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Sunday, May 28, 2017

Memorial: Ignacio Baca - POW, World War II

I've written about my maternal grandfather's cousin PFC Ignacio Baca in a previous post. He was captured by the Japanese in the Philippines, forced to march in what is now known as the Bataan Death March, became a prisoner of war in camp in Manchuria, and died in that prisoner of war camp. He is recognized by the Bataan-Corregidor Memorial Foundation of New Mexico.

Recently, I found a few records that pertain to his capture, death and burial. I've downloaded them on to my Evernote database, and share them with you here.

* In April 1943, the El Paso Herald Post published a list of soldiers from the Southwest who were captured by the Japanese. Click here to read the article.

* In June of the same year, the same newspaper announced that PFC Ignacio Baca, the son of Serito Baca, had died of an unspecified disease. Click here to read the article.

*  In 1947, the Albuquerque Journal announced that PFC Ignacio Baca was among the first war dead whose body was returned by the Japanese. Click here to read the article.

* Lastly, I found an application for Ignacio's tombstone on the Fold3 website. Click here to see the document.

All citations are provided in the links.

Lastly, I wish to share Ignacio's tombstone as it is shown on the Find a Grave website. Click here to view.