Glen A. Viano
Service # 6915643
Rank: Technician Fifth Grade, U. S. Army
Unit: 93rd Bomb Squadron, 19th Bombardment Group (Heavy), V Bomber Command
Entered Service From: Illinois
Date of Death: 25 July 1942, of dysentery in the Japanese POW Camp 1, Cabanatuan, Nueva Province, Luzon, Philippines 15-121.
Status: Missing In Action. Most likely buried as a 'Unknown" in the Manila American Cemetery.
Memorialized: Tablets of the Missing – United States Army and Army Air Forces at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1930 United States Federal Census (16 April 1930): Coal City, Braceville Township, Grundy County, Illinois (sheet 13B, family 336, Park Street) – Glenn Viano (9 Illinois).
Glen A. Viano (Illinois) enlisted as a Private (S/N 6915643) in the U.S. Army Air Corps on 20 November 1939 in Illinois. He had been employed as an "laboratory technicians and assistants."
Monthly Roster of Troops – 20 November 1939 to 31 December 1939
Fifth School Squadron, Air Corps, Chanute Field, Illinois
Private Glen A. Viano (S/N 6915643). He enlisted and joined on 20 November 1939.
There are no more Monthly Roster of Troops records online after December 1939.
Glenn A. Viano (18 Illinois) is found in the 1940 United States Federal Census (30 April 1940) for Fourth School Squadron, Air Corps, Chanute Field, Rantoul Township, Champaign County, Illinois (sheet 1A, line 15). He had lived in rural, Illinois in 1935. Glenn had completed four years of high school. He was a soldier in the U.S. Army.
He was assigned to the 93rd Bomb Squadron, 19th Bombardment Group (Heavy). The 19th Bombardment Group transferred to active duty in September 1941. The men of the 93rd boarded a troop train the evening of 27 September 1941 at Albuquerque, New Mexico for the long trip to San Francisco. On 01 October 1941 the men were at Fort McDowell on Angel Island, California where they were being processed for over seas travel and military service, for a destination they knew not where. With tensions escalating between the United States and the Japanese Empire, he along with nearly 4000 other servicemen were shipped out of San Francisco on 04 October 1941 aboard three U S Army troopships (Liberty, Willard A. Holbrook and Tasker H. Bliss) for Pearl Harbor, Honolulu then Guam, and on to Manila (they were told their destination after leaving Hawaii). The 93rd was aboard the Tasker H. Bliss. The men had been aboard the Tasker H. Bliss 18 days when she docked at Manila in the Philippine Islands the evening of 22 October 1941. After disembarking at Manila the men were taken to their new station at Clark Field, Pampanga, north of Manila.
"HAWAII BOMBED–WAR!" On 07 December 1941 Japan attacked the United States Naval Base at Pearl Harbor. Ten hours later, 08 December 1941 (Manila time), Japan attacked the Philippines. The series of raids caught most US planes on the ground, destroying the 19th Bomb Group's B-17s at Clark Field and practically wiping out the P-35 and P-40 pursuit fighter squadrons based at Clark, Nichols, Del Carmen, and Iba Fields. In less than 24 hours, the first day of WWII in the Pacific, the US lost much of its fleet at Pearl Harbor and the heart of MacArthur's Air Force in the Philippines. Of the 181 FEAF airplanes based on Luzon when the Japanese attacked, about 100 were destroyed, and others were significantly damaged in the bombing and strafing attacks. By early January 1942, what was left of the air force on Luzon had relocated to Bataan. The men were formed into a provisional infantry troop and fought on Bataan.
Their newly formed units were referred to as Provisional Infantry Regiments. These Provisional Infantry units were composed of Air Men, who in most cases had never had any infantry combat training. Most had to be taught how to put bullets into their rifles and how to use hand grenades, and how to dig a proper foxhole. It was akin to on-the-job training. Although clumsy, at times, comical, and, at times, very shaky, they performed valiantly. It was not pretty, but they did their job.
On January 9th, the battle for Bataan began.
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.
On Good Friday, 03 April 1942, General Homma, with the addition of fresh troops, began an all-out offensive on Bataan. 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 members of the 93rd Bomb Squadron entered captivity malnourished and sick.
Tec/5 Glen A. Viano 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.
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) Tec/5 Viano 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.
