I'm the daughter of Warren (Bud) Markham, 2nd Observation Squadron, Army Air Corps. I lived on Corregidor for about a year until the military families were evacuated before war broke out.
My father was at Nichols Field, and his squadron was converted to infantry and sent to Bataan. Their orders were to fight alongside the 19th Bombardment Group at the Orion-Bagac defense line.
Later my father was in the Bataan death march and was interned in several prison camps. The two hellships he boarded, the Oryoku Maru and the Enoura Maru, were both sunk by US forces. He didn't survive the sinking of the Enoura and was buried, with more than 300 others, in a mass grave at Takao, Formosa.
I don't personally know of anyone from the 2nd who is still around. However, I do know of Ben Steele, an artist and cowboy from Montana, who was in the 19th Bombardment Group. His unit fought alongside the 2nd Observation Squadron on Bataan. I have the roster and orders of the 2nd, ordering it to join the 19th on Bataan.
I'm presently trying to contact Mr. Steele to see if he knew my father. If I get an address for him, I'll post it here.
Angeline Markham
taylor99m@earthlink.net
Daughter of Warren (Bud) Markham
2nd Observation Squadron, US Army Air Corps
(Nichols Field, Bataan Orion-Bagac defense line, Bataan death march, Oryoku Maru, Enoura Maru)
Posted by Angeline Markham (2009-06-17 15:09:25)To respond to this message, please add your name and type over the message below and submit.