Emily Chan
On April 1, 2024, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced that they had identified the remains of a 20-year-old World War II soldier named Joseph C. Murphy, who died as a prisoner of a war camp in the Philippines.
Murphy was from Bogalusa, Louisiana. Before joining the U.S. Army, he had been working for an ice cream company.
In late 1942, he was serving as a private first class in the 31st Infantry Regiment in the Philippines when Japanese troops invaded the Bataan Peninsula.
After lots of intense fighting, American forces surrendered. As a result, thousands of U.S. and Filipino service members were captured and brought to POW camps.
When U.S. forces in Bataan surrendered to the Japanese, it was reported that Murphy was among the prisoners.
They were subjected to the brutal 65-mile-long Bataan Death March across the Philippines and ended up at the infamous Cabanatuan POW camp #1 in the Nueva Ecija Province. During the war, more than 2,500 prisoners of war (POWs) perished in this camp.
At Cabanatuan, the prisoners, including Murphy, had to undergo poor conditions. There was not enough food or water, which led to starvation, malnutrition, and disease. When the camp was finally liberated in 1945, it was estimated that over 2,500 Americans had died.
According to historical records, Murphy died from malnutrition and dysentery just months after arriving at the camp. He was buried in Common Grave 713 in the Cabanatuan Camp Cemetery with other deceased individuals.
Murphy died on October 28, 1942. His family received a letter from U.S. General Douglas MacArthur, notifying them of his death.
Sign up for Chip Chick’s newsletter and get stories like this delivered to your inbox.