Private First Class Glen A. Viano (S/N 6915643), age 21, 93rd Bomb, Air Corps, died at 5:00 am, 25 July 1942, of dysentery in Barracks No. 6, Hospital Area, a prisoner of the Japanese at POW Camp 1, Cabanatuan, Nueva Province, Luzon, Philippines 15-121. His death was recorded on a condensed milk can label. He was one of 29 men to die that day, the 1162nd prisoner to die in the camp since in opened in June. In all 786 men died in the prison during the month of July. 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 who were captured on 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. 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 for positive identification. Unfortunately, no clothing, personal effects nor any other means of identification were found for him and his remains could not be associated with any remains recovered from Cabanatuan. He is most likely buried in the Manila American Cemetery as a "Known but to God". There are 953 men like PFC Viano who were not identified after the war, "unknowns", permanently interred in the Manila American Cemetery from Cabanatuan.
"HERE RESTS IN HONORED GLORY A COMRADE IN ARMS KNOWN BUT TO GOD"
Private First Class Glen A. Viano is memorialized on the Tablets of the Missing - United States Army and Army Air Forces at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.
He also has a cenotaph in Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery, Elwood, Will County, Illinois.
Service # 6915643
Rank: Technician Fifth Grade, U. S. Army
Unit: 93rd Bomb Squadron, 19th Bombardment Group (Heavy), V Bomber Command
Entered Service From: Illinois
Date of Death: 25 July 1942, of dysentery in the Japanese POW Camp 1, Cabanatuan, Nueva Province, Luzon, Philippines 15-121.
Status: Missing In Action. Most likely buried as a 'Unknown" in the Manila American Cemetery.
Memorialized: Tablets of the Missing – United States Army and Army Air Forces at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1930 United States Federal Census (16 April 1930): Coal City, Braceville Township, Grundy County, Illinois (sheet 13B, family 336, Park Street) – Glenn Viano (9 Illinois).
Glen A. Viano (Illinois) enlisted as a Private (S/N 6915643) in the U.S. Army Air Corps on 20 November 1939 in Illinois. He had been employed as an "laboratory technicians and assistants."
Monthly Roster of Troops – 20 November 1939 to 31 December 1939
Fifth School Squadron, Air Corps, Chanute Field, Illinois
Private Glen A. Viano (S/N 6915643). He enlisted and joined on 20 November 1939.
There are no more Monthly Roster of Troops records online after December 1939.
Glenn A. Viano (18 Illinois) is found in the 1940 United States Federal Census (30 April 1940) for Fourth School Squadron, Air Corps, Chanute Field, Rantoul Township, Champaign County, Illinois (sheet 1A, line 15). He had lived in rural, Illinois in 1935. Glenn had completed four years of high school. He was a soldier in the U.S. Army.
He was assigned to the 93rd Bomb Squadron, 19th Bombardment Group (Heavy). The 19th Bombardment Group transferred to active duty in September 1941. The men of the 93rd boarded a troop train the evening of 27 September 1941 at Albuquerque, New Mexico for the long trip to San Francisco. On 01 October 1941 the men were at Fort McDowell on Angel Island, California where they were being processed for over seas travel and military service, for a destination they knew not where. With tensions escalating between the United States and the Japanese Empire, he along with nearly 4000 other servicemen were shipped out of San Francisco on 04 October 1941 aboard three U S Army troopships (Liberty, Willard A. Holbrook and Tasker H. Bliss) for Pearl Harbor, Honolulu then Guam, and on to Manila (they were told their destination after leaving Hawaii). The 93rd was aboard the Tasker H. Bliss. The men had been aboard the Tasker H. Bliss 18 days when she docked at Manila in the Philippine Islands the evening of 22 October 1941. After disembarking at Manila the men were taken to their new station at Clark Field, Pampanga, north of Manila.
"HAWAII BOMBED–WAR!" On 07 December 1941 Japan attacked the United States Naval Base at Pearl Harbor. Ten hours later, 08 December 1941 (Manila time), Japan attacked the Philippines. The series of raids caught most US planes on the ground, destroying the 19th Bomb Group's B-17s at Clark Field and practically wiping out the P-35 and P-40 pursuit fighter squadrons based at Clark, Nichols, Del Carmen, and Iba Fields. In less than 24 hours, the first day of WWII in the Pacific, the US lost much of its fleet at Pearl Harbor and the heart of MacArthur's Air Force in the Philippines. Of the 181 FEAF airplanes based on Luzon when the Japanese attacked, about 100 were destroyed, and others were significantly damaged in the bombing and strafing attacks. By early January 1942, what was left of the air force on Luzon had relocated to Bataan. The men were formed into a provisional infantry troop and fought on Bataan.
