Early Life and Family

James (Jim) McDonnell Gallagher was born on 1914 to Joseph F. Gallagher and Katherine McDonnell of Ohio. The family moved to Philadelphia in 1910. Joseph was Vice President of a Cigar company and became the Postmaster of Philadelphia from 1934 until 1948. There were five children in the family, three boys and two girls. Unfortunately, Jim’s mother Katherine died in 1932.

Jim attended school in the Philadelphia area and was involved in athletics. In 1932 Jim attended Georgetown University where he joined the Army Reserve Officers Training Corps. He graduated in 1936 and was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant (Infantry) in the U.S. Army Reserve. In 1937 Jim completed additional training at Fort Meade, Maryland, and was promoted to 1st Lieutenant.

In September 1936, Jim joined the Philadelphia Record newspaper company. Jim had a passion for writing but he started in the business office and worked his way up. He later became a field reporter and finally a sports reporter. Jim hoped to make writing his career, but this was interrupted by the call up of Reserves in October 1940.

Military Service

The United States had started the military draft in September 1940 and began to prepare for a flood of untrained draftees to fill out the Army cadres with new troops. It is not clear where Jim was assigned between October 1940 and April 1941, but Jim was transferred to Fort Bragg, North Carolina in April 1941. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 47th Infantry Regiment, 9th Infantry Division. He attended several advanced schools to prepare him for duty in an infantry company.

The 9th Infantry Division was like many Army units at the time incorporating new men and equipment. They were assigned to a variety of field exercises to test Army doctrine for the upcoming conflict. Many of the units were due to be broken up to provide cadres for additional divisions as more draftees and volunteers arrived.

With the shortage of trained officers, Jim was assigned as Battalion Intelligence Officer, Regimental Athletic Officer and Morale officer alongside his regular duties. The division was preparing for a large set of maneuvers during October 1941. As Jim readied for movement into the field, he was informed that he and five other officers would be transferred to the Philippine Department. Jim wrote his father that he was excited about the opportunity and that he was also looking forward to the travel.

Jim assigned as an umpire for the South Carolina maneuvers which was disappointing to him as he would rather have stayed with his men. The assignment made sense as he would be leaving the men shortly for the Philippines. The maneuvers were challenging with limited facilities and bad weather but provided much needed testing of new weapons and tactics.

Jim shipped out from San Francisco on November 1 and sailed to the Philippines via Honolulu and Guam. Unlike a normal military convoy, Jim was aboard the SS President Coolidge and had his own stateroom and superior food and accommodations. Jim used the time to study his destination and read several books on the Philippines and was entertained by the ships band and movies. He did complain in a letter to his father that they were short of local news and he very much missed the local Philadelphia sporting scene.

The convoy arrived in Manila on November 17. Jim was assigned to the United States Armed Forces Far East (USAFFE) based at Fort McKinley. Before he joined his unit, Jim toured the city of Manila and wrote home about his enjoyment of the local Jai-Alai matches and compared the game to American sports. He bought Christmas gifts for the family and did his best to connect with the Filipino people.

Jim’s leisure time was short lived as he was issued field gear and assigned to the 33th Infantry Regiment, 31st Division of the Philippine Army. Jim joined the North Luzon Force headquartered at Fort Stotsenburg and was detailed to provide instruction to the Philippine Army officers who were recently called up for National Service. The men of the 33rd had yet to complete basic training so Jim and others like him had to provide rudimentary training alongside the challenges of mobilization. Jim had no direct command of men in the Philippine Army. He was there to advise and train. The newly raised units were in great need of trained leadership but there were few experienced Filipino officers and non-commissioned officers for the reserve units. This compelled the US Army officers assigned to these units to take on a greater role than intended.

The Philippine Army was short on just about everything except enthusiasm. The first units called up received the best equipment. The 33rd was called up on November 25th and had to make do with what was left. The unit was at 60% strength and short of essentials like helmets and uniforms. Many soldiers had to local source personal items and were issued dungarees in place of the standard khaki field uniforms. Their personal weapons were outdated and limited. The men were issued Great War vintage M1917 rifles, and many Filipino solders had such limited experience that they had never trained with rifles before. The units were short of crew served weapons and ammunition. The Great War era 75mm Stokes mortars that were issued were obsolete and the ammunition issued had an extremely high dud rate. The 33rd was short of radios and trained communication personnel and had to rely on runners and local telephone service to communicate with other units. Like most of the Philippine Army reserve units the 33rd was not ready for war.

