BataanMissing

 

Private Arthur H. “Bud” Kelder was stationed at the Sternberg General Hospital in Manila at the outbreak of World War II.  Upon the outbreak of war, he was consolidated in to General Hospital #2 located on the Bataan Peninsula.  After the April 9, 1942 capitulation of the American forces in the Philippines, he endured the Bataan Death March, Camp O’Donnell and, ultimately, Cabanatuan Camp #1 where he died of malnutrition and diphtheria on November 19, 1942. 

Bud’s remains, and those of thirteen other men who died on the same day, were buried in the camp cemetery grave number 717.  After the American victory over Japan in 1945 the cemetery was opened and the remains relocated to temporary cemetery Manila #2.  By comparison of dental records, the American Army was able to identify the remains of Harvey A. Nichols, Juan E. Gutierrez, Lawrence Hanscom, Daniel C. Bain.  Unfortunately, the Army managed to ship the wrong remains to these families.  All four of these men were buried in the U.S. by their families in the belief that they had received the remains of their family member.

The other ten men, Arthur H. Kelder, Fredrick G. Collins, George G. Simmons, Evans E. Overbey, George S. York, Kovach, John Harold S. Hirschi, Lloyd J. Lobdell, John W. Ruark, and Charles M. Waid, were buried as Unknowns in the Manila American Cemetery operated by the American Battle Monuments Commission. 

In 2009, the family of Bud Kelder began researching his life and obtained from the U.S. Army the records of his death.  These records indicated that his remains had been buried and recovered from the Cabanatuan Camp Cemetery and were among ten specific sets of remains not identified. 

It was quickly apparent that Bud had never been an Unknown. The Army knew all along where he and the other MIA’s were. They just never told the families the circumstances of their deaths or that there was any problem identifying the remains. Instead, the families of the MIA’s were told that their remains were “non-recoverable.” Non-recoverable meant one thing to the families and something entirely different to the Army.

Other records necessary to identify the remains of Bud Kelder were requested under the Freedom of Information Act.  The Department of Defense refused to provide these records and the Kelder family brought a lawsuit in Federal Court.  The records were ultimately received in 2012 along with thousands of other records of WWII unidentified remains.

The family’s lawsuit actually obtained ALL of the records of World War II unidentified remains. Families of WWII MIA’s are invited to request copies of these records.

The primary reason the remains of the ten men in grave 717 were not identified was due to the lack of military dental records.  However, Bud Kelder’s older Brother, Herman Kelder, had been a dentist and family records indicated that he had placed distinctive gold inlays in his Brother’s teeth.  Only one of the ten remains recovered from grave 717 had any gold dental work shown in their files (although the documents showed that the teeth with gold inlays had disappeared from the remains while in the custody of the U.S. Army Graves Registration unit).  Unidentified remains X-816 (Manila #2) were obviously the remains of Bud Kelder.

The disappearance of gold or silver dental work was just one example of how badly the military had mismanaged the recovery of the dead – and another reason for them to sweep things under the rug.

The evidence that X-816 was the remains of Bud Kelder was overwhelming and far exceeded the standard used by the Army in identifying the other remains.  Most likely because current government officials were aware many remains had been shipped to the wrong families for burial, the U.S. Department of Defense, after much buck passing and excuses, refused to return the X-816 remains to the Kelder family.  The Kelder family was forced to file a second lawsuit in Federal Court and in 2014 the U.S. Government, faced with a court order, finally consented to exhumation of the ten Unknowns from Cabanatuan Grave 717. 

How so many “identified” remains were shipped to the wrong families for burial in the States is a story for another blog post. It wasn’t that everything that could go wrong, did. Rather, anything they could screw up through incompetence and mismanagement, they did.

Ten anatomically complete sets of remains were recovered – after nearly five years of litigation in Federal Court. The government had argued that even though the evidence was overwhelming, only the government had the authority to identify the remains. Therefore, the families had no right to demand the return of the remains.

2,729 Americans were buried in two cemeteries at Cabanatuan Camps #1 and #3 between June 3, 1942 and October 28, 1944.  1,756 of them were identified and buried as directed by their families, either in the States or an overseas military cemetery.  973 are still listed as Unknowns, most buried in the Manila American Cemetery and a few in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (The Punchbowl).

Nearly five months after Bud’s remains were disinterred, the Department of Defense, using outdated mitochondrial DNA identification techniques, returned the skull and three long bones to the Kelder family.  These remains were buried next to his parents as they had wished.

Bud Kelder was the first World War II Unknown returned to his family in modern times. In an effort to dispose of the still pending litigation, a few of Bud’s bones were quickly – after “only” five months – identified. A few token bones from each of the others were slowly returned to their families for burial.

While, at this writing, more than five years after they were exhumed, at least token portions of most of the fourteen men of Grave 717 have been identified. However, they have led the way for more than 300 additional Unknowns to be disinterred. They have also shown some of the U.S. Government’s dirty little secrets.

• The Department of Defense selectively chooses – “cherry picks” – the cases they disinter in an effort to meet their congressionally mandated minimum number of identifications and also to minimize the embarrassment to the government due to erroneous identifications.
• Why does the Department of Defense refuse to return MIA’s upon a family’s request?
• Why do they return only a few token bones instead of the nearly complete remains recovered from the cemeteries?
• Why do they cling to outdated and ineffective identification techniques? Rather than using the state of the art techniques employed by the rest of the world, the Department of Defense clings to the use of outdated identification techniques as an excuse to avoid recovering and timely identification of the missing.
• How do they dispose of the major portion of the remains that are beyond their ability to identify?
• While the government knows who was misidentified and/or commingled with the remains of others, they avoid correcting their errors.

For more information on Bud Kelder’s story, you are invited to visit these linked stories:

• NPR’s All Things Considered – Grave Science
• ProPublicia – Failing the Fallen

If a member of your family is missing from World War II, you are invited to contact bataanmissing@gmail.com for copies of their burial records and information about how they can be identified.

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The U.S. Government expends great effort in telling the public how hard they work to recover the remains of American servicemembers from all wars. Yet, they expend even greater effort in avoiding actually recovering and identifying those remains. DPAA’s Public Affairs office seems to produce more than the identification laboratory. Like many things the government does, it makes no sense until one knows all the circumstances.

Last week, we told the story of Private Arthur H. “Bud” Kelder and his family’s struggle to bring his remains home for burial. Many readers found it unbelievable that the U.S. Government would obstruct the return of the remains of an American serviceman.

The short story is that Bud was one of fourteen Americans imprisoned in the Cabanatuan POW camp in the Philippine Islands who died on November 19, 1942. All fourteen were buried in communal grave number 717 in the camp cemetery.

After the war, American forces opened the cemetery and moved the remains to a temporary cemetery known as Manila #2. One man was quickly identified on the basis of a dog tag found with the remains. Three more were identified from dental records subsequently received from the States. The remaining ten were ultimately buried as Unknowns in the Manila American Cemetery. Their families were told only that their son’s remains were “non-recoverable” with no explanation of what that meant. The implication was that no remains existed as the Army had never even hinted that they may be part of a group burial.

To the families of these Unknowns, it was like they had fallen off the face of the earth and the Army wasn’t sharing what they knew.

In 2010, a member of Bud’s family sought records of his death from the Army, who happily obliged and provided the file. It was immediately obvious from the records that Bud was one of ten Unknowns buried in Manila, but which one?

The Army had been quite cooperative in providing the personnel file, but dug in their heels when the burial records that would identify an individual were requested. A nerve had obviously been hit and the government was finished cooperating.

It took a trip to Federal Court to obtain the records under the Freedom of information Act. The records were obviously releasable, but the government lawyers presented numerous extraneous objections in order to delay public release of these records known as X-files.

Fortunately, Bud’s older Brother, Dr. Herman Kelder, a dentist, left behind an oral history tape that mentioned that Bud had extensive gold dental work. It took three years and a Federal lawsuit to obtain the burial records of the ten Unknowns from Grave 717, but only one of them, X-816, was shown to have any gold dental work.

This should have been a slam-dunk identification based on substantially better evidence than any of the World War II era identifications, but the families’ requests for the remains were either rebuffed or totally ignored by all the government agencies involved.

