Son of Frank Howard Mayo (1889-1956) and Anna Laura (Nielsen) Nelson (1896-?).
1925 North Dakota State Census (01 April 1925): Bismarck, Burleigh County, North Dakota (sheet 114, family 1027) – Fred Mayo (4 North Dakota)
1930 United States Federal Census (19 April 1930): Bismarck (Ward 3), Burleigh County, North Dakota (sheet 21B, family 484, 707 Twelfth Street) – Fred Mayo (9 North Dakota).
May 1938
Private Fred E. Mayo (S/N 6566810)
Detachment Quartermaster Corps at Large, Fort Lewis, Washington
Monthly Roster of Troops 25 May 1938 thru 31 December 1939
Company G, 7th Infantry, Vancouver Barracks, Washington
Private/Private First Class/Corporal Fred E. Mayo (S/N 6566810). Pvt. Fred E. Mayo was transferred from Detachment Quartermaster Corps at Large, Fort Lewis, Washington to Company G, 7th Infantry on 25 May 1938. He was promoted to Private First Class in January 1939. Fred had a one month, 01-30 March 1939 furlough. He was promoted to Corporal in December 1939.
February 1940
Corporal Fred E. Mayo, Camp Ord, Monterey Bay, California.
Fred E. Mayo (20 North Dakota) is found in the 1940 United States Federal Census (26 April 1940) for Presidio of San Francisco, San Francisco County, California (sheet 38B, line 54). He had lived in Tacoma, Washington in 1935. Fred had completed one year of high school. He was a soldier in the U.S. Army.
With the clouds of war looming on the horizon Corporal Fred E. Mayo (S/N 6566810) was sent to the Philippine Islands and assigned to A Company, 31st Infantry Regiment, Philippine Division, U.S. Army.
When Japanese aircraft attacked Pearl Harbor at 0200 on 8 December (Manila time), the 1st Battalion (which included A Company), 31st Infantry Regiment, was stationed at Cuartel de España, Intramuros, Manila.
Japanese forces began a full-scale invasion of Luzon on 22 December. In response, General Douglas MacArthur, ordered their withdrawal to the Bataan peninsula to be a part of the Bataan Defense Force.
After spending nearly three weeks in the Luneta area along Manila Bay guarding against a potential Japanese paratroop landing (that never came), the 1st Battalion boarded barges before daylight on Christmas morning. They headed for Corregidor, an island dominating Manila Bay's entrance. Once ashore, the 1st Battalion marched up to the parade ground in front of "Topside", the world's longest barracks and were housed there.
On 29 December the Japanese began bombing Corregidor. The 1st Battalion had not prepared foxholes because they were told by men stationed on the island that Topside Barracks was bombproof. They soon learned otherwise. A number of men were killed and wounded. That afternoon, the 1st Battalion filed back down to the shattered North dock where they boarded barges for Bataan.
The 31st Infantry Regiment was at the forefront of combat on Bataan in January, helping to form the right flank of USAFFE's main line of resistance. The 1st and 2nd Battalions formed the forward security line near Layac (3rd Battalion was in reserve). Behind them, dug in on the higher ridges, was the 23rd and 88th Field Artillery. To the regiments right was the Philippine Army's 71st Division.
On 06 January 1942 the battle for Bataan began. Japanese artillery began shelling the Fil-American positions. "The loud, earth-shaking "carrump , of impacting shells was unnerving to even those not directly affected." Soon Japanese infantry appeared in a cane field on the right flank. By "8 pm, the line held, but the situation was bad. All supporting artillery was out of action, the 71st Division was a battered fragment that could not hope to hold its line, the 31st Infantry had lost 2 companies, and a squadron of the 26th Cavalry had suffered heavily during the evening's bombardment". The line was ordered to withdrawal and move back 3 miles. The main body of the 31st Infantry boarded trucks and buses around 1:30 am on 07January.
"Around 7:30 am on 07 January, the 31st Infantry reached kilometer post 139 near the barrio of Pandan on the main north-south highway, digging in from Manila Bay to a point 1000 yards west of the highway. The men worked feverishly to create a position that would not be penetrated...By 15 January, the Pandan position was well prepared, completely wired in, and expertly camouflaged. The regiment could take justifiable pride in its accomplishment, but it would not have the opportunity to defend the position. That night, the regiment was ordered to move to a new assembly area 20 km to the rear at a former Philippine Army training camp west of Balanga.
