Personal Narrative Film, Video Manuscript/Mixed Material Photo, Print, Drawing Lester Irwin Tenney Collection
Veterans History Project Service Summary:
- War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
- Branch of Service: Army
- Unit of Service: Company B, 192nd Tank Battalion
- Location of Service: Philippines; Japan; Pacific Theater
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/86613
Army Staff Sergeant Lester Tenney arrived in the Philippines on Thanksgiving Day, 1941. By the following month, his world would be turned upside down. Having survived the Japanese attack on Clark Air Field on December 8, his unit evacuated to the Bataan peninsula, where they surrendered to the enemy in April 1942, and embarked on the infamous Bataan Death March. That 60-mile trek was just the beginning of the hell that Tenney endured as a prisoner of war for over three years. By August of 1945, he was working as a slave laborer in a coal mine in mainland Japan, 30 miles from Nagasaki. Though he observed the atomic fallout on August 9, it was not until about a week later, when the Japanese surrendered on August 15, that the end of the war became clear: he was given Red Cross packages and unlimited rice rations, and the guards bowed in deference to him. Post-liberation, he faced lengthy hospital stays and shocking news from the homefront: his wife, convinced he had been killed, had married another.
Interview / Recording
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PlayJapanese bombing of Clark Field, Philippines; didn't immediately identify planes as Japanese; constant strafing; destruction of airplanes, supplies, belongings. 00:19:14.2 - 00:20:14.1
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PlayBeginning of Bataan Death March; Japanese took you as you were; survived based on what you had on you at that moment. 00:28:57.9 - 00:30:19.0
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PlayUnprepared for march; had run out of food before surrender; already weak and sick; language barrier in dealing with Japanese; if you faltered in any way, you were killed; total slaughter 00:33:05.1 - 00:34:08.8
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PlayAgony of not being able to help friends who fell down on the march; seeing friends die. 00:36:51.3 - 00:37:32.6
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PlayHuge number of POWs captured; Japanese unable to handle such large numbers; widespread slaughter of POWs in order to control escape; Japanese attitude toward surrender. 00:38:43.6 - 00:40:48.0
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PlayTransferred to mainland Japan; became slave laborer in the coal mines at Mitsui; beaten by guards and civilian workers; POWs breaking their own bones to avoid having to work. 00:43:39.6 - 00:44:58.1
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PlayCamp was located 30 miles from Nagasaki; seeing mushroom cloud produced by atomic bomb; changes in routine on August 15; brought back from mines and given Red Cross box; given extra rations; guards bowed to them; knowing the war was over. 00:46:47.6 - 00:49:35.3
About this Item
Title
- Lester Irwin Tenney Collection
Names
- Tenney, Lester Irwin
- Farrar, Mike
- American Red Cross, Greater Long Beach Chapter
Home State
- California
Headings
- - Tenney, Lester Irwin
- - World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
- - United States. Army.
- - Prisoner of War -- United States
Form
- DVD
Extent
- 1 item
Repository
- Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress
Gender
- Male
Status
- veteran
Service History
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World War, 1939-1945
- Branch of Service: Army
- Unit of Service: Company B, 192nd Tank Battalion
- Location of Service: Philippines; Japan; Pacific Theater
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Dates of Service: 1940-1946
- Prisoner of War: Yes
- Entrance into Service: Enlisted
- Military Status: veteran
- Service History Note: The veteran is a survivor of the Bataan Death March.
Materials
- Video: DVD [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2012-06-10; 2012-06-10)
Collection Number
- AFC/2001/001/86613
Cite as
- Lester Irwin Tenney Collection (AFC/2001/001/86613), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress
Online Format
- image
- video