In a sadly morbid side note, while the gold dental work was detailed on the first dental chart made when the remains were recovered from the Cabanatuan cemetery, all the precious metals subsequently disappeared from the remains. So much for protection of the remains by the Army. At least the dental record remained for identification of the remains.

It was later shown that not only had no other Unknowns from Manila been identified in modern times, but, perhaps more tellingly, documents surfaced showing that the government agencies not only knew the identities of the remains, but they were also aware of the government’s incompetence and misconduct.

The government knew they had a problem. Actually, they had many problems and they were of their own making. They definitely didn’t want to open this Pandora’s Box. It took another trip to Federal Court before the Unknowns from Grave 717 were disinterred for identification.

Right from the beginning, almost as if by design, they had made a mess of the recovery of remains from the Cabanatuan POW camp.

The prisoners had secretly kept extensive records of deaths and burials. However, unlike other POW camp burial records such as at Camp O’Donnell, the Cabanatuan burial records did not record each man’s position in the communal grave. Not to be bothered by little details, the graves registration personnel assumed that, like some other camps, the burials were in roster sequence so they officially identified the remains on the basis of their sequence on the burial roster.

After several hundred remains had been transferred from Cabanatuan to Manila Cemetery #2 – and buried under the (incorrect) name determined from the burial roster sequence – the mistake was realized and all the disinterment reports were corrected. All the records were corrected except the cemetery burial records.

So as dental records were obtained and compared with the skeletal remains, more identifications were made. Unfortunately, as the remains were identified, the cemetery was told to ship the remains previously (mis)identified on the basis of the burial roster sequence. So while some mother’s son had been identified, some other mother’s son’s remains were shipped to her for burial in the States.

But this wasn’t the worst of it. For some as yet unexplained reason, the Graves Registration Command in the Philippines refused to employ any trained personnel to properly reassociate the remains, preferring, instead, to use contract civilian embalmers. While there is no indication that the remains were commingled in the communal graves, the untrained embalmers diligently sorted the remains based on color and size and hopelessly commingled the remains.

In the case of Bud Kelder, for example, the few token bones returned to his family have come from five different caskets. It is not improbable that a bit of each of the fourteen men was present in each of the fourteen caskets.

While each of these problems might be attributed to honest mistakes, it is the response to the error that counts. If the mistakes were sad, the government response was totally shameful. Not only were multiple government agencies aware of the mistakes and that many, perhaps most, families had received the remains of some other family’s son, but they worked to continue the coverup and to this day diligently fight any request to return remains.

In a final display of incompetence in the grave 717 case, DPAA was unable to locate a family member to consent to the exhumation of PFC Gutierrez and finally asked a Federal Judge to allow them to proceed. A private individual using only publicly available data was able to locate a close family member is less than one hour of research.

Now, more than three years after the last occupant of Grave 717 was exhumed for identification, a few token remains from each man has been identified and returned to their respective families for burial. The Kelder family, after four trips to Federal court, is believed to have received the largest amount of remains – about ten large bones. The balance of the remains, which were virtually complete when exhumed from Cabanatuan, will likely be cremated and “disposed” of regardless of each family’s religious beliefs.

So how does a crack government agency screw up so often and with such consequences without learning anything? It looks like DPAA has a long heritage of incompetence.

Cabanatuan Grave 717 was the first of a handful of similar cases disinterred for identification, but it was not in the least atypical – either in the facts or the government’s efforts to conceal their incompetence. Rather than leverage what they learned from Grave 717, DPAA continues to find new ways to avoid identifying the more than one-thousand Unknowns from the Cabanatuan POW camp.

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Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty in action with the enemy near Abucay, Bataan, Philippine Islands, on 12 January 1942. This officer, though assigned to another company not then engaged in combat, voluntarily attached himself to Company K, same regiment, while that unit was being attacked by enemy force superior in firepower. Enemy snipers in trees and foxholes had stopped a counterattack to regain part of position. In hand-to-hand fighting which followed, 2d Lt. Nininger repeatedly forced his way to and into the hostile position. Though exposed to heavy enemy fire, he continued to attack with rifle and hand grenades and succeeded in destroying several enemy groups in foxholes and enemy snipers. Although wounded 3 times, he continued his attacks until he was killed after pushing alone far within the enemy position. When his body was found after recapture of the position, 1 enemy officer and 2 enemy soldiers lay dead around him.

Just as COL Clarke’s self-serving deception prevented the identification and burial of 1LT Ira Cheaney, it also insured that five of 1LT Cheaney’s comrades – Lt’s Nininger, Maynard, Green, Compton and Wilson – would also become Unknowns. With the complication of the award to 1LT Nininger of the Medal of Honor, their cases became hot potatoes that no one wanted to touch even with overwhelming evidence of the identity of their remains.

Sandy Nininger and several of his comrades were recovered just as were most of the Bataan casualties, by Master Sergeant Abie Abraham. Sergeant Abraham was quite a colorful character in his own right. He had fought on the left flank of Cheaney and Nininger’s 57th Infantry at Abucay. He knew many of the officers and men of the Philippine Scout units. After more than three years in a POW camp, he was personally selected by General MacArthur to head up recovery of remains on Bataan. Married to a Filipina, he spoke the language and understood the local population.

After his return to the States several years later, MSG Abraham wrote two books about his experiences in the Philippines. Nininger was prominently mentioned with no indication that there was anything unusual about the recovery of his remains. This was a routine recovery until Washington insisted that they knew more than the people on the ground in the Philippines.

The first page of the X-1130 file shows that Abie interviewed the local gravedigger who stated that he had buried five Americans in the Abucay Cemetery in January 1942.

 

Based on this information, on 8 January, 1946, the remains were disinterred and transferred to the Manila #2 cemetery where they were assigned the number X-1130 with the notation that they were “Possibly Nininger.”

There is no existing record that tells us what information MSG Abraham relied upon in determining that grave #9 was Nininger’s, but nearby graves in the same row were identified either by the name on the grave or by reference to records.

 

 

As the investigation progressed and additional information was obtained, a report of interment was prepared and updated with different typewriters and pens as information became available.

According to the Report of Interment, the means of identification was described in an attached letter that the Army somehow lost and is no longer with the Report of Interment.

By 13 February, 1946, the investigation was complete and X-1130 had been preliminarily identified as the remains of 1LT Alexander Nininger. The identification was then presented to a board of officers in a quasi-judicial proceeding convened by the local command where all the evidence described in the “attached letter” and and all the witnesses pertaining to the identification were available.

The board unanimously recommended that remains X-1130 be identified as 1LT Alexander Nininger. On 27 December, 1948, the local commander transmitted to the Memorial Division in Washington, DC the findings of the board of officers with his recommendation that X-1130 be identified as the remains of 1LT Nininger.

The Memorial Division rejected the board’s recommendation for two reasons:
1. The estimated height for these remains did not agree with Lt Nininger’s known height.
2. Information received, through the family, from Colonel Clarke, that indicated that 1LT Nininger had been buried in Grave #9 of the Abucay Churchyard and the X-1130 remains had been recovered from Grave #9 of the nearby Abucay town cemetery.

The first reason given for disapproval of the recommendation to identify X-1130 as Nininger was that while the dental comparison was not unfavorable, the estimated height of the remains didn’t match his known height. However, these estimates were later proven to be badly in error of the actual height.

In the early 1950’s, Professor Mildred Trotter, an anthropologist at the Department of Anatomy, Washington University, published a series of academic papers based on her work at the Schofield Barracks Mortuary identifying the remains of World War II American casualties.

Professor Trotter found that the formulas and tables previously used in the identification of American servicemen had been based on observations of a 19th Century French population and they substantially understated the actual, ante mortem, height of the modern American servicemen.

COL Clarke had specified that Nininger was buried in “Soldiers Row Grave 9” of the Abucay Church and X-1130 was found in “Soldiers Row Grave 9” of the Abucay (town) cemetery. Perhaps that was just a coincidence or perhaps someone confused the locations which were only a few hundred yards apart – both were cemeteries and both were in the town of Abucay.

The Memorial Division noted the similarity of the grave locations and asked if the Abucay Churchyard and Abucay Cemetery were one and the same location and directed further investigation.

Colonel Clarke had struck again. First the remains of Cheaney, now Nininger was missing because Clarke had provided incorrect information on the burial that occurred when he wasn’t even present on Bataan when they died.