Wartime Service

War came to the Philippines on December 8, 1941. The Japanese followed their air attacks on the airfields and port facilities with a seaborne invasion at multiple points on the island of Luzon and the outflanked and disorganized USAFEE ground forces withdrew into the Bataan Peninsula in the hope of holding off the Japanese and denying them the use of Manila Bay. Pre-war plans assumed that USAFFE would hold out for six months and await reinforcement from the US.

Jim and the men of the 33rd took up positions on the primary defense line in Bataan near Abucay. They spent the month of January in the Abucay line until they were forced to withdraw before Japanese pressure to the Orion-Bagac Road line. The leadership and communication were so poor that on January 26, 1942 the 33rd was ordered out of the line by II Corps into reserve and no unit was assigned to replace them. Had the Japanese known of this they could have rolled up the entire line and scattered the defenders, but the gap was covered just in time with another Filipino unit. The 33rd was doing their best in a difficult situation but the lack of training and leadership was showing. Additionally, the units on Bataan were placed on half rations and there was not enough anti-malarial medication. The sick list for the unit far outstripped those wounded in battle.

On February 16, 1942 Jim wrote a letter home sharing that he and his unit were well off and hunkered down in a group of trees that gave them protection from the elements and hid them from Japanese aircraft. He wrote that the food situation was challenging and that his diet consisted of canned salmon and tomatoes and that they were short of coffee and canned meat. The balance of their diet was made up of rice. He described a local dish that the troops adopted of mixed bread crusts, milk, sugar and dried coconuts that formed a cake that cooked between two banana leaf pieces.

Jim was now the Executive Officer of an Infantry Battalion in the 33rd. The battle had subsided as both sides settled in for the siege. The allied forces used the time to fortify their lines, but with every passing day the food and supply crisis would worsen. The unit was placed between the two USAFFE Corps near the Tiawar River. This position placed Jim and his men directly in the center of the line near Mount Samat. The Japanese probed this part of the line as the area between two Corps is often a weak point. The attrition caused by the Japanese and the sickness due to the reduced rations and malaria continued to erode the strength of the 33rd. Jim struggled to put a brave face on their predicament.

Jim wrote another letter home on February 24, 1942. Jim shared that he and his troops were beginning to show the strain of the battles. He said he was turning into a “rough guy” with a loud voice and a rugged look. He had grown a big red beard as the supply of razor blades had been exhausted. He joyfully wrote that he had been promoted the rank of Captain in the Infantry and that it represented the proper rank for his duties as Executive Officer of the battalion. It was clear the strain was starting to tell. He wrote of sending the Japanese back home in their boats, but by this time it was clear that outcome was not much in doubt. He asked for prayers from the family and reassured them that his situation for he and his men was stable. He closed the letter with details of a fantasy dinner of Champaign, steaks, milkshakes and banana splits that he and his men hoped to have in Manila after the defeat of Japan.

On March 2, 1942, Jim sent his final letter home. He wrote of the increasing gossip on Bataan and that they were still watching the Japanese and waiting for their next move. He informed his father that he had a $10,000 government life insurance policy should anything happen to him. He detailed his most recent meal of fried rice, catsup and bread and said unfortunately he could not share more due to censorship requirements.

The Japanese prepared a final offensive on Bataan and deployed fresh troops and supplies. The American and Filipino troops were on quarter rations and supplies were nearly exhausted. Thousands of the defenders were in hospital or sick on the battle line. Though it was not included in his letters, Jim was suffering the effects of malaria along with damage caused by three months of battle and reduced rations. The Japanese offensive started on Good Friday April 3.

The Japanese offensive moved to the east of the 33rd and advanced on Mt. Samat. By the next day, April 4, the 33rd was completely cut off. USAFFE command ordered a counterattack all along the line. The men were issued double rations in the hope of fueling one last push to restore the line that was now completely broken. There was no hope that an extra meal would make up for the months of hunger and illness the men had suffered. The counterattack failed.

