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Contact Info
Home Town Cheboygan, Mich.
Last Address Traverse City, Michigan.
Date of Passing Apr 25, 2015
Location of Interment Grand Traverse Memorial Gardens - Traverse City, Michigan
World War II/Asiatic-Pacific Theater/Philippine Islands Campaign (1941-42)
From Month/Year
December / 1941
To Month/Year
May / 1942
Description The Philippines Campaign (Filipino:Labanan sa Pilipinas (1941–1942)) or the Battle of the Philippines was the invasion of the Philippines by Japan in 1941–1942 and the defense of the islands by Filipino and United States forces.
The defending forces outnumbered the Japanese invaders by 3 to 2, but were a mixed force of non-combat experienced regular, national guard, constabulary, and newly created Commonwealth units; the Japanese used their best first-line troops at the outset of the campaign. The Japanese 14th Army also concentrated its forces in the first month of the campaign, enabling it to swiftly overrun most of Luzon.
The Japanese high command, believing they had won the campaign, made a strategic decision to advance by a month their timetable of operations in Borneo and Indonesia, withdrawing their best division and the bulk of their airpower in early January 1942. This, coupled with the decision of the defenders to withdraw into a defensive holding position in the Bataan Peninsula, enabled the Americans and Filipinos to successfully hold out for four more months.
My Participation in This Battle or Operation
From Month/Year
January / 1942
To Month/Year
May / 1942
Last Updated: Mar 16, 2020
Personal Memories
Memories Poulin found himself fighting on the front lines on various Pacific Islands in 1942. Eventually he was captured and became part of the infamous Bataan Death March that took place on April 9, 1942 as 76,000 Allied POWs (including 12,000 Americans) were forced to walk 60 miles under a blazing sun without food or water toward a new POW camp. It resulted in over 5,000 American deaths.
.png?ixlib=java-2.3.0&w=100&s=c49280a91b79826dbff47dc198f1bbf0 "Honorable Discharge Emblem (WWII)")