Note that the X-1130 remains had been re-designated as X-4685 when they were removed from Manila Cemetery #2 to the Manila Mausoleum.

The local Graves Registration command, in an unprecedented move, re-investigated the case as directed by Washington; convened a new board of officers; and, again presented to Washington the recommendation that the X-1130 remains be identified as those of 1LT Nininger.

This time they added an explanation of why they didn’t believe that 1LT Nininger had been buried in the Abucay Churchyard. They first noted that the churchyard location was provided by the father of one of the other officers who stated that Lt’s Nininger, Maynard, Wilson, Compton, Green and Captain Meyer had all been buried in the churchyard. They then noted that the records for 1LT Nininger had been compared with all remains recovered from the churchyard with negative results. Further, the remains of Lt Maynard, Lt Wilson and Capt Meyer had all been recovered from other locations and positively identified. The obvious conclusion was that the churchyard burial location was clearly erroneous.

The board’s report then explained that the remains recovered from Grave #9 at the Churchyard had been identified as those of a Philippine Scout, PFC Tranquilino Bales, 6738585, by means of an identification tag. Further, 1LT Nininger’s dental records didn’t compare favorably with these remains.

The report stated that the X-4685 (previously X-1130) remains [recovered from Grave #9 at the Abucay Cemetery] were those of Lt Nininger and unequivocally recommended their formal identification as such.

Undeterred by the recommendation of the second board to consider the case, the Memorial Division again disapproved their recommendation based on additional information they had received from LTC Raulston indicating that Nininger had been buried in the Abucay Churchyard and the X-1130 remains were recovered from the Abucay Cemetery. The local command was instructed to re-investigate the facts of the investigation for the third time – and submit a report.

It was later found that LTC Raulston never claimed to have been present at the burial of Nininger or others, but simply stated that burials had been made in the churchyard.

 

After the third investigation, on 7 March, 1950, the local Graves Registration command in the Philippines submitted a point by point discussion of the issues raised by the Memorial Division with regards to Lt Nininger.

The resubmitted recommendation noted the probability that the body of Lt. Nininger was buried in Grave 9 of the Abucay Cemetery from where Unknown X-4685 (previously designated as X-1130) was disinterred. On the other hand, it is also probable that the team which made the recovery of Unknown X-4685 might have arbitrarily named the place of recovery as “Abucay Cemetery” since it was a cemetery and it was in the town of Abucay. It is believed that the agreement in the grave number is sufficient basis to establish the association of this Unknown with Lt. Nininger since two probabilities clearly exist with regards to the exact place of burial of the deceased.

The Philippine command didn’t equivocate when they stated, “In view of the above, it is the opinion of this Headquarters that the remains of Unknown X-4685 are in reality those of Lt. Nininger. The Board Proceedings are being returned herewith for a reconsideration [by the Memorial Division].”

Washington was not to be deterred until they got what they wanted. They wanted off the hook for botching the identifications of these five fine young officers. They knew that Niningers’ Medal of Honor would draw intense scrutiny of everything they had done and that kind of attention is never good in the Army.

The Memorial Division quickly directed the Graves Registration command to conduct another re-investigation and reconsider what was their third recommendation to identify X-1130/X-4685 as Nininger.

The Graves Registration command in the Philippines was determined to put this case to rest and they pulled out all the stops to thoroughly excavate the Abucay Churchyard. They sent a detail of twenty-five laborers, one embalmer and their supervisor to Abucay.

The search detail dug trenches two feet wide and four feet deep every three and one-half feet in the churchyard. They recovered the partial remains of eighteen persons and returned them to the Central Identification Laboratory for processing.

 

The eighteen remains were examined by an anthropologist and all were determined to be of Philippine ancestry.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Despite the recommendations of two boards of officers and an extensive excavation of the churchyard, on 12 September 1950, the Memorial Division got what they had demanded, the remains of 1LT Alexander Nininger were officially declared non-recoverable. The Graves Registration command had the last word, though, insisting that the X-1130/X-4685 remains were those of Nininger, but their recommendation had been rejected and they reiterated that LTC Raulson had not been present at the burials.

 

 

 

 

 

Just seventeen days later, the remains were quickly laid to rest in grave J-7-20 of the Manila American Cemetery. Under means of identification, they added “Nininger, A.R. Jr. O-23761.”

A few weeks after Sandy’s burial, in October 1950, Captain Vogl of the Memorial Division began his investigation that revealed that Colonel Clarke had provided incorrect information on the burials of Ira Cheaney, Alexander Nininger and several others. Without Colonel Clarke’s erroneous information, the X-1130/X-4685 remains likely would have been quickly identified as those of 1LT Alexander R. Nininger as recommended by the review board.

Was Clarke trying to comfort the families? Was he trying to rehabilitate his reputation by implying that he was present when he wasn’t? Or, did he simply make a few honest mistakes, perhaps confusing Cheaney and Nininger and saying Cheaney was buried in Abucay and Nininger was buried in grave 9 of the churchyard when he was actually buried in grave 9 of the nearby cemetery?

For whatever reason Clarke had provided incorrect burial information, the Army had an even bigger problem. At this point, the Army knew they had made mistakes – BIG mistakes. Even in the face of overwhelming evidence that it was incorrect, Washington had chosen to cling to information provided by a disgraced colonel.

Clarke’s incorrect burial information had caused someone to wrongly be buried as 1LT Cheaney at West Point and Lt’s Compton, Green, Maynard, Wilson and 1LT Nininger, a national hero awarded the first Medal of Honor of World War II, to all be buried as Unknowns.

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In spite of repeated investigations conducted by the Graves Registration command in the Philippines, Washington chose to overrule their recommendations and rely on the testimony of a discredited officer who wasn’t present and whose testimony had repeatedly been found to be incorrect. When it was learned that they had picked the wrong horse, Washington declared the remains to be non-recoverable, told all the witnesses to toe the official line, and classified the records as defense secrets.

Within days after X-1130 was laid to rest as an Unknown in the Manila American Cemetery, the Memorial Division in Washington began an investigation in to the facts. They interviewed all the presumed witnesses to the burial of 1LT Alexander Nininger. They found that none of them had actually been present, and, quite tellingly, carefully avoided talking to those who actually were present.

The first person interviewed was Colonel George S. Clarke who had commanded the 57th Infantry Regiment (PS) at the time of Nininger’s death. Clarke had been relieved of his command – the ultimate disgrace for a career officer – and ordered to the island fortress of Corregidor before Nininger, Wilson, Compton or Green were buried. If he had information on the burial locations, it was second hand because he wasn’t present.

Clarke left the Philippines on the last submarine out and made his way back to the States. While the war raged in the Pacific theater, Clarke was in touch with the families of some of the men he had lost. We’ll never know if Clarke was trying to redeem his tarnished image or somehow comfort the families, but he told them in flowery language that their sons had been buried in the Abucay churchyard rather than their actual burial sites.

The families accepted Clarke’s incorrect information as gospel and shared it with the Army and their congressional representatives. The Army’s Memorial Division not only believed Clarke’s information as it was coming from the families and members of congress, they continue to stand on it to this day even though it has been repeatedly shown to be false.

The next to be interviewed was Lieutenant Colonel Anders. He explained that Clarke had been relieved and had left Bataan. He unequivocally stated that Clarke had not attended the burials. In later interviews, Anders stated that he and Major Francis were the only ones present for the burials. And while Anders first placed the burials in the Abucay churchyard, he later confessed to some confusion about the burial locations.

Major Sanders, another officer of the 57th Infantry, informed the investigators that Major Francis had assisted Chaplin Scecina with the burials and would have been present for them.

Next to be interviewed was Major John Olson who said that LTC Anders and Major Francis attended the burial services.

 

 

When interviewed a second time, LTC Anders confirmed that he and Major Francis were present at Nininger’s burial, but he again demonstrated some confusion about the burial locations.

In light of the fact that the Abucay Churchyard had been repeatedly excavated and the remains were not found, it is pretty obvious that they were not buried there.

The bottom line at this point was that:

1. The burial locations given by Clarke were incorrect.
2. Only Major Anders and Major Francis were present for Nininger’s burial.
3. Major Anders stated that Nininger had been buried in the Abucay Churchyard, but showed some confusion about the locations.
4. The churchyard had been excavated at least three times.
5. Major Francis was not interviewed by the Memorial Division investigator, but later placed the burials in the Abucay Cemetery – NOT the Abucay Churchyard.