The Japanese secured the heights of Mt. Samat on April 5th and were able to direct artillery and air strikes on the remaining points of resistance. By April 7th the 33rd ceased to exist as a military formation. On their last day in action, the 33rd lost 55 men in combat and 30 to illness. The men destroyed what equipment they had and waited to meet their fate or melted into the countryside in the hope of continuing the fight as guerillas.

The Japanese flowed south toward the port of Mariveles in Southern Bataan. Rather than allow the Japanese to overrun the hospitals and civilian encampments the USAFFE forces could no longer continue the fight.

Surrender

The forces on Bataan surrendered on April 9th. It was the largest surrender of U.S. Army forces in history. The Japanese were shocked to find double the number of men they had expected. The Japanese failed to appreciate how much the men had been worn down by the four months on limited rations.

Following the surrender, the Japanese marched the approximately 10,000 American and 65,000 Filipino prisoners north. The “Bataan Death March” lasted five days and covered 68 miles. Most men only received one scoop of rice during the five-day march and little water. They marched only during the day and temperatures were over 100 degrees. Men who fell out of the line were often killed by Japanese guards. Some were taken out of the line for no apparent reason and shot or beaten to death. The death march ended at the rail station at San Fernando. From there prisoners were stuffed into box cars usually used to transport sugar cane 100 at a time and transported north to Camp O’Donnell. 400-500 Americans and 5-10,000 Filipinos died during the march.

In the chaos of defeat and the march, it was difficult to know what happened to individual soldiers. All that was known was that Bataan had fallen and there was hope that the Japanese would care for the captives. The War Department informed the Gallagher family that Jim’s fate was unknown, and they would keep them informed as information became available. Jim’s three final letters arrived at the Gallagher home in the summer of 1942 having been taken out of Bataan via submarine before the defeat.

Death

The American public did not know the details of the Death March until prisoners began to escape from Japanese custody and brought the story of the suffering of the American and Filipino back home. The Japanese began to give limited information to the Red Cross in 1943 about those in POW camps and those that had died. Jim’s name was missing from both lists. The War Department continued to communicate with the families, but no new information was forthcoming until Allied forces returned to the Luzon in 1945. As the prison camps were secured the fate of those lost on Bataan became clear. On May 26, 1945, the Gallagher family received the following telegram:

WASHINGTON DC MAY 26 1027 P

JOSEPH F GALAGHER

5836 WOODBINE AVE PHILA

I AM DEEPLY DISTRESSED TO INFORM YOU CORRECTED REPORT

JUST RECEIVED STATES YOUR SON CAPTAIN JAMES MCD GALLAGHER

WHO WAS PREVIOUSLY REPORTED MISSING IN ACTION WAS KILLED

IN ACTION ON NINE APRIL NINETEEN FORTY TWO ON PHILIPPINE

ISLANDS PERIOD THE SECRETARY OF WAR ASKS THAT I EXPRESS

HIS DEEP SYMPATHY IN YOUR LOSS AND HIS REGRET THAT

UNAVOIDABLE CIRCUMSTANCES MADE NECESSARY THE UNUSUAL LAPSE

OF TIME IN REPORTING YOUR SONS DEATH TO YOU CONFIRMING

LETTER FOLLOWS.

JA ULIO MAJOR GENERAL THE ADJUTANT GENERAL OF THE ARMY.

Based on this information it appeared that Jim had died on the last day of battle. This would explain why the Japanese had no information about him.

The Gallagher family received a letter in August 1945 just as the war in the Pacific was ending. It gave them more details about Jim. As the prisoners were freed in the Philippines written records from the Cabanatuan prison camp listed Jim as being seen dead by Army Air Corps Private Frank Spear who swore an affidavit that he had seen Jim’s dead body on April 9, 1942. Private Spear was listed as being held prisoner in Japan and the family awaited further information from him once the Japanese prisons were liberated following the Japanese surrender in September 1945.

Aftermath

As the accounting of prisoners was completed in Japan it was discovered that Private Spear had been executed by the Japanese in the final days of the war. This was disappointing news, but the Gallagher family did not give up hope in the quest to find more information.