Their newly formed units were referred to as Provisional Infantry Regiments. These Provisional Infantry units were composed of Air Men, who in most cases had never had any infantry combat training. Most had to be taught how to put bullets into their rifles and how to use hand grenades, and how to dig a proper foxhole. It was akin to on-the-job training. Although clumsy, at times, comical, and, at times, very shaky, they performed valiantly. It was not pretty, but they did their job.
On January 9th, the battle for Bataan began.
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.
On Good Friday, 03 April 1942, General Homma, with the addition of fresh troops, began an all-out offensive on Bataan. 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 members of the 93rd Bomb Squadron entered captivity malnourished and sick.
Tec/5 Glen A. Viano 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.
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) Tec/5 Viano 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.
Private First Class Glen A. Viano (S/N 6915643), age 21, 93rd Bomb, Air Corps, died at 5:00 am, 25 July 1942, of dysentery in Barracks No. 6, Hospital Area, a prisoner of the Japanese at POW Camp 1, Cabanatuan, Nueva Province, Luzon, Philippines 15-121. His death was recorded on a condensed milk can label. He was one of 29 men to die that day, the 1162nd prisoner to die in the camp since in opened in June. In all 786 men died in the prison during the month of July. 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 who were captured on 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. 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 for positive identification. Unfortunately, no clothing, personal effects nor any other means of identification were found for him and his remains could not be associated with any remains recovered from Cabanatuan. He is most likely buried in the Manila American Cemetery as a "Known but to God". There are 953 men like PFC Viano who were not identified after the war, "unknowns", permanently interred in the Manila American Cemetery from Cabanatuan.
"HERE RESTS IN HONORED GLORY A COMRADE IN ARMS KNOWN BUT TO GOD"
Private First Class Glen A. Viano is memorialized on the Tablets of the Missing - United States Army and Army Air Forces at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.
He also has a cenotaph in Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery, Elwood, Will County, Illinois.
Glen A. Viano
Service # 6915643
Rank: Technician Fifth Grade, U. S. Army
Unit: 93rd Bomb Squadron, 19th Bombardment Group (Heavy), V Bomber Command
Entered Service From: Illinois
Date of Death: 25 July 1942, of dysentery in the Japanese POW Camp 1, Cabanatuan, Nueva Province, Luzon, Philippines 15-121.
Status: Missing In Action. Most likely buried as a 'Unknown" in the Manila American Cemetery.
Memorialized: Tablets of the Missing – United States Army and Army Air Forces at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1930 United States Federal Census (16 April 1930): Coal City, Braceville Township, Grundy County, Illinois (sheet 13B, family 336, Park Street) – Glenn Viano (9 Illinois).
Glen A. Viano (Illinois) enlisted as a Private (S/N 6915643) in the U.S. Army Air Corps on 20 November 1939 in Illinois. He had been employed as an "laboratory technicians and assistants."
Monthly Roster of Troops – 20 November 1939 to 31 December 1939
Fifth School Squadron, Air Corps, Chanute Field, Illinois
Private Glen A. Viano (S/N 6915643). He enlisted and joined on 20 November 1939.
There are no more Monthly Roster of Troops records online after December 1939.
Glenn A. Viano (18 Illinois) is found in the 1940 United States Federal Census (30 April 1940) for Fourth School Squadron, Air Corps, Chanute Field, Rantoul Township, Champaign County, Illinois (sheet 1A, line 15). He had lived in rural, Illinois in 1935. Glenn had completed four years of high school. He was a soldier in the U.S. Army.
He was assigned to the 93rd Bomb Squadron, 19th Bombardment Group (Heavy). The 19th Bombardment Group transferred to active duty in September 1941. The men of the 93rd boarded a troop train the evening of 27 September 1941 at Albuquerque, New Mexico for the long trip to San Francisco. On 01 October 1941 the men were at Fort McDowell on Angel Island, California where they were being processed for over seas travel and military service, for a destination they knew not where. With tensions escalating between the United States and the Japanese Empire, he along with nearly 4000 other servicemen were shipped out of San Francisco on 04 October 1941 aboard three U S Army troopships (Liberty, Willard A. Holbrook and Tasker H. Bliss) for Pearl Harbor, Honolulu then Guam, and on to Manila (they were told their destination after leaving Hawaii). The 93rd was aboard the Tasker H. Bliss. The men had been aboard the Tasker H. Bliss 18 days when she docked at Manila in the Philippine Islands the evening of 22 October 1941. After disembarking at Manila the men were taken to their new station at Clark Field, Pampanga, north of Manila.
