Holger L. Holm, New Hartford, Iowa, was a PFC with Chicago Battery, 60th Coast Artillery (Anti-Aircraft) stationed on Corregidor. He was at Funatsu from 9/4/44 through 9/6/45 after having previously been at Bilibid, P.I.,Cabanatuan #3, P.I., and at Palawan, P.I. He was awarded the Silver Star with two (2) Oak Leaf Clusters.

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Time Line of Holm's travels:

2/10/41 Left home
2/12/41 Joined Army (at Ft. Des Moines)
2/15/41 Arrived San Francisco
3/31/41 Left San Francisco
4/22/41 Arrived Philippine Islands
12/8/41 War started (Int'l Date Line)
4/8/42 Fall of Bataan
5/6/42 Fall of Corregidor
5/23/42 Left Corregidor
5/24/42 Arrived Bilibid (Manila)
5/28/42 Left Bilibid
5/28/42 Arrived Cabanatuan
5/29/42 To Cabanatuan Camp #3
9/24/42 Left Cabanatuan Camp #3
9/24/42 Arrived Bilibid
10/4/42 Left Bilibid
10/6/42 Arrived Palawan, P.I.
12/15/43 Left Palawan
12/18/43 Arrived Bilibid
4/27/44 Left Bilibid
4/28/44 Arrived Cabanatuan Camp #1
6/20/44 Left Cabanatuan Camp #1
6/20/44 Arrived Bilibid
7/2/44 Left Bilibid [aboard the Canadian Inventor]
7/16/44 Left Manila Bay
7/23/44 Arrived Takao, Tiwan (sic) [Taiwan]
8/4/44 Left Takao
8/5/44 Arrived Okinawa
8/17/44 Left Okinawa
9/2/44 Arrived Mogi [Moji], Japan
9/3/44 Left Mogi
9/4/44 Arrived at Funatsu
9/6/45 Left Funatsu (Liberation!)
9/7/45 Arrived Aranagi
9/7/45 Left Aranagi
9/7/45 Arrived Yokohama
9/8/45 Left Yokohama
9/8/45 Arrived Okinawa
9/12/45 Left Okinawa
9/12/45 Arrived Manila
9/25/45 Left Manila

The following notes regarding Holm's first Red Cross package:


Another page of the notebook details the contents his first Red Cross package which he received at Funatsu in 1944. The contents were (exactly as my father had it listed):

7 packs camels
1 coffee Barrington 2 oz.
2 packs chewing gum Dubblemint
1 cheese Bordens American
12 ascorbic acid
1/2 lb sugar Jack Frost
2 Gayla toilet soap
2 Emergency D chocolate
1 lb whole milk Beatrice
6 oz Rose Mill Pate
1 lb Sugar Drop prunes
2-12 oz. Peer Spiced Luncheon meat
1-7 3/4 oz Red poppy Salmon
6 oz Grape Jam Schimmel
12 oz Successo corned beef
4-3 3/4 oz Preserved butter


Dad also had notations that when he left Japan on 9/7/45 he boarded the USN Hospital Ship Rescue and was outfitted with NEW CLOTHES. He was then taken by landing barge to HMS Wizard (a British cruiser) and sailed from Yokohama on 9/8/45. Later that same day he left (via plane) from Atsugi Tokyo Airdrome for Okinawa. Note: My father said that when they boarded the HMS Wizard they were ordered to throw their new clothes over this side of the ship (the POWs were not very happy about this because they had been living in rags for years) and were then deloused. They were then issued another set of new clothes and escorted to the galley for breakfast. Dad said that breakfast lasted for many hours as they just continued to eat and eat and eat.
8 April 2004- One of the enlisted men on this list is a TSgt Jesus Gutierrez and my Dad (Holger L. Holm) spoke of him often. My father call him "Jimmy". Jesus had a brother (Jose) who was also a POW. All three (my father, Jimmy and Jose) were at Cabanatuan but Dad did not meet Jimmy (to my knowledge) until they shared blankets (and body heat) at Funatsu. The information that I wanted to pass along is that Jimmy's hometown is Deming, New Mexico (on Diamond Street) as was his brother's. They were both members of the NM National Guard and if I remember right, were in the 200th CA. Jimmy passed away in the very late 1990s. I think Jose passed away in the early 1980s. I got this information from the webmaster of the New Mexico ABDC site. Jimmy and Jose had a cousin (now from California) who I e-mailed with briefly a couple years ago. He, too, was in the NM NG and was a POW at Cabanatuan.