After two days of fighting at Layac, eight days of hard physical labor building defensive positions at Pandan on half rations, and a 20-kilometer forced march from Balanga at night without rest, men simply dropped to the ground and slept, oblivious to their surroundings. Balanga had been bombed the day before and was still burning, but the troops paid little attention. Around noon on January 16, the weary regiment was alerted to move again. The Philippine Army's 51st Division had disintegrated and the 31st was ordered to restore a gap that had been cut into the line near Abucay... Marching 16 kilometers with only two 10-minute rest stops, the 31st reached its jump-off position around 7:00 PM. Filipino troops of the 51st Division were still straggling to the rear, shouting "Japs coming."...By 1:00 am on 17 January, the 31st Infantry's lead elements had advanced to within 700 yards of Abucay Hacienda, a settlement marked by its prominent Spanish-built church. There, the 31st "ran into stiff resistance".
The 31st Infantry was in some of the fiercest fighting with the Japanese Fourteenth Army on Bataan in places like Layac Junction, Abucay and Orion-Bagac. By the middle of March, fifty percent of the regiment was sick with malaria or dysentery. They continued to fight on in places like Mount Samat, San Vicente and the Alangan River but were repeatedly forced to withdraw against the relenting Japanese forces.
From the very beginning, Bataan men were cut to 1/2 rations, and very soon, to 1/4 rations. About four weeks later, they were living on 1/8 rations, that is, when food was available to them. Towards the end, it was changed to 1/16th of their rations...Quite often, they would go several days with no food, unless they could catch something in the jungle." Source: Federico Baldassarre letter
In the wake of starvation came diseases, such as malaria, dengue, scurvy, beriberi and amebic dysentery. The average American soldier lost 15-25 pounds and malaria was as high as 35 percent among front line units.
The Japanese started their final offensive of Bataan on Good Friday, 03 April 1942. By the evening of April 8, the situation was clearly hopeless. With ammunition, rations and supplies practically exhausted and most of his best units destroyed, Major General Edward P. King, commander of the forces on Bataan, was convinced his troops could not physically resist any more and decided to surrender to prevent further loss of life. On 09 April 1942, Maj. Gen. King surrendered the Luzon Force to the Japanese. Practically all entered captivity malnourished and sick.
He, along with 75,000 American and Filipino prisoners of war captured by the Japanese, were subjected to the infamous Bataan Death March. When the Fil-American soldiers began the Death March they were in terrible physical condition. For 6 to 9 days (depending on their starting point) they were forced to walk the roughly sixty-five miles to San Fernando, enduring abuse by Japanese guards and seeing the deaths of thousands of fellow soldiers. At San Fernando, the Japanese stuffed about 100 men into steel-sided boxcars for the twenty-five-mile trip to Capas. The scorching hot boxcars were packed so tight that the men could not even sit down. When the train arrived at Capas the POW's were offloaded and marched the final nine miles to Camp O'Donnell. The first dehydrated, famished prisoners entered O'Donnell on 11 April 1942, with the last group entering on 04 June 1942.
Surviving the brutal treatment by the Japanese at Camp O'Donnell (about 1500 American and 22,000 Filipino prisoners of war died in just three months) Cpl. Mayo was transferred to the Cabanatuan POW Camp No. 1, approximately 8 kilometers west of the town by the same name.
In early June of 1942, prisoners from Camp O'Donnell began to stream into Camp No. 1, joining the men from Corregidor and increasing the number of prisoners to over 7,300 men. Because of the poor health of the men from O'Donnell, the death rate at Camp #1 soared.
Corporal Fred E. Mayo (S/N 6566810) died on 16 June 1942, a prisoner of the Japanese at POW Camp 1, Cabanatuan, Nueva Province, Luzon, Philippines 15-121. He was one of 15 men to die that day. In all 503 men died in the prison during the month of June. By the time the camp was liberated in early 1945, 2,764 Americans had died at Cabanatuan in 2½ years. 90% of the POW deaths in Cabanatuan were men from Bataan.
He was buried in a communal grave in the camp cemetery along with other deceased American POWs who died that day. After the war, all the remains in the Cabanatuan Prison cemetery that could be found were disinterred (between December 1945 - February 1946) and brought to 7747 USAF Cemetery, Manila #2, Philippine Islands. He was reburied in Block 3, Row 11, Grave 1378 (D-D 8481). The deceased in Manila #2 (over 11,000 American soldiers) rested there until their removal to the American Graves Registration Service Manila Mausoleum in the summer of 1948. From there, according to the wishes of his next of kin (mother, Mrs. Anna Mayo), Corporal Fred E. Mayo was buried in his final resting place in the 7701 Ft. McKinley Cemetery (now known as the Manila American Cemetery) – Plot B, Row 9, Grave 15.
He was one of 61 men from his A Company that died in captivity. In all 1155 men from the 31st Infantry Regiment died in captivity, roughly half of the regiment's strength on the day the war began.