If they hadn’t yet been convinced that Nininger, Wilson, Compton, Green and Maynard had not been buried in the Abucay churchyard, the investigation conducted by the Memorial Division should have removed all doubt. However, rather than admit their error and accept the identification of X-1130/X-4685 as Nininger’s remains they chose the cowards’ choice and did nothing – except conceal the records.

Still to come – the family’s fifty year quest to find the remains of 1LT Alexander Nininger despite the Army’s continued efforts to conceal their duplicity.

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The investigation conducted by the Memorial Division had recommended that each of the families be personally visited and briefed on the facts of the case. Since both the families and the Army believed Colonel Clarke’s story about the burials in the churchyard it wasn’t a difficult sell. Perhaps if the families had been shown the documents identifying the X-1130/X-4685 remains or the classified investigation report they wouldn’t have been so quick to agree.

The Nininger family was most concerned that nothing further would be done if the case was closed, but were assured that they would be notified if any remains were positively identified as their son. Of course, the Army didn’t intend to look very hard.

While the Army may have considered the case closed, the Nininger family certainly didn’t. They continued to collect information and interview members of the 57th Infantry.

By 1966, Sandy Nininger’s Nephew, John Patterson, joined the fight. A career foreign service officer, John was organized and able to effectively organize the information he collected.

There’s no record that the Army even responded, but by 1986 John Patterson had gathered a huge volume of documents and spoken with those who were present at Nininger’s death. He wasn’t relying on Clarke’s bogus informationand he had found someone who actually attended the burial. He requested that the army reopen the case and, in support of his case, provided a summary of the case and information from the witness the Army knew about, but never interviewed.

Patterson had obtained a copy of Nininger’s Individual Deceased Personnel File and found two references to a classified file filed under the name of 1LT Ira B. Cheaney.

In 1985, Patterson requested a copy of the classified file referenced in his Uncle’s IDPF.

The Army responded and flat out denied the existence of a classified file pertaining to either Cheaney or Nininger.

This classified file was the key to proving that Clarke’s information was incorrect and understanding the actual burial process. What’s more, the file showed that Washington was aware of the facts, but classified them as SECRET to conceal them. No wonder the Army wanted to keep that file hidden.

In 1986, Mr. Patterson requested that the Army reopen his Uncle’s case and provided information on a witness the Army had previously avoided interviewing. However, the Army had known since at least 1951 that Major Garnet Francis had attended the burial and pointedly avoided interviewing him.

The Army refused or neglected to followup with Major Francis and he passed away a few years later. However, they had the map created by Major Francis that John Patterson had sent them.

In 2012, the Nininger case came to the fore, again, and a young historian, Gregory Kupsky, was assigned to summarize the progress. Mr Kupsky’s report summarized further investigations of burials in the churchyard and also noted that John Patterson had supplied information from Major Garnet Francis, an eye witness, who placed the burials south of the river in the Abucay Cemetery area where the X-1130/X-4685 remains were recovered.

The Churchyard had been thoroughly excavated by multiple search teams without finding the remains Clarke reported had been buried there, yet, the Army’s professional bone finders didn’t think it necessary to look elsewhere.

No one thought it might be a good idea to interview Major Francis, either. Not many creative thinkers at DPAA.

Mr. Kupsky seems to have forgotten all about Major Francis’ information when he testified in court a few years later.

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The lead expert for the government was Gregory Kupsky, the historian who had prepared the 2012 summary noting that the only eyewitness had placed the burials at a location south of the river where the Abucay Cemetery was located and from where the X-1130/X-4685 remains had been recovered.

Mr. Kupsky stated that X-1130 came from Grave No. 9 in the Abucay Cemetery

Mr. Kupsky stated that the Abucay Churchyard and Abucay Cemetery were often confused with each other. He further stated that remains identified as 1LT Cheaney were disinterred from the Churchyard on the basis of Clarke’s information.

Mr. Kupsky’s opinion was that COL Clarke’s information was the primary basis for the AGRS to associate the X-1130 remains with 1LT Nininger in that COL Clarke placed the burial in Grave #9 of the Abucay Churchyard and X-1130 was recovered from Grave #9 in the nearby Abucay Cemetery.

Mr. Kupsky is unclear as to when X-1130 was first associated with 1LT Nininger. He thinks the Report of Internment form was used as a worksheet and information was added as it became available.

Mr. Kupsky “suggests” that the “attached letter” referenced on the X-1130 Report of Interment was COL Clarke’s information as provided in a letter from the Nininger and other families.

Mr. Kupsky assumes without evidence that the “attached letter” was based on COL Clarke’s information and there was no other information identifying X-1130. He completely neglects to mention that COL Clarke’s information had been totally discredited both because Clarke had not been present at the burials and that multiple excavations of the churchyard had proven it to be incorrect.

There is no evidence to suggest that AGRS relied primarily on COL Clarke’s letter as suggested by Mr. Kupsky. The AGRS recommendation explained that they actually discounted COL Clarke’s information because it had been found to contain errors as to other burial locations.

Mr. Kupsky’s 2017 declaration did not mention the eyewitness, Major Francis, or that he placed the burial location south of the river opposite the church. Neither did he mention that the Abucay Churchyard had been repeatedly and thoroughly excavated.

The government has always insisted that their objection to exhumation of a grave is their belief in the “sanctity of the grave” and that once interred the remains should not be disturbed.

Many of the Unknowns recovered from Bataan have been repeatedly interred and disinterred. First from their grave on Bataan, then moved to a central cemetery such as Manila #2, then Manila Mausoleum then the Fort McKinley cemetery (now Manila American Cemetery managed by ABMC). Then, at the Manila American Cemetery, Unknowns were often disinterred from the back row of a plot to fill an empty grave at the front of a plot. All for the convenience of the government. So much for the sanctity of the grave objection.

The government wasn’t so concerned about the sanctity of the grave in 2017 when they broke open multiple tombs in the Abucay Churchyard with no more evidence than an internet post by an anonymous person.

A few months after the government was sued by the families, they undertook an ill-conceived project to find the remains of 1LT Nininger in hopes of making the lawsuit moot and getting themselves off the hook. Not being real good at original thinking, they were still convinced that he had been buried in the Abucay Churchyard. Neither the fact that it had been repeatedly excavated nor that the source of the information had been totally discredited, deterred them. They had a solid lead this time. No less an authority than FindAGrave.com told them exactly where to look.

DPAA sprung in to action when they were alerted to a Findagrave.com post by a member using the handle “Anonymous” that 1LT Nininger was buried in a tomb in the Abucay Churchyard. The basis for the post was a plaque on the tomb identifying it as the grave of Alexander Ramsey Nininger, Jr.

Sparing no expense, DPAA broke open five above ground tombs in the Abucay Churchyard. The net result of their efforts was to disturb the graves of some local citizens interred there. Apparently, you just can’t rely on those anonymous plaques anymore.

Here is DPAA’s report of their investigation of the tomb.

We’re not republishing the photos of the human remains recovered from these tombs as none of them belonged to Nininger. The only thing proved by this boondogle was that the government shouldn’t argue about sanctity of the grave because that is an empty phrase to them.
So what do we know at this point about the burial of 1LT Alexander Nininger –

• The gravedigger said he buried five Americans in the Abucay Cemetery.
• Other officers interviewed state that the deputy commander of the medical detachment, Major Francis, would have been present for Nininger’s burial.
• Major Francis said that Nininger was buried south of the river where the Abucay Cemetery is located.
• The government’s lead expert, Gregory Kupsky is aware of Major Francis’ information, but is careful not to mention him in his 2017 court declarations.
• Major Francis passed away several years ago without ever being interviewed concerning his knowledge of the burials, but his letters survive.
• Remains X-1130/X-4685 were recovered from the Abucay Cemetery.
• The AGRS command repeatedly insisted that X-1130/X-4685 should be identified as 1LT Nininger.
• The Memorial Division in Washington repeatedly disapproved the recommendations because of (COL Clarke’s) discredited information.
• COL Clarke’s information had been repeatedly found to be incorrect.
• The government expert relies on unsubstantiated assumptions to avoid examining X-1130/X-4685. At one point he even states that those remains were recovered from the churchyard rather than the cemetery.
• Colonel George S. Clarke, the disgraced former commander of the 57th Infantry Rgt reported that 1LT Nininger had been buried in Soldiers Row Grave #9 of the Abucay Churchyard.
• Colonel Clarke was not present when Nininger was buried and the source of his information is unknown
• The Abucay Churchyard has no area known as Soldiers Row.
• The Abucay Churchyard had been thoroughly excavated multiple times without result. The remains of only two Americans were recovered from these excavations, Captain H.A. McCurdy and X-3431/X-1671 BTB 1LT John C. Compton both of whom had died at Abucay Hacienda.
• There was a row of graves of soldiers buried outside the church wall. Grave #9 in this row was identified as Philippine Scout PFC Tranquilino Beles, 6738585, by means of an identification tag. (So Nininger could not have been buried in grave #9 at the churchyard because someone else was found to be in it.)
• X-1130/X-4685 was recovered from the Abucay Cemetery Soldiers Row Grave #9.
• The remains of Lt’s Nininger, Compton, Maynard, Green and Wilson have never been identified.

