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Casualty Info
Home Town Brooklyn, NY
Last Address 570 E 2nd St Brooklyn, NY
Casualty Date Jul 31, 1943
Cause MIA-Died in Captivity
Reason Intentional Homicide
Location China
Conflict World War II
Location of Interment Long Island National Cemetery (VA) - Farmingdale, New York
Wall/Plot Coordinates H 8196
Military Service Number 2 339 900
Official Badges
Unofficial Badges
Additional Information
Last Known Activity:
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.
Comments/Citation:
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.
Letter from Catherine Quomo
Date
Dec 11, 2015
Last Updated: Jul 31, 2018
Comments
In November 2015, in commemoration of Veterans Day, S1c Meringolo's sister dropped off the following note at the Police Headquarters in Greenwich, Connecticut:
My Mission is to Remember and Never to Forget
What do the ghosts of the Pacific have to say about our American boys who were captured as Japanese prisoners of war in Bataan and Corregidor? Especially on a day like Veteran's Day we should pay tribute to our American men who suffered and lost their lives in World War II. These men fought and suffered and as Veteran's Day comes and goes year by year I can't help but take note of how little mention we hear of the prisoners of Bataan and Corregidor. Not all of the voices and stories and cries can be heard all of the time. But I would like to give honorable mention to these heroic boys, to thank them and remember. The memories of their short stories will never be forgotten and will always be carried in our minds and in our hearts. These courageous men gave up their tomorrow so that we could have our today's. I know this because one of those prisoners was my brother, and he never came home.