"HAWAII BOMBED–WAR!" On 07 December 1941 Japan attacked the United States Naval Base at Pearl Harbor. Ten hours later, 08 December 1941 (Manila time), Japan attacked the Philippines. The series of raids caught most US planes on the ground, destroying the 19th Bomb Group's B-17s at Clark Field and practically wiping out the P-35 and P-40 pursuit fighter squadrons based at Clark, Nichols, Del Carmen, and Iba Fields. In less than 24 hours, the first day of WWII in the Pacific, the US lost much of its fleet at Pearl Harbor and the heart of MacArthur's Air Force in the Philippines. Of the 181 FEAF airplanes based on Luzon when the Japanese attacked, about 100 were destroyed, and others were significantly damaged in the bombing and strafing attacks. By early January 1942, what was left of the air force on Luzon had relocated to Bataan. The men were formed into a provisional infantry troop and fought on Bataan.
Their newly formed units were referred to as Provisional Infantry Regiments. These Provisional Infantry units were composed of Air Men, who in most cases had never had any infantry combat training. Most had to be taught how to put bullets into their rifles and how to use hand grenades, and how to dig a proper foxhole. It was akin to on-the-job training. Although clumsy, at times, comical, and, at times, very shaky, they performed valiantly. It was not pretty, but they did their job.
On January 9th, the battle for Bataan began.
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.
On Good Friday, 03 April 1942, General Homma, with the addition of fresh troops, began an all-out offensive on Bataan. 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 members of the 93rd Bomb Squadron entered captivity malnourished and sick.
Tec/5 Glen A. Viano 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.
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) Tec/5 Viano 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.
Private First Class Glen A. Viano (S/N 6915643), age 21, 93rd Bomb, Air Corps, died at 5:00 am, 25 July 1942, of dysentery in Barracks No. 6, Hospital Area, a prisoner of the Japanese at POW Camp 1, Cabanatuan, Nueva Province, Luzon, Philippines 15-121. His death was recorded on a condensed milk can label. He was one of 29 men to die that day, the 1162nd prisoner to die in the camp since in opened in June. In all 786 men died in the prison during the month of July. 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 who were captured on 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. 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 for positive identification. Unfortunately, no clothing, personal effects nor any other means of identification were found for him and his remains could not be associated with any remains recovered from Cabanatuan. He is most likely buried in the Manila American Cemetery as a "Known but to God". There are 953 men like PFC Viano who were not identified after the war, "unknowns", permanently interred in the Manila American Cemetery from Cabanatuan.
"HERE RESTS IN HONORED GLORY A COMRADE IN ARMS KNOWN BUT TO GOD"
Private First Class Glen A. Viano is memorialized on the Tablets of the Missing - United States Army and Army Air Forces at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.
He also has a cenotaph in Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery, Elwood, Will County, Illinois.
Service # 6915643
Rank: Technician Fifth Grade, U. S. Army
Unit: 93rd Bomb Squadron, 19th Bombardment Group (Heavy), V Bomber Command
Entered Service From: Illinois
Date of Death: 25 July 1942, of dysentery in the Japanese POW Camp 1, Cabanatuan, Nueva Province, Luzon, Philippines 15-121.
Status: Missing In Action. Most likely buried as a 'Unknown" in the Manila American Cemetery.
Memorialized: Tablets of the Missing – United States Army and Army Air Forces at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1930 United States Federal Census (16 April 1930): Coal City, Braceville Township, Grundy County, Illinois (sheet 13B, family 336, Park Street) – Glenn Viano (9 Illinois).
Glen A. Viano (Illinois) enlisted as a Private (S/N 6915643) in the U.S. Army Air Corps on 20 November 1939 in Illinois. He had been employed as an "laboratory technicians and assistants."
Monthly Roster of Troops – 20 November 1939 to 31 December 1939
Fifth School Squadron, Air Corps, Chanute Field, Illinois
Private Glen A. Viano (S/N 6915643). He enlisted and joined on 20 November 1939.
