Hello, My name is Joni Schildgen. I am the niece of 2 brothers that fought in WWII. They had different last names but that is another story in itself. Their names were Pvt. Ray E Biddle who was a POW and was on the ship Shinyo Maru when it was torpedoed by the submarine USS Paddle. He didn't survive. We haven't known alot about what happened until I started researching my family and especially looking into my 2 Uncles. My other Uncle was Jay Bittle. His military record has him as J H Bittle. He was MIA. And when that law came out (I am not sure of the name) they gave him the designation of Finding of Death. My father was very young and was their half brother so he only remembered them until they were in their teens when they left. I know there is information out there about the Hellships and would love any information about the Shinyo Maru. I recently found the article from the Prologue Magazine called "American POWs on Japanese Ships Take a Voyage into Hell." I also found this website. Thank you, Joni
Welcome Joni Losing two Uncles as POWs of the Japanese is very sad. As members of 680th Ordnance Company and 803rd Engineer Battalion respectively, they seem to have both been captured very early in the war. I don't now whether you have already found this information: http://www.west-point.org/family/japanese-pow/photos.htm American POWs Rescued After Shinyo Maru Sinking by USS Paddle: SubmarineSailor.com I have a couple of books on the hellships, mentioned in the other thread, and will have look through them a little later.
Joni have you read the two interviews with members of the 803rd? Oral History Interviews: Military Branch Index: Army: Pacific Theater
welcome to the forum Joni. We have a lot of Aussies here into the Pacific war, I'm sure they'll help.
Thank you for your reply. Thank you for replying and for the information. I am just now finding out information about them. About 6 years ago I asked my cousin to go through my Grandma's (their mother) old trunk. I found some of their military papers that got me started. Even the letters sent to my Grandmother didn't give her alot of information about what had happened to Uncle Ray. You wouldn't believe the letters she had to write to prove that she was Uncle Jay's mother because of him changing his name. They both lied about their age to get into the Army because of a situation with my Grandfather and another Uncle. My Grandfather was their step father. Thank you again. You helped me alot with the information you gave. Joni
Thank you Owen, Thank you for your welcome. I have already found information from the site I didn't know about. Thanks again, Joni
Hi Joni interesting you should say that they lied about their ages as they both appear to have joined up before the US entry into the war, at ages 18 and 20. ARMY SERIAL NUMBER 18051734 NAME BIDDLE#RAY#E RESIDENCE: STATE OKLAHOMA RESIDENCE: COUNTY TULSA PLACE OF ENLISTMENT OKLAHOMA CITY OKLAHOMA DATE OF ENLISTMENT DAY 03 DATE OF ENLISTMENT MONTH 07 DATE OF ENLISTMENT YEAR 41 GRADE: CODE Private BRANCH: ALPHA DESIGNATION Ordnance Department BRANCH: CODE Ordnance Department TERM OF ENLISTMENT 0 Undefined Code LONGEVITY ### SOURCE OF ARMY PERSONNEL Civil Life NATIVITY OKLAHOMA YEAR OF BIRTH 23 RACE AND CITIZENSHIP White, citizen EDUCATION Grammar school CIVILIAN OCCUPATION Farm hands, general farms MARITAL STATUS Single, without dependents COMPONENT OF THE ARMY Regular Army (including Officers, Nurses, Warrant Officers, and Enlisted Men) CARD NUMBER # BOX NUMBER 0272 FILM REEL NUMBER 2.129 ARMY SERIAL NUMBER 18050247 NAME BITTLE#J#H RESIDENCE: STATE OKLAHOMA RESIDENCE: COUNTY TULSA PLACE OF ENLISTMENT OKLAHOMA CITY OKLAHOMA DATE OF ENLISTMENT DAY 25 DATE OF ENLISTMENT MONTH 02 DATE OF ENLISTMENT YEAR 41 GRADE: ALPHA DESIGNATION Private GRADE: CODE Private BRANCH: ALPHA DESIGNATION Corps of Engineers BRANCH: CODE Corps of Engineers FIELD USE AS DESIRED # TERM OF ENLISTMENT Enlistment for Hawaiian Department LONGEVITY ### SOURCE OF ARMY PERSONNEL Civil Life NATIVITY OKLAHOMA YEAR OF BIRTH 21 RACE AND CITIZENSHIP White, citizen EDUCATION Grammar school CIVILIAN OCCUPATION Farm hands, general farms MARITAL STATUS Single, without dependents COMPONENT OF THE ARMY Regular Army (including Officers, Nurses, Warrant Officers, and Enlisted Men) CARD NUMBER # BOX NUMBER 0272 FILM REEL NUMBER 2.129
Hi Kyt, That is the story I was told because my Grandfather and Uncle were so mean to them. And they had no place to go. My Aunt Ginny who was their full sister passed the story down to her children and myself. My Dad was their youngest half brother and was really young so didn't know the situation very well. He received half of Uncle Ray military insurance. He still is to this day. It is only about $14 and my dad is 72 years old. Thank you again for your help. I am new at this. I am also an Air Force Veteran. My husband served in Desert Storm. My researching my family history is so important to me and at the same time since I am a veteran I have found my families military history is just as important. Joni