On October 12, 1945, the Gallagher’s received the following from the Army which underscored Jim’s heroism and provided more information about Jim’s last days:

Joseph F. Gallagher

Office of the Postmaster

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Dear Mr. Gallagher:

12 October 1945

I have the honor to inform you that, by direction of the President,

The Silver Star has been posthumously awarded to your son, Captain

James McD. Gallagher, Infantry. The citation is as follows:

SILVER STAR

"For gallantry in action in Bataan Peninsula, Luzon, Philippine Islands,

on 9 April 1942. Captain Gallagher Commanded units of the 33rd Infantry,

31st Division, Philippine Army, holding a sector of the line south of the

Pilar-Bagac Road during the final Japanese assault on the Bataan defenses.

While units on both flanks withdrew under the ferocious onslaught, he

remained with his troops to hold and fight the enemy until he was killed.

By his exceptional gallantry, Captain Gallagher made a glorious contribution to

the inspiring annals of the outnumbered defenders of Bataan Peninsula."

The decoration will be forwarded to the Commanding General, Third

Service Command, Baltimore, Maryland, who will select an officer to make

the presentation. The officer selected will communicate with you concerning

your wishes in the matter.

My deepest sympathy is again extended to you in your bereavement

Sincerely yours,

Edward F. Witsell

Major General

Acting The Adjutant General

The Gallagher family continue to seek information about the manner and location of their son’s death. No body had been recovered and they hoped to find information about the location of his burial. They wrote directly to General Douglas MacArthur’s Headquarters in the search for more information. Unfortunately, MacArthur’s office could provide no further details.

As the former POWs began to be recovered and returned home the story of the last days of the Battle of Bataan and the circumstances of the Death March became clearer. Testimony was taken from the prisoners in preparation for the upcoming Tokyo War Crimes trials and individual stories started to emerge. Jim’s father discovered that someone with direct knowledge of Jim’s death had been liberated and could possibly share more details. He wrote to Army Sergeant Emanuel Hamburger who had been present at the Death March and had personally seen Jim. In September 1946, the Gallagher’s received the following letter from Sergeant Hamburger with his eyewitness account:

Mr. Joseph F. Gallagher, Postmaster

Philadelphia, Pa.

Dear Sir:

In reply to your letter of Sept. 19, regarding your son Capt. J. McD. Gallagher's death, I am glad to give you what little information I have.

I first encountered your son early the morning of April 8, 1942. He evidently was captured the evening before. He and two others, Frank Spears and Sam Stengeler, both deceased, were being questioned by a Japanese officer through an interpreter. The whole three were on their knees and all looked pretty woozy. During the questioning I overheard your son tell the Japs that according to the rules of International Warfare he was only required to give his name and rank at this time. He was slapped in the face by the Jap officer about three times.

In this area there were about six of us Americans and about 12 Filipino soldiers who had been captured in the Mt. Sumat area, on the front line. Around 7 a.m. we were lined up prepared to march. Your son and I were placed in front of the column to set the pace. We marched all day until about 5 p.m. On that march I had learned your son's name and that he was a newspaper man at home. At 5 p.m. we were placed under a large Mango tree and the Japs gave us some hot tea and a small sack of cakes for each two men. Capt. Gallagher and I split one bag which had 34 small cakes. He insisted I take them all as he didn't care to eat. He was pretty much weakened after the day's march without food, most likely not having any food the previous day. While we were sitting there, he went out (of) his head for a few seconds. I asked him what was the matter and he replied, "I wish I knew." From all appearances he was full of malaria. After we had rested around an hour we were placed on trucks and were taken to Balanga, capitol of Bataan. We were locked up in the basement of a large dwelling and kept there all night. There were about a hundred Filipinos and one more American there when we arrived. During that evening and early the next morning your son passed out several times. I had some aromatic spirits of ammonia which I held under his nose which seemed to revive him. We had a few quinine tablets which he also took. The next morning the Japs fed us some rice and canned fish, but your son wouldn't eat; he appeared to be too exhausted.

After breakfast we loaded on trucks and left for Orani. Capt. Gallagher had to be lifted in the truck. We de trucked at Orani and were questioned by the Japs and left on trucks an hour later. During our stay at Orani your son laid down and seemed to be asleep. When we were ordered back on the trucks your son couldn't get up, so Frank Spears picked him up with a fireman's carry and started for the truck. At this time the Japs ordered Spears to take him across the road and into a small shack. Spears came back just before the trucks pulled out, about ten minutes. He sat down beside me and told me that Capt. Gallagher died in that shack and that he searched him and took his billfold and identification tags. I told Spears he should leave one of the tags on him so he could be identified later, but just then the trucks pulled out and it was too late. Spears later told me he turned in the tags and billfold to an army chaplain, but I don't know his name, but it was a chaplain who worked at the hospital at Cabanatuan, Camp No. 1.