Perhaps just as important is what we don’t know –

• It is unknown why Colonel Clarke would place the location of Nininger’s burial as Abucay Churchyard Soldiers Row #9 since no such location existed, but even Mr. Kupsky admits that the cemetery and churchyard locations were often confused.
• It is unknown what evidence the AGRS relied upon in determining that 1LT Nininger was buried in Grave #9 of the Abucay Cemetery.
• Why did the government’s expert neglect to mention that COL Clarke’s information had been thoroughly discredited or that the only known witness to the burial placed it south of the river.
• Why did the government’s expert assume without evidence that “attached letter” referenced in the X-1130 report of interment contained Clarke’s information and that was the basis for determining that grave 9 contained Nininger’s remains.

There were only two reported locations for the burial of 1LT Nininger, the cemetery and the churchyard. The churchyard had been thoroughly excavated by multiple teams of searchers. There was actually an eyewitness who placed the burial of 1LT Nininger in the cemetery, but the Army had diligently avoided interviewing that witness or examining the X-1130 remains.

Prior to the court’s decision, the government agreed to disinter the graves which the other plaintiff families asserted held the remains of their loved ones. Due to known commingling and conflicting records, there were a total of forty-one graves to be disinterred.

Cabanatuan POW Camp Grave 407 – 9
Cabanatuan POW Camp Grave 704 – 8
Cabanatuan POW Camp Grave 717 – 14
Cabanatuan POW Camp Grave 804 – 4
Colonel Loren Stewart – 3
Brig General Guy Fort – 3
TOTAL GRAVES DISINTERRED – 41

While the government “voluntarily disinterred” – or at least they had not yet been ordered to disinter – forty-one graves to resolve the other six cases. And despite the overwhelming evidence that 1LT Nininger and others were buried in the Abucay Cemetery, the government continues to insist that 1LT Alexander Nininger is buried in a location they have repeatedly investigated without finding anything. Even after the embarrassment of breaking open five more graves with negative results, the government still refuses to further investigate the X-1130/X-4685 remains. One has to ask why?

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Solving the case of 1LT Ira Cheaney was simple for the Army. They got some remains – any remains – and buried them at West Point and put Cheaney’s name on the headstone. Then they buried the records. Solved that problem for the next sixty years.

But the case of 1LT Alexander Nininger was much more complicated. As the first man awarded the Medal of Honor in World War II, public interest in his case was high. The government had used his heroism to boost American morale during the war’s darkest hour and now it was coming back to haunt them. They knew they better not screw this one up – again.

In addition, the families of four other officers who died in the same battle, and presumably would have been buried nearby, were demanding answers of their congressional representatives and they, in turn, were demanding answers from the Army. If just one of the five officers were identified there would be some explaining to do. They would have to identify all of them or none of them.

The Army’s problem then, and to this day, boiled down to one of credibility. To paraphrase Tom Holland, the former director of the JPAC Central Identification Laboratory, they were only as good as their last bad identification. If they admitted to making a mistake, every Gold Star Mother in the country would be wondering if they had actually received their son’s remains.

When the X-1130 remains were recovered from the Abucay Municipal Cemetery, they were immediately thought to be those of 1LT Alexander Nininger. But who did the other four sets of unidentified remains in that row belong to?

The files of each of those five Unknowns include identical statements from Gregorio Cunanan saying, “These five (5) Unknown Americans were killed in the town of Abucay, Province of Bataan, sometime in January 1942. I know that the deceased soldiers buried in the Abucay Cemetery, Abucay, Bataan are Americans because I was one of the grave diggers hired by the Americans before the surrender of Bataan.”

Unknown X-1130 had been immediately tagged as the remains of 1LT Alexander Nininger. In addition, there were four other young Philippine Scout officers who died in the same series of engagements that took Nininger’s life:
1LT John C. Compton
1LT Arthur W. Green
1LT David W. Maynard
1LT Kenneth L. Wilson

All five were members of Philippine Scout units and all five had died on 11/12 January 1942. In the absence of information to the contrary, it was reasonable to think that these five Unknowns were the five Americans buried by the local gravedigger, Gregorio Cunanan.

Soldiers Row of the Abucay Municipal Cemetery contained the remains of:

Grave 1, Unknown X3589 Manila #2, DoD Jan 42
Grave 2, Magno Caoit, 10302195 PS, DoD 12/18/41
Grave 3, Unknown X1051 Manila #2, DoD Jan 42
Grave 4, Victor F. Crowell, O2296, DoD 12/30/41
Grave 5, Cosimo A. Catanzaro, 37054718 PS, DoD 12/31/41
Grave 6, William Conway, 33034047, DoD 12/31/41
Grave 7, Magdaleno P. Burlaos, 10303868 PS, DoD 1/1/42
Grave 8, Unknown X1052 Manila #2, DoD Jan 42
Grave 9, Unknown X1130 Manila #2, DoD Jan 42
Grave 14, Leon Oropel, 10305917 PS, DoD Jan 42
Grave 15, Cenon Cruz, 10300723 PS, DoD 1/2/42
Grave 16, Maximo Jimenez, 6610984 PS
Grave 17, Marciano Ragaza, R6614250 PS
Grave 18, Unknown X1063 Manila #2, DoD Jan 42
(Graves 10, 11, 12 & 13 were not occupied)

In fact, it was so reasonable to think these five Unknowns were related, that to identify any one of them would have supported the identification of the others. The problem was that the Army’s proposed identification of X-1130 as 1LT Nininger had been disapproved by Washington because the parents of all of these men had been told by Colonel Clarke that they had been buried three-fourths of a mile away, in the Abucay Churchyard.

Even after multiple excavations of the Abucay Churchyard, no remains were found that could even be considered as those of Nininger, Wilson, Green, Compton or Maynard. None of them had been found in the churchyard and Washington had decreed that they were not in the Abucay town cemetery, so where were they?

The Army had a real problem. Because of Nininger’s receipt of the Medal of Honor, they had to be absolutely sure of the identification of his remains. At the same time, they would have to do some explaining if they identified any of the other four officers, but not Nininger.

By 1951, when Captain Vogl investigated the Nininger and Cheaney cases, the Army was beginning to realize they had a problem. They knew that Colonel Clarke’s information was incorrect because even after multiple excavations no remains had been found in the Abucay Churchyard that could be associated with any of the five officers.

Even after “looking” for seventy-five years and finding nothing, Washington still insists that Nininger was buried in the Abucay Churchyard and not in the Abucay Cemetery. Slow learners.

As recently as 2019, the government’s pros were massaging the evidence to support their theory that Nininger had been buried in the churchyard rather than the cemetery. Desperate to prove they had been right all along, they sent a team to Abucay to break open above ground tombs based on no more than a rumor that Nininger’s remains resided there.

The Army couldn’t go back and undo what they had worked so hard to screw up as they had backed themselves into a corner. The most important factor in identification of remains is credibility. If they fessed up to what they had done, it would cast doubt on tens of thousands of other identifications they have made. In their weird little bureaucratic minds it is better to deprive five families of the closure that would come with burying their sons than to cast doubt on all the other identifications they had pronounced the identities of, often with little or no substantiating evidence.