1925 North Dakota State Census (01 April 1925): Bismarck, Burleigh County, North Dakota (sheet 114, family 1027) – Fred Mayo (4 North Dakota)
1930 United States Federal Census (19 April 1930): Bismarck (Ward 3), Burleigh County, North Dakota (sheet 21B, family 484, 707 Twelfth Street) – Fred Mayo (9 North Dakota).
May 1938
Private Fred E. Mayo (S/N 6566810)
Detachment Quartermaster Corps at Large, Fort Lewis, Washington
Monthly Roster of Troops 25 May 1938 thru 31 December 1939
Company G, 7th Infantry, Vancouver Barracks, Washington
Private/Private First Class/Corporal Fred E. Mayo (S/N 6566810). Pvt. Fred E. Mayo was transferred from Detachment Quartermaster Corps at Large, Fort Lewis, Washington to Company G, 7th Infantry on 25 May 1938. He was promoted to Private First Class in January 1939. Fred had a one month, 01-30 March 1939 furlough. He was promoted to Corporal in December 1939.
February 1940
Corporal Fred E. Mayo, Camp Ord, Monterey Bay, California.
Fred E. Mayo (20 North Dakota) is found in the 1940 United States Federal Census (26 April 1940) for Presidio of San Francisco, San Francisco County, California (sheet 38B, line 54). He had lived in Tacoma, Washington in 1935. Fred had completed one year of high school. He was a soldier in the U.S. Army.
With the clouds of war looming on the horizon Corporal Fred E. Mayo (S/N 6566810) was sent to the Philippine Islands and assigned to A Company, 31st Infantry Regiment, Philippine Division, U.S. Army.
When Japanese aircraft attacked Pearl Harbor at 0200 on 8 December (Manila time), the 1st Battalion (which included A Company), 31st Infantry Regiment, was stationed at Cuartel de España, Intramuros, Manila.
Japanese forces began a full-scale invasion of Luzon on 22 December. In response, General Douglas MacArthur, ordered their withdrawal to the Bataan peninsula to be a part of the Bataan Defense Force.
After spending nearly three weeks in the Luneta area along Manila Bay guarding against a potential Japanese paratroop landing (that never came), the 1st Battalion boarded barges before daylight on Christmas morning. They headed for Corregidor, an island dominating Manila Bay's entrance. Once ashore, the 1st Battalion marched up to the parade ground in front of "Topside", the world's longest barracks and were housed there.
On 29 December the Japanese began bombing Corregidor. The 1st Battalion had not prepared foxholes because they were told by men stationed on the island that Topside Barracks was bombproof. They soon learned otherwise. A number of men were killed and wounded. That afternoon, the 1st Battalion filed back down to the shattered North dock where they boarded barges for Bataan.
The 31st Infantry Regiment was at the forefront of combat on Bataan in January, helping to form the right flank of USAFFE's main line of resistance. The 1st and 2nd Battalions formed the forward security line near Layac (3rd Battalion was in reserve). Behind them, dug in on the higher ridges, was the 23rd and 88th Field Artillery. To the regiments right was the Philippine Army's 71st Division.
On 06 January 1942 the battle for Bataan began. Japanese artillery began shelling the Fil-American positions. "The loud, earth-shaking "carrump , of impacting shells was unnerving to even those not directly affected." Soon Japanese infantry appeared in a cane field on the right flank. By "8 pm, the line held, but the situation was bad. All supporting artillery was out of action, the 71st Division was a battered fragment that could not hope to hold its line, the 31st Infantry had lost 2 companies, and a squadron of the 26th Cavalry had suffered heavily during the evening's bombardment". The line was ordered to withdrawal and move back 3 miles. The main body of the 31st Infantry boarded trucks and buses around 1:30 am on 07January.
"Around 7:30 am on 07 January, the 31st Infantry reached kilometer post 139 near the barrio of Pandan on the main north-south highway, digging in from Manila Bay to a point 1000 yards west of the highway. The men worked feverishly to create a position that would not be penetrated...By 15 January, the Pandan position was well prepared, completely wired in, and expertly camouflaged. The regiment could take justifiable pride in its accomplishment, but it would not have the opportunity to defend the position. That night, the regiment was ordered to move to a new assembly area 20 km to the rear at a former Philippine Army training camp west of Balanga.
