assistant Cook Walter J. Theise served with Able Company, First Separate Marine Battalion.
He was killed in action at Sangley Point, Cavite Navy Yard, Philippines 19 December 1941.
Branch
Marine Corps Regular
Service Number 297170
Current Status
Remains Not Recovered
Pursuit Category
The DPAA has not publicized this information.
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
November 1, 1911
at Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan
Parents
Albert Louis Theise
Carolyn (Werth) Theise (d. 1935)
stepmother, Lula (Draper) Theise
Education
Hollywood High School
Occupation & Employer
Butcher
Service Life
Entered Service
September 23, 1940
at Los Angeles, CA
Home Of Record
2441 South Amherst Street
West Los Angeles, CA
Next Of Kin
Father, Mr. Albert L. Theise
Military Specialty
Cook
Primary Unit
4th Marines / 1st Separate Marine Battalion
Campaigns Served
Philippine Islands
Individual Decorations
Purple Heart
Additional Service Details
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Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
Walter Theise enlisted in the Marine Corps from Los Angeles; after completing boot camp and additional training at Cooks & Bakers School, he was assigned duty in the San Diego Recruit Depot galley. In April 1941, Theise sailed from California for “an Asiatic station,” and wound up deployed with Headquarters Company, 4th Marines in Shanghai. He evidently showed some talent in the kitchen, earning a promotion to Field Cook in July, 1941. Unfortunately, in November Theise was caught drinking on duty and spent his last few days in China awaiting disciplinary action. He sailed from Shanghai on 28 November 1941, having given up a stripe for his transgressions.
Shortly after arriving in the Philippines, Theise fell ill and was hospitalized for several days. On 8 December 1941, he was officially transferred from the 4th Marines to Company A, First Separate Marine Battalion at Cavite. Thos company was posted at Sangley Point manning beach defenses and anti-aircraft weapons. On 10 December they watched in horror as Japanese bombers all but leveled Cavite Navy Yard.
The Japanese kept up their pressure, and on 19 December targeted the high-powered radio station at Cañacao, known as “Radio Sangley.” Bombs started falling at 1247 and touched off a fuel dump. According to one Marine, “the roar of the fire drowned the sound of the [airplane] motors and the sound of the bombs.”
A cook detail under Mess Sergeant Milton Larios (also formerly of the 4th Marines; he transferred to the First Separate Battalion on 16 December) was preparing food when the bombers arrived. Historian J. Michael Miller records:
Mess Sergeant Milton T. Larios, Corporal Earl C. Dodson, and a Filipino cook named "Pop" were preparing rations for the Marines still in the Cavite Navy Yard when the air-raid siren went off. Larios shouted, "Let's get this meat off the fire," and tried to load the beef into a nearby garbage can when the bombs hit. Corporal Dodson remembered running until hearing the whistle of the bombs coming down and then fell to the ground. Explosions covered him with dirt and debris but he escaped the blast unhurt. He ran back to the mess area where he found Larios dead and "Pop" dying. He carried the bleeding Filipino to a collection point where 15 wounded Americans and Filipinos were lying together.
It is very possible that Theise was in the same area; Larios was his former boss, and preparing food was his primary duty. He also may have been one of the men who raced among the exploding barrels, trying to save as much precious gasoline as possible. Five Marines – including Larios, Theise, Corporal Melvin O. Tuley, and Private Raymond D. Ford – were killed by bombs or fire.
Burial Information or Disposition
The three dead Marines from Company A were “interred locally” in Cañacao Cemetery – presumably near the recently vacated Naval hospital – and were left behind when Allied forces pulled back to the Bataan peninsula later in the month. Any markers may have been removed or destroyed during the Japanese occupation, and it is not known when (or if) American Graves Registration personnel visited the site.
The remains, if recovered, have never been identified.
Memorials
Next Of Kin Address
Address of father, Mr. Albert Theise.
Location Of Loss
Theise was stationed at a radio station on Sangley Point when it was bombed.