Although I didn't see Capt. Gallagher after he died the place that Spears last saw and swore a certificate as to his death was a small Barrio in Bataan named Orani. When I last saw him on Spears' back I noticed his face was real purple and remarked that he needed medical attention, but under the conditions none was available. In my opinion, your son's death was due to malaria, malnutrition, and exhaustion.

There is a chaplain living close to Seattle named Zimmerman who was at the hospital in Cabanatuan who might be able to give you a list of chaplains that were at that hospital. I don't know his first name or address, but you might locate him thru the War Department. I know he got back safely and might possibly know something about the papers that were taken off of your son.

I am sorry I can't give you any more information and please excuse this scribbling. If there are any questions you think I may be able to answer let me know and I would be glad to oblige.

Your son died about 12 noon April 9, 1942.

Best wishes to you and your family.

Sincerely yours,

/s/ EMANUEL HAMBURGER

The details provided by Sergeant Hamburger provided some measure of closure for the Gallagher family. Jim’s older brothers both served as officers in the war and came home safe. Joseph Jr. was a Marine and Thomas was in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. His father lived on until he died in Philadelphia at age 88 in 1966.

The Photo

When the Japanese surrendered in 1945 the occupying Allied forces began to collect information on war crimes committed by the Japanese during the conflict. Many of the senior Japanese officers in the early days of the war were identified, tried and convicted of war crimes due to the savage treatment of Allied soldiers and civilians. As General MacArthur remained as Supreme Commander special attention was given to the crimes committed in the Philippines.

Japanese military and civilian journalists and photographers traveled to combat zones and captured content for Japanese newspapers and for propaganda purposes. Much documentation was destroyed by the Japanese in the last days but some survived. Included in the surviving documentation was motion picture film and photographs from the Philippine campaign in 1942. Surviving servicemen from the Philippine campaign were shown the films and photos with the intent of identifying perpetrators of war crimes.

In the files of the United States Marine Corps at the National Archives in College Park Maryland is a photo that shows three American soldiers with their hands bound taken during the Bataan Death March. It is not known who took the photo, but it matches Sergeant Hamburger’s description of Captain Gallagher, Private Spear and Sergeant Stenzler being questioned by a Japanese soldier. The photo shows Jim’s desperate physical condition. He is clearly in extremis, wracked by malaria and malnutrition as described by Sergeant Hamburger. It is exceedingly rare to find such a photograph in wartime and remains as a shocking image that captures the sheer horror of the Bataan Campaign and the sacrifice of those who gave their all in the attempt to slow the Japanese advance in a battle against impossible odds.

Today

The Department of Defense POW/MIA accounting agency lists Jim’s remains as non-recoverable which means that there is no information about the location of his remains and that it is highly unlikely that he can or will be found. Jim is remembered on the Walls of the Missing at the United States Military Cemetery at Fort Bonifacio in the Philippines.

While it is unfortunate that Jim has not yet been found, we have his letters home, the memories of his comrades and the knowledge of his sacrifice for his country. May the endeavors of Captain James McDonnell Gallagher and those of men like him never fade.

Awards for Actions

Silver Star

Purple Heart

Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal

Philippine Campaign Medal

World War II Victory Medal

Sources

Letters of Captain James M. Gallagher. Privately Printed.

New York Times Newspaper articles 1945

Philadelphia Inquirer Newspaper articles 1945

Philadelphia Record Newspaper articles 1940-1946

Sloan, Bill. Undefeated: America’s Heroic Fight for Bataan and Corregidor. Simon & Schuster. 2012

Whitman, John W. Bataan: Our last ditch. Hippocrene Books. 1990.

This piece was written by John Wayne Carlson as part of the Stories Behind the Stars project (https://www.storiesbehindthestars.org/), with the goal of eventually honoring all 400,000 American service members who were killed during World War II.

Walls of the missing photo

Spear affidavit

Stenzler, Spear & Gallagher April 1942