Polk County

 

Sgt. Vance Wendell Walsh

 

 

Vance Wendell Walsh was born June 7, 1924 to John Joseph and Grace Beatrice Rogers Walsh. He died Feb. 19, 1993 and is buried in Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, San Diego, CA.

Sgt. Walsh served with the U.S. Marine Corps in World War II and became a POW after the fall of Corregidor. He was one of the youngest prisoners of war held in Japanese camps. He lied about his age (16) and got his parents to sign a consent form. The way Mr. Walsh figured it, the family would have one less mouth to feed and he wanted to get out of Des Moines. He was liberated from a POW camp in Yokkaichi, Japan on Sept. 4, 1945.

Source: ancestry.com