Sherman Price MacDonald
First Sergeant Sherman P. MacDonald served with Fox Company, Second Battalion, 4th Marines.
He was captured at Bataan and died while a prisoner of war at Cabanatuan, Philippine Islands, on 3 October 1942.
Branch
Marine Corps Regular
Service Number 222750
Current Status
Remains not recovered.
Pursuit Category
This case is under Active Pursuit by the DPAA.
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
November 30, 1909
at Escondido, CA
Parents
Henry Nelson MacDonald
Eva Maude (Price) MacDonald
Education
Details unknown
Occupation & Employer
Professional Marine
Service Life
Entered Service
July 30, 1929
at Parris Island, SC
Home Of Record
357 Roselle Avenue
Hawthorne, CA
Next Of Kin
Wife, Mrs. Vivian (Pritchett) MacDonald
Military Specialty
First Sergeant
Primary Unit
F/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
First Sergeant Sherman MacDonald, a pre-war China Marine of many years’ service, was stationed in the Philippine Islands when the United States entered World War II. He served as the senior NCO of Fox Company, 4th Marines until the fall of Bataan on 9 April 1942, at which point he and thousands of Allied fighting men became prisoners of war. After enduring the brutal Bataan Death March, MacDonald wound up in a prison camp 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. Older POWs were especially susceptible to diseases stemming from hardships; at 32 years of age, MacDonald was among the oldest Marines in the camp. He arrived at Cabanatuan already suffering from malaria contracted on the Death March; on 10 September 1942, while being treated at the camp hospital, MacDonald contracted dysentery. The combined ailments were too much for his system, and at 1000 hours on 3 October 1942, “Top” MacDonald succumbed.
Burial Information or Disposition
MacDonald was buried in Grave 504 of the Cabanatuan cemetery, along with nine other prisoners – all members of the United States Army.
| Name | Rank | Service Number | Age | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carter, Martin H. | PFC | 20950128 | 23 | Identified |
| Walberg, Arthur B. | Corporal | 6930708 | 34 | Identified |
| MacDonald, Sherman P. | First Sergeant | 222750 | 32 | Unaccounted |
| Mabey, Ralf R. | PFC | 39678698 | 22 | Identified |
| Abbott, Carl F. | Staff Sergeant | 20900646 | 35 | Unaccounted |
| Wood, Neal D. | Private | 14060278 | 20 | Identified |
| Artis, Clayton | Private | 14061799 | 20 | Identified |
Grave 504 was exhumed in 1946, and the remains sent to Manila for examination. All but two – MacDonald and SSgt. Carl F. Abbott of the 194th Tank Battalion – have since been identified. Due to incomplete records, identification of the two sergeants was disapproved, and the remains buried as unknowns in Manila.
The unknowns listed above are associated with X-1159 and X-1161, Manila Mausoleum #2.
Memorials
Next Of Kin Address
Address of wife, Mrs. Vivian MacDonald.
Location Of Loss
First Sergeant MacDonald died at Cabanatuan Camp #1.