The mark of a good bureaucrat is that they are never wrong – just ask them.

Ultimately, the Army solved the problem by telling everyone to get their stories straight – or at least in agreement – and the written evidence of their misdeeds was classified as a defense secret and hidden away for a generation. Meanwhile, the Nininger, Cheaney, Maynard, Wilson, Compton and Green families are left with no answers and no closure. Their sons didn’t just fall off the face of the earth, but only the Army has the answers – and control of the remains – and they aren’t telling – or testing.

Over the years, the Army has excavated dozens of graves and broken open above ground tombs at the Abucay Church. They have exhumed the grave at West Point and found the remains to be “non-caucasian” in their attempt to prove that 1LT Nininger was buried in the Abucay Church yard and thereby prove themselves right.

The Army claims to be protecting the sanctity of the grave of X-1130, but that argument rings hollow considering the dozens of other graves they have disturbed in their quest to prove themselves to have been right.

Now, even in the face of repeated failures to find his remains and the overwhelming evidence that Unknown X-1130 is 1LT Nininger, they are unwilling to conduct DNA testing because it doesn’t fit their narrative.

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The remains of the five men had been recovered and at least four of them had been recommended for identification until Colonel Clarke, perhaps in an effort to repair his tarnished reputation, provided erroneous information on their burial locations.  The geniuses in Washington never asked the source of Clarke’s information or they would have realized that he had been relieved of his command and was not even in the area when the five were buried. Instead, the brass disregarded the witness information, disapproved the otherwise valid identification recommendations, and sent everyone on a wild goose chase that extends to the present.

Even when their errors became known, the attitude in Washington was the families be damned, it was more important to avoid disclosure of their incompetence than to return their sons for burial at home. 

With Colonel Clarke’s help, Washington had created a mess of epic proportions and they seemed intent on making it worse.

In addition to 1LT Nininger, from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the four other “misplaced” Philippine Scout officers were:
1LT David W. Maynard, from Bell, California
1LT John C. Compton, from Clearwater Beach, Florida
1LT Arthur W. Green, from Richmond, California
1LT Kenneth L. Wilson, from Omaha, Nebraska

When Colonel Clarke’s demonstrably erroneous information was disregarded, it was obvious that 1LT Nininger’s remains were X-1130 recovered from the Abucay Cemetery. These remains were interred as an Unknown in the Manila American Cemetery grave J 7 20 on 29 September 1950.

Unidentified remains X3566 were recommended for identification as 1LT Maynard based on solid information. These remains were interred as an Unknown in the Manila American Cemetery grave N 5 42 on 13 April 1950. This turned out to be a busy day at the cemetery.

 

The unidentified remains designated as X-1572 Manila Mausoleum (f/k/a X-3536 Manila Cemetery #2) had been recovered from San Pedro St., Hermosa, Bataan and were immediately identified as those of 1LT Kenneth Wilson by a local civilian who had known LT Wilson well.  When the recommendation that these remains be identified as Wilson was disapproved by Washington, they were interred as an Unknown in the Manila American Cemetery, grave L 4 22, on 13 April 1950.

 

The unidentified remains designated as X-1671 Manila Mausoleum (f/k/a X-166 and X-3431 Manila Cemetery #2) was one of two graves from a row of fourteen graves of Philippine Scouts buried just outside the wall of the Abucay Church.  All of them had died at Abucay Hacienda.  The recommendation that these remains be identified as those of 1LT John C. Compton was disapproved by Washington and these remains were buried as an Unknown in the Manila American Cemetery, grave L 12 22 on 13 April 1950 – the same day that Wilson and Maynard were buried.

Original report of interment showing Unknown X-3431 was believed to be 1LT John lC. Compton.

The only one of the five who had not been formally recommended for identification was Lt Arthur W. Green.  By a process of elimination, it is likely his remains were X-1051, X-1052, or X-1063 Manila Cemetery #2 as these were the only Unknowns from Soldiers Row in the Abucay Cemetery where Nininger’s remains were recovered.

The local graves registration command believed that two other second lieutenants assigned to the 31st Infantry and who died just days after the first five were likely buried in the same area and included the names of 2LT Claude Smock, from Salina, California, and 2LT Thomas O. Speers, from Lafayette Hill, Pennsylvania in the same case notes.

 

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In early January 1942, both Nininger and Cheaney were assigned to the 57th Infantry Regiment (Philippine Scouts).  At that time, the 57^th was assigned to hold the eastern most portion of the Main Line of Resistance on Bataan that ran west from Mabatang and Abucay on the east coast of the Bataan Peninsula, to the adjacent sector held by the 31^st Infantry Regiment.

The engagements of 11-12 January, 1942 were costly to the 57th Infantry Regiment, costing the lives of six lieutenants and over forty enlisted men including:

1LT Alexander Nininger
1LT David W. Maynard
1LT Arthur W. Green
1LT John C. Compton
1LT Kenneth L. Wilson

It was during this time that Nininger was killed in the engagement that earned him the first Medal of Honor awarded in World War II.  These were the very early days of the war soon after the Pearl Harbor attack and things were not going well for America.  The country needed a hero, and “Sandy” Nininger was the right man for the job. The American public needed a morale boost and Nininger received the nation’s highest award with even more than the usual fanfare. Unfortunately, the award seems to have consigned his remains to a grave known only to God.

In the face of an unremitting Japanese assault, USAFFE forces withdrew from the Abucay line to new positions on the night of 24-25 January, leaving no active American forces in the village.

Within days, the 57th Regiment deployed to the southwestern coast of Bataan to repel a series of Japanese landings known as the Battle of the Points.  Assigned to Company B, of the 57^th Infantry, 1st Lt Cheaney deployed to Quinauan Point.

It was during this engagement, on 30 – 31 January 1942, that 1st Lt Cheaney was killed – NOT in the town of Abucay. 

On 7-8 February, when U.S. forces finally retook the area, Captain Eugene Anthony, commander of Company B, visually identified the body of 1st Lt Cheaney.  Second Lieutenant (2d Lt) Fred Koenig, a graves registration officer of the 45th Regiment, told Capt Anthony that the remains would be taken to a U.S. Army cemetery in Mariveles, roughly ten miles away on the southern tip of the peninsula. Unfortunately, he didn’t specify which of the ten cemeteries in the Mariveles area he planned to take the remains to.

This is where things began to go wrong. Really badly wrong.

After the war, Cheaney’s family, quite rightfully, wanted his remains returned for burial at his alma mater, the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, NY.  They had been told by their son’s former regimental commander, Colonel Clarke, that he had been buried in the Churchyard at Abucay. 

Colonel Clarke, who had been relieved of his command, made it a point to contact the families of several of the young officers who had perished under his command.  The, rather self-serving stories he told the families, perhaps in hopes of repairing his sullied reputation or perhaps to comfort the families, got a few details wrong.  Clarke told the families that their sons had been buried in the Abucay Churchyard.  Unfortunately, Clarke was no longer on Bataan when those who died at Abucay were buried and they were actually buried in the Abucay Town Cemetery – just a little detail that was to have huge ramifications.  In the case of Ira Cheaney, he died more than two weeks after Clarke was relieved of his command and the Abucay engagements. At the time of Cheaney’s death, the town of Abucay was held by the enemy and he could not have been buried anywhere near there.

When the U.S. Army failed to provide a reasonable response to the families’ inquiries, the Cheaney family contacted their congressman, a young Richard M. Nixon, who was making quite a name for himself at the time.  Several of the other families of those who had perished in the Abucay engagements had also spoken with Colonel Clarke and demanded answers from the Army and their congressional representatives.

The U.S. Army, wanting to please the families – and their congressional representatives -quickly exhumed some remains from the Abucay Churchyard.  With no other evidence except Clarke’s description of the location of the grave being twelve steps from the door of the church, the remains were identified as those of Ira Cheaney, and buried at West Point in the post cemetery.

The Army, obviously aware of some discrepancies, conducted a fairly through investigation to try to sort things out and determine who they had buried at West Point.  Ultimately, they determined that the West Point grave contained the remains of not Cheaney, but either Nininger or 1LT David Maynard.  That was a problem as finding Nininger buried in Cheaney’s grave would make the Army look like a bunch of bungling boobs.