After two days of fighting at Layac, eight days of hard physical labor building defensive positions at Pandan on half rations, and a 20-kilometer forced march from Balanga at night without rest, men simply dropped to the ground and slept, oblivious to their surroundings. Balanga had been bombed the day before and was still burning, but the troops paid little attention. Around noon on January 16, the weary regiment was alerted to move again. The Philippine Army's 51st Division had disintegrated and the 31st was ordered to restore a gap that had been cut into the line near Abucay... Marching 16 kilometers with only two 10-minute rest stops, the 31st reached its jump-off position around 7:00 PM. Filipino troops of the 51st Division were still straggling to the rear, shouting "Japs coming."...By 1:00 am on 17 January, the 31st Infantry's lead elements had advanced to within 700 yards of Abucay Hacienda, a settlement marked by its prominent Spanish-built church. There, the 31st "ran into stiff resistance".
The 31st Infantry was in some of the fiercest fighting with the Japanese Fourteenth Army on Bataan in places like Layac Junction, Abucay and Orion-Bagac. By the middle of March, fifty percent of the regiment was sick with malaria or dysentery. They continued to fight on in places like Mount Samat, San Vicente and the Alangan River but were repeatedly forced to withdraw against the relenting Japanese forces.
From the very beginning, Bataan men were cut to 1/2 rations, and very soon, to 1/4 rations. About four weeks later, they were living on 1/8 rations, that is, when food was available to them. Towards the end, it was changed to 1/16th of their rations...Quite often, they would go several days with no food, unless they could catch something in the jungle." Source: Federico Baldassarre letter
In the wake of starvation came diseases, such as malaria, dengue, scurvy, beriberi and amebic dysentery. The average American soldier lost 15-25 pounds and malaria was as high as 35 percent among front line units.
The Japanese started their final offensive of Bataan on Good Friday, 03 April 1942. By the evening of April 8, the situation was clearly hopeless. With ammunition, rations and supplies practically exhausted and most of his best units destroyed, Major General Edward P. King, commander of the forces on Bataan, was convinced his troops could not physically resist any more and decided to surrender to prevent further loss of life. On 09 April 1942, Maj. Gen. King surrendered the Luzon Force to the Japanese. Practically all entered captivity malnourished and sick.
He, along with 75,000 American and Filipino prisoners of war captured by the Japanese, were subjected to the infamous Bataan Death March. When the Fil-American soldiers began the Death March they were in terrible physical condition. For 6 to 9 days (depending on their starting point) they were forced to walk the roughly sixty-five miles to San Fernando, enduring abuse by Japanese guards and seeing the deaths of thousands of fellow soldiers. At San Fernando, the Japanese stuffed about 100 men into steel-sided boxcars for the twenty-five-mile trip to Capas. The scorching hot boxcars were packed so tight that the men could not even sit down. When the train arrived at Capas the POW's were offloaded and marched the final nine miles to Camp O'Donnell. The first dehydrated, famished prisoners entered O'Donnell on 11 April 1942, with the last group entering on 04 June 1942.
Surviving the brutal treatment by the Japanese at Camp O'Donnell (about 1500 American and 22,000 Filipino prisoners of war died in just three months) Cpl. Mayo was transferred to the Cabanatuan POW Camp No. 1, approximately 8 kilometers west of the town by the same name.
In early June of 1942, prisoners from Camp O'Donnell began to stream into Camp No. 1, joining the men from Corregidor and increasing the number of prisoners to over 7,300 men. Because of the poor health of the men from O'Donnell, the death rate at Camp #1 soared.
Corporal Fred E. Mayo (S/N 6566810) died on 16 June 1942, a prisoner of the Japanese at POW Camp 1, Cabanatuan, Nueva Province, Luzon, Philippines 15-121. He was one of 15 men to die that day. In all 503 men died in the prison during the month of June. By the time the camp was liberated in early 1945, 2,764 Americans had died at Cabanatuan in 2½ years. 90% of the POW deaths in Cabanatuan were men from Bataan.
He was buried in a communal grave in the camp cemetery along with other deceased American POWs who died that day. After the war, all the remains in the Cabanatuan Prison cemetery that could be found were disinterred (between December 1945 - February 1946) and brought to 7747 USAF Cemetery, Manila #2, Philippine Islands. He was reburied in Block 3, Row 11, Grave 1378 (D-D 8481). The deceased in Manila #2 (over 11,000 American soldiers) rested there until their removal to the American Graves Registration Service Manila Mausoleum in the summer of 1948. From there, according to the wishes of his next of kin (mother, Mrs. Anna Mayo), Corporal Fred E. Mayo was buried in his final resting place in the 7701 Ft. McKinley Cemetery (now known as the Manila American Cemetery) – Plot B, Row 9, Grave 15.
He was one of 61 men from his A Company that died in captivity. In all 1155 men from the 31st Infantry Regiment died in captivity, roughly half of the regiment's strength on the day the war began.