There are no more Monthly Roster of Troops records online after December 1939.
Glenn A. Viano (18 Illinois) is found in the 1940 United States Federal Census (30 April 1940) for Fourth School Squadron, Air Corps, Chanute Field, Rantoul Township, Champaign County, Illinois (sheet 1A, line 15). He had lived in rural, Illinois in 1935. Glenn had completed four years of high school. He was a soldier in the U.S. Army.
He was assigned to the 93rd Bomb Squadron, 19th Bombardment Group (Heavy). The 19th Bombardment Group transferred to active duty in September 1941. The men of the 93rd boarded a troop train the evening of 27 September 1941 at Albuquerque, New Mexico for the long trip to San Francisco. On 01 October 1941 the men were at Fort McDowell on Angel Island, California where they were being processed for over seas travel and military service, for a destination they knew not where. With tensions escalating between the United States and the Japanese Empire, he along with nearly 4000 other servicemen were shipped out of San Francisco on 04 October 1941 aboard three U S Army troopships (Liberty, Willard A. Holbrook and Tasker H. Bliss) for Pearl Harbor, Honolulu then Guam, and on to Manila (they were told their destination after leaving Hawaii). The 93rd was aboard the Tasker H. Bliss. The men had been aboard the Tasker H. Bliss 18 days when she docked at Manila in the Philippine Islands the evening of 22 October 1941. After disembarking at Manila the men were taken to their new station at Clark Field, Pampanga, north of Manila.
"HAWAII BOMBED–WAR!" On 07 December 1941 Japan attacked the United States Naval Base at Pearl Harbor. Ten hours later, 08 December 1941 (Manila time), Japan attacked the Philippines. The series of raids caught most US planes on the ground, destroying the 19th Bomb Group's B-17s at Clark Field and practically wiping out the P-35 and P-40 pursuit fighter squadrons based at Clark, Nichols, Del Carmen, and Iba Fields. In less than 24 hours, the first day of WWII in the Pacific, the US lost much of its fleet at Pearl Harbor and the heart of MacArthur's Air Force in the Philippines. Of the 181 FEAF airplanes based on Luzon when the Japanese attacked, about 100 were destroyed, and others were significantly damaged in the bombing and strafing attacks. By early January 1942, what was left of the air force on Luzon had relocated to Bataan. The men were formed into a provisional infantry troop and fought on Bataan.
Their newly formed units were referred to as Provisional Infantry Regiments. These Provisional Infantry units were composed of Air Men, who in most cases had never had any infantry combat training. Most had to be taught how to put bullets into their rifles and how to use hand grenades, and how to dig a proper foxhole. It was akin to on-the-job training. Although clumsy, at times, comical, and, at times, very shaky, they performed valiantly. It was not pretty, but they did their job.
On January 9th, the battle for Bataan began.
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.
On Good Friday, 03 April 1942, General Homma, with the addition of fresh troops, began an all-out offensive on Bataan. 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 members of the 93rd Bomb Squadron entered captivity malnourished and sick.
Tec/5 Glen A. Viano 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.
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) Tec/5 Viano 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.
Private First Class Glen A. Viano (S/N 6915643), age 21, 93rd Bomb, Air Corps, died at 5:00 am, 25 July 1942, of dysentery in Barracks No. 6, Hospital Area, a prisoner of the Japanese at POW Camp 1, Cabanatuan, Nueva Province, Luzon, Philippines 15-121. His death was recorded on a condensed milk can label. He was one of 29 men to die that day, the 1162nd prisoner to die in the camp since in opened in June. In all 786 men died in the prison during the month of July. 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 who were captured on 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. 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 for positive identification. Unfortunately, no clothing, personal effects nor any other means of identification were found for him and his remains could not be associated with any remains recovered from Cabanatuan. He is most likely buried in the Manila American Cemetery as a "Known but to God". There are 953 men like PFC Viano who were not identified after the war, "unknowns", permanently interred in the Manila American Cemetery from Cabanatuan.
"HERE RESTS IN HONORED GLORY A COMRADE IN ARMS KNOWN BUT TO GOD"
Private First Class Glen A. Viano is memorialized on the Tablets of the Missing - United States Army and Army Air Forces at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.
He also has a cenotaph in Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery, Elwood, Will County, Illinois.
Gravesite Details
Entered the service from Illinois.
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