So the government decided to do the “right” thing – at least it was the right thing for the guilty – they made sure that all the witnesses told the “official” story.  They then upgraded the file classification from CONFIDENTIAL to SECRET and hid the file away for the next sixty plus years. Great idea, bury the report as a defense secret until everyone retires.

In 2018, the file documenting the Army’s investigation – which was filed under Cheaney’s name rather than Nininger’s – was, perhaps accidentally, declassified and released to the public.

The erroneous information provided by COL Clarke was to have ramifications reaching far beyond just Ira Cheaney’s case.

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The Army’s 1950 investigation by the Identification Branch confirmed what many people had already begun to figure out.  The remains buried at the USMA post cemetery could not be Cheaney because they were found in the Abucay Churchyard and that location was in enemy hands at the time of Cheaney’s death. Even worse, Colonel Clarke had told everyone that Nininger had been buried in the Abucay Churchyard where the supposed Cheaney remains were obtained so they could be the remains of 1LT Nininger or 1LT Maynard.

Whether through incompetence or a devious bit of genius we’ll never know, but the investigation report directed that unknowns from the TWO cemeteries at Mariveles – rather than those at Aglaloma or Quinnoun where the battle occurred – should be reviewed to determine if any of them were Cheaney.  Of course they were not Cheaney as there were at least ten closer locations in the vicinity of Mariveles where casualties from the 45^th and 57^th Scout units were buried.  There is no evidence that any casualties from these units were ever buried in the two cemeteries referenced in the report (Mariveles #3 and #6). 

Excerpt from Bataan Cemetery Plot Locations Key showing that casualties of the 45^th and 57^th Infantry were buried at two cemeteries at Quinnaun Point and other locations in the vicinity of Mariveles.

• #6 Marivelles – Km 180. A QM Graves Reg. Cem (2) – (West Rd) & (rear of S.H on edge of Barrio)
• #7 On West Rd – End of side rd to W. fr about Km 188 – between Tilim – Lusong R
• #8+ Quinnaun Pt. N of River & Tr. Probably some 300 K.I.A. Quinnaun Pt attack (387 Jap)
• #9+ Quinnaun Pt. N of River & CR (crosstrails) Believed to be Maj Sam Jonas & Chauffeur Erickson
• + NOTE 3d Bn 45^th P.S. 262, Co B 57^th P.S. 40, 5^th Interceptor Cmd 15, Co A 803 Engrs 35, P.A.A.C. 10, 1^st Bn 1^st P.C. 50 // 315

(X-3984 ML2 included a remark saying “ID disc bearing numbers 67—7117 the rest of the numbers were illegible.”  This could be any of nine men with those numbers in their SN, but only one man was in a unit that was at the Battle of the Points.
MANANSALA, SILVESTRE, CPL, Service Number 6737117, 45^th Infantry Regt, PS, Date of death: January 31, 1942). Corporal Manansala is listed as missing.

By 1948, the Cheaney family was getting a little impatient with the Army’s failure to return the remains of their son so they took their complaint to their Congressman, Richard Nixon. Mr. Cheaney Sr. told Rep. Nixon that Colonel Clarke had told them that their son was buried twelve steps to the right of the south center door of the Abucay Church.

The Army dug where Colonel Clarke said, found remains and quickly identified them as 1LT Cheaney.

On 24 February, 1949, the remains recovered from the Abucay Churchyard were buried in the U.S. Military Academy post cemetery.

Two years later, it must have dawned on someone that 1LT Cheaney was killed in action at Aglalona Bay, more than 30 miles from Abucay, and more than a week after Abucay was in enemy hands.

The Army’s review concluded that:
1. The remains buried at West Point were not those of 1LT Cheaney.
2. Colonel Clarke had provided incorrect information concerning burials.
3. Colonel Clarke had also provided incorrect information concerning the burials of:
1LT Nininger
1LT Green
1LT Wilson
1LT Maynard
1LT Compton

It also dawned on the Army that the remains buried at West Point had come from the Abucay Churchyard and they believed 1LT Nininger had really been buried in that location. Apparently, they didn’t realize that the belief that Nininger was buried in the Churchyard was based on the incorrect information provided by COL Clarke.

Finding the remains of someone who had been awarded the Medal of Honor buried in the wrong grave would not look good for the Army.

There was only one thing left to do, coverup their history of mistakes and bungling. Smooth things over with the families; get the witnesses to all tell the same story; and, hide the records.

They neglected the first rule of coverups – don’t write anything down.

When this, previously classified, file became public in 2019, the Department of Defense quickly and quietly disinterred the Cheaney grave at the USMA.  Upon examination, they determined that the remains were “non-Caucasian.”

To date, the remains of 1LT Cheaney have not been identified. Lt’s Nininger, Wilson, Compton, Green and Maynard are buried as Unknowns in the Manila American Cemetery. The Army still clings to the theory that Nininger was buried in the Abucay Churchyard.

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Prior to WW2, Jim was a Captain in the Army Reserves and was professor of Military Science and Tactics at the La Salle Institute, a Catholic military preparatory school in Troy, NY. He’d been married nine years to Evelyn Murray, and they had five young children. In June 1941 he received orders and left everything behind to sail for the Philippine Islands, where war was looming.

Immediately after the Pearl Harbor attack, Japanese bombing attacks in the Philippine Islands succeeded in wiping out that country’s air forces.  This unforeseen outcome meant that naval defenses and ground forces were suddenly exposed to annihilation from above. The Navy’s ships sailed for safer waters, while the Army headed for the hills.

Bataan peninsula, which juts out into Manila Bay, is covered in jungle, deep ravines and rugged mountains. It was thought to be an ideal place to defend. The plan of defense was sound, especially had its assumptions been true. It called for a “retrograde defense” or phased withdrawal behind successive lines into the peninsula. The enemy would have to pay dearly for every mile they advanced, and they did. But the plan assumed that soon, the American Navy would come to the rescue. After Pearl Harbor, it could not. The men on Bataan were on their own, written off, destined to fight starvation and disease as much as the Japanese Army.

After the war commenced, no letters from Jim were ever received home. What the family has learned about his actions during the war has come from military orders, books, memoirs, and letters written after the war. By all accounts, Jim was an outstanding soldier and a capable leader.  He served in the “All-American” 31^st Infantry Regiment, which distinguished itself in battle, earning two presidential unit citations and a Philippine presidential unit citation. He was Executive Officer of the 3^rd Battalion, second in command of a force of 400-500 soldiers.

“There is no unit in the American Army which has served with greater distinction both in peace and in war, than the 31st Infantry. At Bataan, it achieved its greatest glory as its lines held firm time and time again against the assault of overwhelming superior forces.” – Gen. Douglas MacArthur

“I should like to express…my admiration of the splendid courage and quality which the small American army, under General MacArthur, has resisted brilliantly for so long, at desperate odds the hordes of Japanese who have been hurled against it…” – Sir Winston Churchill

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The awards state:

Silver Star Citation

During the counter-attack made by the Third Battalion, 31^st Infantry near Layac Junction, Bataan Province, P.I. , on January 6, 1942, Major O’Donovan set a fine example for the attacking elements by his bravery under severe enemy fire. Major O’Donovan’s leadership and bravery under fire were important contributing factors to the success of the attack.

Bronze Star Medal

For Meritorious achievement in military operations against and armed enemy of the United States while serving with Headquarters Company, 3d Battalion, 31^st Infantry Regiment on 6 January 1942 in the Philippines. His dauntless efforts and unwavering courage in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater of Operations are traits to emulate. Major O’Donovan’s outstanding performance of duty in active ground combat was in keeping with the finest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself, the Philippine Division, and the Army of the United States.

Abucay Hacienda

The Japanese forces pressed southward down the peninsula, but were stopped at the MLR. The enemy took massive casualties from the 57^th Regiment, Philippine Scouts, but continuously probed the line for weakness. They finally broke through near a sugar plantation called Abucay Hacienda. There the 51^st Division HQ was surrounded and the penetration was being reinforced, leaving the entire MLR in jeopardy. Jim and the 31^st Infantry were commanded to march 15 miles to Abucay Hacienda, counter-attack, and restore the MLR.

While at Abucay Hacienda he personally led several assaults against prepared enemy positions hiding in mango groves and sugar cane. On one of these missions he led a patrol in a flanking maneuver, attacked the enemy leaving 12 dead and was himself hit by a grenade and hospitalized for three days. He was awarded the Purple Heart.