Son of Frank Howard Mayo (1889-1956) and Anna Laura (Nielsen) Nelson (1896-?).
1925 North Dakota State Census (01 April 1925): Bismarck, Burleigh County, North Dakota (sheet 114, family 1027) – Fred Mayo (4 North Dakota)
1930 United States Federal Census (19 April 1930): Bismarck (Ward 3), Burleigh County, North Dakota (sheet 21B, family 484, 707 Twelfth Street) – Fred Mayo (9 North Dakota).
May 1938
Private Fred E. Mayo (S/N 6566810)
Detachment Quartermaster Corps at Large, Fort Lewis, Washington
Monthly Roster of Troops 25 May 1938 thru 31 December 1939
Company G, 7th Infantry, Vancouver Barracks, Washington
Private/Private First Class/Corporal Fred E. Mayo (S/N 6566810). Pvt. Fred E. Mayo was transferred from Detachment Quartermaster Corps at Large, Fort Lewis, Washington to Company G, 7th Infantry on 25 May 1938. He was promoted to Private First Class in January 1939. Fred had a one month, 01-30 March 1939 furlough. He was promoted to Corporal in December 1939.
February 1940
Corporal Fred E. Mayo, Camp Ord, Monterey Bay, California.
Fred E. Mayo (20 North Dakota) is found in the 1940 United States Federal Census (26 April 1940) for Presidio of San Francisco, San Francisco County, California (sheet 38B, line 54). He had lived in Tacoma, Washington in 1935. Fred had completed one year of high school. He was a soldier in the U.S. Army.
With the clouds of war looming on the horizon Corporal Fred E. Mayo (S/N 6566810) was sent to the Philippine Islands and assigned to A Company, 31st Infantry Regiment, Philippine Division, U.S. Army.
When Japanese aircraft attacked Pearl Harbor at 0200 on 8 December (Manila time), the 1st Battalion (which included A Company), 31st Infantry Regiment, was stationed at Cuartel de España, Intramuros, Manila.
Japanese forces began a full-scale invasion of Luzon on 22 December. In response, General Douglas MacArthur, ordered their withdrawal to the Bataan peninsula to be a part of the Bataan Defense Force.
After spending nearly three weeks in the Luneta area along Manila Bay guarding against a potential Japanese paratroop landing (that never came), the 1st Battalion boarded barges before daylight on Christmas morning. They headed for Corregidor, an island dominating Manila Bay's entrance. Once ashore, the 1st Battalion marched up to the parade ground in front of "Topside", the world's longest barracks and were housed there.
On 29 December the Japanese began bombing Corregidor. The 1st Battalion had not prepared foxholes because they were told by men stationed on the island that Topside Barracks was bombproof. They soon learned otherwise. A number of men were killed and wounded. That afternoon, the 1st Battalion filed back down to the shattered North dock where they boarded barges for Bataan.
The 31st Infantry Regiment was at the forefront of combat on Bataan in January, helping to form the right flank of USAFFE's main line of resistance. The 1st and 2nd Battalions formed the forward security line near Layac (3rd Battalion was in reserve). Behind them, dug in on the higher ridges, was the 23rd and 88th Field Artillery. To the regiments right was the Philippine Army's 71st Division.
On 06 January 1942 the battle for Bataan began. Japanese artillery began shelling the Fil-American positions. "The loud, earth-shaking "carrump , of impacting shells was unnerving to even those not directly affected." Soon Japanese infantry appeared in a cane field on the right flank. By "8 pm, the line held, but the situation was bad. All supporting artillery was out of action, the 71st Division was a battered fragment that could not hope to hold its line, the 31st Infantry had lost 2 companies, and a squadron of the 26th Cavalry had suffered heavily during the evening's bombardment". The line was ordered to withdrawal and move back 3 miles. The main body of the 31st Infantry boarded trucks and buses around 1:30 am on 07January.
"Around 7:30 am on 07 January, the 31st Infantry reached kilometer post 139 near the barrio of Pandan on the main north-south highway, digging in from Manila Bay to a point 1000 yards west of the highway. The men worked feverishly to create a position that would not be penetrated...By 15 January, the Pandan position was well prepared, completely wired in, and expertly camouflaged. The regiment could take justifiable pride in its accomplishment, but it would not have the opportunity to defend the position. That night, the regiment was ordered to move to a new assembly area 20 km to the rear at a former Philippine Army training camp west of Balanga.
