Meringolo, Ferdinand Frank, S1c

S1c Meringolo was captured at the Fall of the Philippines on May 6, 1942. Records report that he was held in POW Camps in the Philippines and Manchuria, China.  According to records, Meringolo and two U.S. Marines managed to escape from the POW Camp Hoten in Mukden, China, on June 21, 1943, and fled toward the Russian border.  They reportedly were helped by a Chinese fellow-worker who supplied them with a crude map.  The Chinese worker was subsequently sentenced to 5-years in prison for his part in the escape.  The trio was successful in traveling a reported 180 kilometers and evading recapture for eleven days until they were desperate for food and approached a Manchurian policeman seeking help claiming they were German airmen.  According to Japanese reports, the trio subsequently killed the policeman while leading him to an alleged crash site and following their recapture they were returned to Camp Hoten on July 6th.  Here they were tried before a military court and condemned to death.  The trio was executed by a firing squad at POW Camp Hoten on July 31, 1943.  Military officials reported that they were skeptical of the Japanese claims.
 
Following the war S1c Meringolo's body was disinterred and returned to the United States. His remains reached California on 11 February 1948.

Service number: 2339900

Prisoner of War Medal
Awarded for action during World War II
Service: Navy
Rank: Seaman First Class
Division: Prisoner of War (Manchuria)
General Orders: NARA Database: Records of World War II Prisoners of War, created, 1942 - 1947
Citation: Seaman First Class Ferdinand F. Meringolo (NSN: 2339900), United States Navy, was captured by the Japanese after the fall of Corregidor, Philippine Islands, on 6 May 1942, and was held as a Prisoner of War until his death while still in captivity.

The information contained in this profile was compiled from various internet sources.