Rank and Name, Hospital Apprentice Robert William Baer.
Unit/Placed in, USS Canopus (AS-9) Submarine Tender, United States Navy .
Camp Bilibid
Former Civilian prisoners converted the Prison to a POW camp, hospital and transit Camp for POWS. Almost every man captured on Corregidor passed through this camp at one time or another. As it was a transit point for movement to other camps First major use as transit point for high ranking officers from Bataan and for all men from Corregidor. He became a POW and was imprisoned at Pow Camp Bilibid (Manila) he survived the Bataan Death March, but died shortly after it.
Arisan Maru
The Arisan Maru was a Hell Ships (former Cargo, used for Transport POW’s to other Camps) sunk on Nov. 24, 1944.
The Arisan Maru, sailed from Manila on October 11, 1944 for Japan. This ship was sunk by the American submarine, USS Shark with three torpedoes, on November 24, 1944. There were 1800 POWs aboard – nine men survived this sinking. Two days later, five of the survivors were rescued by a Chinese fishing junk. The Chinese helped them reach American Air Corps forces. Other survivors were recaptured by a Japanese destroyer and taken to Formosa.
This Hell Ship sank in the South China Sea making it the worst naval disaster in the history of the United States.
William is born approx. on 8 May 1922 in Indiana.
Father, John L. Baer.
Mother, Lucy Baer.
Brother(s), Harry and Raymond Baer.
William enlisted the service in Indiana with service number # 2916538.
William was KIA when the Arisan Maru was Torpedoed, he tried to escape and the Japanese guards shot him on Oct 24, 1944 on, he is honored with a Purple Heart, Combat Action Ribbon, Good Conduct Medal, Expeditionary Medal, American Campaign Medal, Navy & Marine Presidential Unit Citation, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, WW II Victory Medal.
William is buried/mentioned at Manila American Cemetery and Memorial Manila, Metro Manila, National Capital Region, Philippines.
Walls of the missing.
Thanks to,
Jean Louis Vijgen, ww2-Pacific.com and Europe 1940-1945 on Facebook.
Air Force Info, Rolland Swank.
ABMC Website, https://abmc.gov
Marines Info, https://missingmarines.com/ Geoffrey Roecker
Seabees History Bob Smith https://seabeehf.org/
Navy Info, http://navylog.navymemorial.org
POW Info, http://www.mansell.com Dwight Rider and Wes injerd.
Philippine Info, http://www.philippine-scouts.org/ Robert Capistrano
National Historian
Navy Seal Memorial, http://www.navysealmemorials.com
Family Info, https://www.familysearch.org
Info, https://www.pacificwrecks.com/
Medals Info, https://www.honorstates.org
Find a Grave, https://www.findagrave.com
Tank Destroyers, http://www.bensavelkoul.nl/
USS Canopus AS-9
The submarine tender USS Canopus (AS-9) received severe damage when hit by heavy bombers on December 29, 1941. She lost six of her crew in the attack, with another six wounded. She was later scuttled off Manila Bay rather than face capture by the enemy. Her crew was used in the defense of Bataan and Corregidor. A large number of her crew died in the Philippine Islands, during transport to POW camps in Japan, or in the camps themselves.