After two days of fighting at Layac, eight days of hard physical labor building defensive positions at Pandan on half rations, and a 20-kilometer forced march from Balanga at night without rest, men simply dropped to the ground and slept, oblivious to their surroundings. Balanga had been bombed the day before and was still burning, but the troops paid little attention. Around noon on January 16, the weary regiment was alerted to move again. The Philippine Army's 51st Division had disintegrated and the 31st was ordered to restore a gap that had been cut into the line near Abucay... Marching 16 kilometers with only two 10-minute rest stops, the 31st reached its jump-off position around 7:00 PM. Filipino troops of the 51st Division were still straggling to the rear, shouting "Japs coming."...By 1:00 am on 17 January, the 31st Infantry's lead elements had advanced to within 700 yards of Abucay Hacienda, a settlement marked by its prominent Spanish-built church. There, the 31st "ran into stiff resistance".
The 31st Infantry was in some of the fiercest fighting with the Japanese Fourteenth Army on Bataan in places like Layac Junction, Abucay and Orion-Bagac. By the middle of March, fifty percent of the regiment was sick with malaria or dysentery. They continued to fight on in places like Mount Samat, San Vicente and the Alangan River but were repeatedly forced to withdraw against the relenting Japanese forces.
From the very beginning, Bataan men were cut to 1/2 rations, and very soon, to 1/4 rations. About four weeks later, they were living on 1/8 rations, that is, when food was available to them. Towards the end, it was changed to 1/16th of their rations...Quite often, they would go several days with no food, unless they could catch something in the jungle." Source: Federico Baldassarre letter
In the wake of starvation came diseases, such as malaria, dengue, scurvy, beriberi and amebic dysentery. The average American soldier lost 15-25 pounds and malaria was as high as 35 percent among front line units.
The Japanese started their final offensive of Bataan on Good Friday, 03 April 1942. By the evening of April 8, the situation was clearly hopeless. With ammunition, rations and supplies practically exhausted and most of his best units destroyed, Major General Edward P. King, commander of the forces on Bataan, was convinced his troops could not physically resist any more and decided to surrender to prevent further loss of life. On 09 April 1942, Maj. Gen. King surrendered the Luzon Force to the Japanese. Practically all entered captivity malnourished and sick.
He, along with 75,000 American and Filipino prisoners of war captured by the Japanese, were subjected to the infamous Bataan Death March. When the Fil-American soldiers began the Death March they were in terrible physical condition. For 6 to 9 days (depending on their starting point) they were forced to walk the roughly sixty-five miles to San Fernando, enduring abuse by Japanese guards and seeing the deaths of thousands of fellow soldiers. At San Fernando, the Japanese stuffed about 100 men into steel-sided boxcars for the twenty-five-mile trip to Capas. The scorching hot boxcars were packed so tight that the men could not even sit down. When the train arrived at Capas the POW's were offloaded and marched the final nine miles to Camp O'Donnell. The first dehydrated, famished prisoners entered O'Donnell on 11 April 1942, with the last group entering on 04 June 1942.
Surviving the brutal treatment by the Japanese at Camp O'Donnell (about 1500 American and 22,000 Filipino prisoners of war died in just three months) Cpl. Mayo was transferred to the Cabanatuan POW Camp No. 1, approximately 8 kilometers west of the town by the same name.
In early June of 1942, prisoners from Camp O'Donnell began to stream into Camp No. 1, joining the men from Corregidor and increasing the number of prisoners to over 7,300 men. Because of the poor health of the men from O'Donnell, the death rate at Camp #1 soared.
Corporal Fred E. Mayo (S/N 6566810) died on 16 June 1942, a prisoner of the Japanese at POW Camp 1, Cabanatuan, Nueva Province, Luzon, Philippines 15-121. He was one of 15 men to die that day. In all 503 men died in the prison during the month of June. By the time the camp was liberated in early 1945, 2,764 Americans had died at Cabanatuan in 2½ years. 90% of the POW deaths in Cabanatuan were men from Bataan.
He was buried in a communal grave in the camp cemetery along with other deceased American POWs who died that day. After the war, all the remains in the Cabanatuan Prison cemetery that could be found were disinterred (between December 1945 - February 1946) and brought to 7747 USAF Cemetery, Manila #2, Philippine Islands. He was reburied in Block 3, Row 11, Grave 1378 (D-D 8481). The deceased in Manila #2 (over 11,000 American soldiers) rested there until their removal to the American Graves Registration Service Manila Mausoleum in the summer of 1948. From there, according to the wishes of his next of kin (mother, Mrs. Anna Mayo), Corporal Fred E. Mayo was buried in his final resting place in the 7701 Ft. McKinley Cemetery (now known as the Manila American Cemetery) – Plot B, Row 9, Grave 15.
He was one of 61 men from his A Company that died in captivity. In all 1155 men from the 31st Infantry Regiment died in captivity, roughly half of the regiment's strength on the day the war began.
