Obituary of Jack Williams

Officer Jack Williams, 93, passed away peacefully in his sleep on December 26, 2015. A veteran of World War II and the Korean War, where he spent 3 1/2 years as a Prisoner of War and Slave Laborer of the Japanese and was awarded the Purple Heart twice. Mr. Williams was born on January 4, 1922 in a log cabin in Bloomington, Ind. to Agnus Kent. In 1940, he graduated with 19 others from Cayuga High School, a one room school house in Indiana where he played football, basketball and participated in theater. Upon graduation he joined the Regular Army in February of 1941 completing his basic training at Ft. Harrison and Signal Corp training at Ft. Monmouth, New Jersey. July of 1941 at the age of 19 he was assigned to the Pacific Theater and deployed to the Philippines as Signal Corp Officer where he help trained Filipino soldiers in Luzon. Mr. Williams was a Defender of Bataan who was surrendered and taken POW of the Japanese of April 1942 and then was forced to march 65 miles from Mariveles on the tip of Bataan to San Fernando which became known as the Bataan Death March. The Japanese treated the POWs with savage brutality. Jack was taken to Camp O'Donnell, located in North Central Luzon as a prisoner. He was then taken to another camp in Cabanatuan. From Cabanatuan he was sent to Japanese controlled Mukden, Manchuria on the "Hell Ship" Tottori Maru in October 1942. He disembarked from the ship in Pusan in Korea on Nov. 8, 1942 boarded a train to Mukden to work for Mitsubishi. At Mukden Jack was a slave labor that was needed to manpower the Manchurian Tool Company (M.K.K. for Manchouko Kibitsu Kaishi) under Mitsibushi that produced aircraft and also had other operations. By May 1944 he was sent to Mitsui's lead mine. Mr. Williams was working in the lead mines when the bombs were dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima which he accredited to saving his life. The camp was liberated in September 1945 were he watched the flag being raised and wrote a poem about it which was later read on the radio by Orson Wells. After liberation he was briefly reunited with his mother and spent his civilian time as a flight instructor before reenlisting in March of 1946 accepting an appointed as a commissioned officer into Army Officer Training School completing 3 years as a Pre Law major. Mr. Williams was sent to the Korean Conflict as an Unit Infantry Commander to command a group of soldiers at the 38th Parallel where he was shot, helicoptered to safety, sent home and honorably discharged in New Jersey where he remained and eventually married the love of his life, Lorraine (nee Brown), in October of 1961 sharing a wonderful 53 years together. After the Army, Mr. Williams had various jobs from being a professional bowler while owning a bowling alley in Hightstown, NJ to managing the Sports Department of Grants City Department Store in Clementon, NJ. Jack also spent time being a heavy equipment operator at numerous job sites before eventually retiring as a crane operator from US Pipe Foundry in Burlington, NJ. Mr. Williams enjoyed fresh water bass fishing but his true two passions were bowling and playing poker which he actively participated in forming life-long friends. He also found great joy in spending time with his daughter in which he shared a love of horses. A Celebration of Life will be held in his honor on January 9th from 12PM to 3PM the service starting around 2PM. In lieu of flowers please make a donation to Wounded Warrior Project, 4899 Belfort Road, Suite 300, Jacksonville, Florida 32256. For more information or to e-mail a condolence please visit www.lpwoosterfuneralhome.com