Jim was at other times wounded in the arm, and again slightly wounded in the head by sniper fire, a constant menace in the trees above. Consequently, he led counter-sniper operations and it’s said that he had several snipers to his credit. To gain volunteers for this dangerous mission he’s quoted as saying “come with me and you’ll get medals, let’s bell the cat”.

Japanese soldiers took cover in the sugar cane that grew close to American lines. Several accounts describe how MAJ O’Donovan personally used fuel to set the cane burning. As the enemy fled they were exposed to withering gunfire described as a “duck shoot”. According to one account, Jim’s clothes were entirely burned off leaving him naked except for a gun belt with two pistols.

He commanded the shell on the night of the withdrawal from the Abucay line. Where once 12 companies had been, three companies remained to fight an emboldened enemy, now sensing retreat. Dr. Ralph Hibbs later described it, “Our machine guns clattered incessantly. Our protective shell was holding. Thank God for the brave and determined men who remained behind”. They held out until the appointed time and withdrew as ordered behind a screen of prepared tanks and self-propelled guns. A thousand Japanese gave pursuit, unaware of the waiting tanks which wiped them out entirely.

The commander of L Company, Captain Donald G. Thompson, later wrote of this event:

I was with Jim throughout that long, terrible, night. Fighting Japs continuously until 7:00 in the next morning! He was an inspiration to me, as well as all the men in the covering force for his fearlessness, his good judgement and his superior commanding ability. How we got out of that action that night I’ll never know, but Jim O’Donovan had a great deal to do with it!

That month, Clark Lee, an AP reporter embedded with the troops wrote in his column:

The Hacienda battle proved for the first time that American soldiers can outfight Japanese, but it was costly proof. The 31^st regimental roster is studded with the names of dead, wounded and missing, as well as those of living heroes.

For his actions at Abucay Hacienda, Jim was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, our nation’s second highest military award after the Medal of Honor.

Distinguished Service Cross

For extraordinary heroism in action in the vicinity of Abucay Hacienda, Bataan, Philippine Islands, during the period January 20-24, 1942. During the four-day battle of Abucay Hacienda, Major O’Donovan was serving as battalion executive officer. His constant exhibition of bravery and effective leadership in front line positions under intense rifle, machine gun, mortar and artillery fire was a significant factor in the successful resistance of his unit. On the night of January 24^th, Major O’Donovan, in command of a covering shell of three depleted companies, was charged with securing the withdrawal of his regiment. Shortly after the withdrawal was under way, a general attack was launched by the enemy. Again, his competent leadership and exhibition of bravery in the most advanced positions, contributed to the efficient accomplishment of his mission and the consequent successful withdrawal of the regiment.”

Calm Before the Storm

Japanese succeeded in taking the MLR but at such a high price they could not afford to press the attack further. They paused during February and March to gather forces for a final assault and subsequent bombardment of the island fortress of Corregidor. Despite the lull in direct combat, the defenders continued to wither away from months of 1/2 rations, and a shortage of medicine, including quinine, essential for treatment of malaria. In mid-march, Jim spent eight days in the hospital, probably due to malaria. This all meant that when the fighting did resume, their effectiveness would be less than 50%.

Mount Samat

            Japan’s final assault began April 3rd in sector D of the defensive line, manned by the pitiful remnants of the Philippine Army. After a terrific artillery attack that demolished the majority of defensive preparations, the Japanese advanced, scattering the shell-shocked defenders. The 31^st Infantry Regiment, which had been held in reserve, was released April 5^th. Their mission was to counter attack a Japanese breakthrough in sector D. By the time the regiment arrived at the line of departure, the enemy was already there and advancing. The mission was changed from attack, to the formation of a defensive line at the San Vicente River.

It was at this line of defense on April 6^th that Jim was nearly blown up. The event was described in the book “Bataan, Our last Ditch”:

“… Captain Thompson was receiving orders from Major O’Donovan when Japanese artillery slammed into the area. Thompson was next to a tree that shattered under the fire and peppered him with pieces of tree and shell. He was evacuated to a hospital, not because of fragmentation wounds, but because the shell landed so close he lost his hearing. Sitting nearby, Private Snyder was watching the meeting when he saw the shell hit right among the officers. “It temporarily shell-shocked me” Snyder recalled. “I ran to a foxhole, and after the shelling, the men had a hard time getting me out”

 The resistance at the San Vicente River held until April 7^th, when their position was attacked, the Regiment was cut off, and they received orders to withdraw. The regiment made a disorganized withdrawal to another defensive line on the 8^th and finally was surrounded and captured on April 9^th.

Demolitions

A letter from Captain Thompson, Company L commander, indicates that after April 7^th, Jim had a special mission:

I was wounded on the 6th April 1942 by Jap heavy artillery and was taken to the base hospital. 3 days later (Apr 9) the surrender came. However, on the last two days of fighting, Jim organized and commanded a small task force of Filipinos, American soldiers, scouts, navy and marines around the town of Mariveles. Thru Jim’s command and men, the navy was able to destroy many naval installations rather than surrender them to the Japs. His actions on those 2 days were highly commended by several officers and men I talked to after the surrender.

”LESS”

Donald G. Thompson later wrote to Jim’s widow:

The night after our surrender I found Jim in the column marching out of Bataan on what has come to be known as the “death march”, so I joined him and we marched, slept, & marched for 4 days and nights on that long trip to camp O’Donnell, our first prisoner of war camp. Jim had malaria from the 2nd day and was a very sick man, but he refused to let me or anyone else carry his pack. He said “he was a soldier and a good solder carries his own load”.

After the war, Abie Abraham recalled in a letter:

On the death march he was leading the men; a guard came over telling Major O’Donovan to move faster. Jim kept up a slow pace, he knew by moving fast the men would pass out and get shot. The nip slugged the Major in the face, but he still kept a slow pace and he held his head up as he led the men away.

POW and Death

After the surrender the captives were interned at Camp O’Donnell. The Japanese guards were indifferent to the needs and suffering of their captives, offering no medicine and a starvation diet. In two months, 1500 Americans died of every kind of treatable illness. In June, 1942 the survivors were moved to Cabanatuan POW camp, which was not much better. There, 2700 more Americans would be buried.

Donald G. Thompson, a friend and fellow POW later wrote:

At Cabanatuan Camp Jim came down with malaria and Beriberi and was put into the hospital. No medicine was available and Jim got down to about 100 pounds. His body became bloated from the Beriberi (lack of protein in the blood stream) and it finally reached his heart. He lasted only about 3 days when the infections reached and entered his heart. He died as he had lived, without complaining and at peace with his God! Something I’ve always admired in any man

In agony he struggled to survive, knowing what his loss would do to his wife Evelyn and their five children. Sadly, after months of starvation and untreated illness, the great beating heart of Major James J. O’Donovan finally gave out, ending the incredible saga of an American Hero.

”LESS”

“It is with deep regret that your government finds it necessary to inform you that further search and investigation have failed to reveal the whereabouts of your husband’s remains. Since all efforts have been unsuccessful, it has been necessary to declare that his remains are not recoverable”

This statement leaves out much that was known, but shamefully covered up until 50 years later. Declassified records show that MAJ O’Donovan was buried singly by fellow American POWs in a marked grave. After the war his remains were recovered by the Army Graves Registration Service. They had him! Tragically, it seems the chain of custody was lost and those remains could no longer be presumed to be his. The questionable remains were buried as an “Unknown” at American Cemetery in Manila. The declaration of his remains to be unrecoverable hid the vital fact that was their fault! This scandalous failure and these embarrassing, career ending facts were conveniently classified, when the family deserved to know the entire truth. 

Current Status

In Feb 2018, thanks to the generous help of POW/MIA researchers and research forums and websites, the family discovered the US Government had been using family DNA samples to identify and bring home the remains of the “Unknowns” from battlefields and cemeteries all over the world. The family soon after submitted the requisite DNA samples. A year and a half later (Aug 2019) the family was notified that the DOD approved the request for disinterment. In January of 2020 the family was informed that the remains were removed from Manila, and that they are now in Hawaii being processed for DNA identification. This may take between three and 24 months to complete.

More information can be found at this website.

”LESS”