1925 North Dakota State Census (01 April 1925): Bismarck, Burleigh County, North Dakota (sheet 114, family 1027) – Fred Mayo (4 North Dakota)
1930 United States Federal Census (19 April 1930): Bismarck (Ward 3), Burleigh County, North Dakota (sheet 21B, family 484, 707 Twelfth Street) – Fred Mayo (9 North Dakota).
May 1938
Private Fred E. Mayo (S/N 6566810)
Detachment Quartermaster Corps at Large, Fort Lewis, Washington
Monthly Roster of Troops 25 May 1938 thru 31 December 1939
Company G, 7th Infantry, Vancouver Barracks, Washington
Private/Private First Class/Corporal Fred E. Mayo (S/N 6566810). Pvt. Fred E. Mayo was transferred from Detachment Quartermaster Corps at Large, Fort Lewis, Washington to Company G, 7th Infantry on 25 May 1938. He was promoted to Private First Class in January 1939. Fred had a one month, 01-30 March 1939 furlough. He was promoted to Corporal in December 1939.
February 1940
Corporal Fred E. Mayo, Camp Ord, Monterey Bay, California.
Fred E. Mayo (20 North Dakota) is found in the 1940 United States Federal Census (26 April 1940) for Presidio of San Francisco, San Francisco County, California (sheet 38B, line 54). He had lived in Tacoma, Washington in 1935. Fred had completed one year of high school. He was a soldier in the U.S. Army.
With the clouds of war looming on the horizon Corporal Fred E. Mayo (S/N 6566810) was sent to the Philippine Islands and assigned to A Company, 31st Infantry Regiment, Philippine Division, U.S. Army.
When Japanese aircraft attacked Pearl Harbor at 0200 on 8 December (Manila time), the 1st Battalion (which included A Company), 31st Infantry Regiment, was stationed at Cuartel de España, Intramuros, Manila.
Japanese forces began a full-scale invasion of Luzon on 22 December. In response, General Douglas MacArthur, ordered their withdrawal to the Bataan peninsula to be a part of the Bataan Defense Force.
After spending nearly three weeks in the Luneta area along Manila Bay guarding against a potential Japanese paratroop landing (that never came), the 1st Battalion boarded barges before daylight on Christmas morning. They headed for Corregidor, an island dominating Manila Bay's entrance. Once ashore, the 1st Battalion marched up to the parade ground in front of "Topside", the world's longest barracks and were housed there.
On 29 December the Japanese began bombing Corregidor. The 1st Battalion had not prepared foxholes because they were told by men stationed on the island that Topside Barracks was bombproof. They soon learned otherwise. A number of men were killed and wounded. That afternoon, the 1st Battalion filed back down to the shattered North dock where they boarded barges for Bataan.
The 31st Infantry Regiment was at the forefront of combat on Bataan in January, helping to form the right flank of USAFFE's main line of resistance. The 1st and 2nd Battalions formed the forward security line near Layac (3rd Battalion was in reserve). Behind them, dug in on the higher ridges, was the 23rd and 88th Field Artillery. To the regiments right was the Philippine Army's 71st Division.
On 06 January 1942 the battle for Bataan began. Japanese artillery began shelling the Fil-American positions. "The loud, earth-shaking "carrump , of impacting shells was unnerving to even those not directly affected." Soon Japanese infantry appeared in a cane field on the right flank. By "8 pm, the line held, but the situation was bad. All supporting artillery was out of action, the 71st Division was a battered fragment that could not hope to hold its line, the 31st Infantry had lost 2 companies, and a squadron of the 26th Cavalry had suffered heavily during the evening's bombardment". The line was ordered to withdrawal and move back 3 miles. The main body of the 31st Infantry boarded trucks and buses around 1:30 am on 07January.
"Around 7:30 am on 07 January, the 31st Infantry reached kilometer post 139 near the barrio of Pandan on the main north-south highway, digging in from Manila Bay to a point 1000 yards west of the highway. The men worked feverishly to create a position that would not be penetrated...By 15 January, the Pandan position was well prepared, completely wired in, and expertly camouflaged. The regiment could take justifiable pride in its accomplishment, but it would not have the opportunity to defend the position. That night, the regiment was ordered to move to a new assembly area 20 km to the rear at a former Philippine Army training camp west of Balanga.
After two days of fighting at Layac, eight days of hard physical labor building defensive positions at Pandan on half rations, and a 20-kilometer forced march from Balanga at night without rest, men simply dropped to the ground and slept, oblivious to their surroundings. Balanga had been bombed the day before and was still burning, but the troops paid little attention. Around noon on January 16, the weary regiment was alerted to move again. The Philippine Army's 51st Division had disintegrated and the 31st was ordered to restore a gap that had been cut into the line near Abucay... Marching 16 kilometers with only two 10-minute rest stops, the 31st reached its jump-off position around 7:00 PM. Filipino troops of the 51st Division were still straggling to the rear, shouting "Japs coming."...By 1:00 am on 17 January, the 31st Infantry's lead elements had advanced to within 700 yards of Abucay Hacienda, a settlement marked by its prominent Spanish-built church. There, the 31st "ran into stiff resistance".
The 31st Infantry was in some of the fiercest fighting with the Japanese Fourteenth Army on Bataan in places like Layac Junction, Abucay and Orion-Bagac. By the middle of March, fifty percent of the regiment was sick with malaria or dysentery. They continued to fight on in places like Mount Samat, San Vicente and the Alangan River but were repeatedly forced to withdraw against the relenting Japanese forces.
From the very beginning, Bataan men were cut to 1/2 rations, and very soon, to 1/4 rations. About four weeks later, they were living on 1/8 rations, that is, when food was available to them. Towards the end, it was changed to 1/16th of their rations...Quite often, they would go several days with no food, unless they could catch something in the jungle." Source: Federico Baldassarre letter
In the wake of starvation came diseases, such as malaria, dengue, scurvy, beriberi and amebic dysentery. The average American soldier lost 15-25 pounds and malaria was as high as 35 percent among front line units.
The Japanese started their final offensive of Bataan on Good Friday, 03 April 1942. By the evening of April 8, the situation was clearly hopeless. With ammunition, rations and supplies practically exhausted and most of his best units destroyed, Major General Edward P. King, commander of the forces on Bataan, was convinced his troops could not physically resist any more and decided to surrender to prevent further loss of life. On 09 April 1942, Maj. Gen. King surrendered the Luzon Force to the Japanese. Practically all entered captivity malnourished and sick.
He, along with 75,000 American and Filipino prisoners of war captured by the Japanese, were subjected to the infamous Bataan Death March. When the Fil-American soldiers began the Death March they were in terrible physical condition. For 6 to 9 days (depending on their starting point) they were forced to walk the roughly sixty-five miles to San Fernando, enduring abuse by Japanese guards and seeing the deaths of thousands of fellow soldiers. At San Fernando, the Japanese stuffed about 100 men into steel-sided boxcars for the twenty-five-mile trip to Capas. The scorching hot boxcars were packed so tight that the men could not even sit down. When the train arrived at Capas the POW's were offloaded and marched the final nine miles to Camp O'Donnell. The first dehydrated, famished prisoners entered O'Donnell on 11 April 1942, with the last group entering on 04 June 1942.
Surviving the brutal treatment by the Japanese at Camp O'Donnell (about 1500 American and 22,000 Filipino prisoners of war died in just three months) Cpl. Mayo was transferred to the Cabanatuan POW Camp No. 1, approximately 8 kilometers west of the town by the same name.
In early June of 1942, prisoners from Camp O'Donnell began to stream into Camp No. 1, joining the men from Corregidor and increasing the number of prisoners to over 7,300 men. Because of the poor health of the men from O'Donnell, the death rate at Camp #1 soared.
Corporal Fred E. Mayo (S/N 6566810) died on 16 June 1942, a prisoner of the Japanese at POW Camp 1, Cabanatuan, Nueva Province, Luzon, Philippines 15-121. He was one of 15 men to die that day. In all 503 men died in the prison during the month of June. By the time the camp was liberated in early 1945, 2,764 Americans had died at Cabanatuan in 2½ years. 90% of the POW deaths in Cabanatuan were men from Bataan.
He was buried in a communal grave in the camp cemetery along with other deceased American POWs who died that day. After the war, all the remains in the Cabanatuan Prison cemetery that could be found were disinterred (between December 1945 - February 1946) and brought to 7747 USAF Cemetery, Manila #2, Philippine Islands. He was reburied in Block 3, Row 11, Grave 1378 (D-D 8481). The deceased in Manila #2 (over 11,000 American soldiers) rested there until their removal to the American Graves Registration Service Manila Mausoleum in the summer of 1948. From there, according to the wishes of his next of kin (mother, Mrs. Anna Mayo), Corporal Fred E. Mayo was buried in his final resting place in the 7701 Ft. McKinley Cemetery (now known as the Manila American Cemetery) – Plot B, Row 9, Grave 15.
He was one of 61 men from his A Company that died in captivity. In all 1155 men from the 31st Infantry Regiment died in captivity, roughly half of the regiment's strength on the day the war began.
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Entered the service from Washington.
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