Born in North East, Pennsylvania on May 20, 1922

Listed as Missing in Action in July 29th 1942 letter to his mother from the Army
(the Army had not received his name—or, presumably, many others—from the Japanese indicating that they held him as a POW.
His family was not notified of the date & place of his death until 1945.)

Died at POW Camp Cabanatuan, Philippines July 18, 1942 (Malaria and Dysentery cited as cause of death)


Service Record Chronology:

Enlisted August 16th, 1940 Pittsburgh, PA

17 August 1940--11 November 1940 NY & California training sites

12 November 1940--December 1940 USS Meigs or USS Etolin, enroute to P.I.

5 December 1940—February 1941 Battery E, 60th Coast Artillery (AA) Fort Mills, Corregidor, P.I.

15 February 1941—June 1941 HQ & HQ Squadron 4th Composite Group Nichols Field, P.I.

June 1941—8 December 1941 West Point Preparatory School Camp John Hay Baguio, P.I.

8 December 1941-- ? HQ & HQ Squadron, 24th Pursuit Group (listed as his last assignment on the Memorial wall at Manila Cemetery)

31 January 1942-- Date of last letter, which he wrote from “Somewhere in Bataan”

29 July 1942 Declared “Missing in Action”

18 July 1942 Date of death as reported by US Army, per 27 August 1945 letter


Other Pertinent Information:

His younger brother, Stephen (my father), also a WWII vet, compiled the above chronology in his successful effort in 1988 to obtain POW and other medals due his brother.   I wish I had asked my father more questions about his brother when my father was still alive, but it was a difficult subject for him.   My father, before the age of eighteen, lost his father and only brother, and then went off to fight in the South Pacific himself.

I have just begun to realize that my only chances to communicate with someone who knew the uncle I never did are fast slipping away.   I know that it may be as difficult for a survivor to speak of those days as it was for my father, but I’m hoping that someone may still be alive who might be able to fill in the gaps between his last letter home (January 31, 1942, from “Somewhere in Bataan”) and the date of his death in the POW camp.

The only other personally identifying information I have other than his service record is that, according to my father, his brother Philip loved to fly so much that he made his own plane before he left home.   His last letter, referenced above, began with “Dear Mom”, spoke reassuringly about his current situation (but also discussed the recent additional life insurance he had purchased, with his mother and younger sister as beneficiaries), told them “No news is good news”, and ended with “Keep ‘em Flying” above his signature.

He apparently dreamed of attending West Point (not the prep school, the real thing) and had in fact gotten a recommendation from his local Congressional Representative to be a “Second Alternate to take the examination” to attend.   Unfortunately, the recommendation was written just before war broke out and the letter of recommendation was returned to the sender because mail service was suspended in the Philippines.   The Congressman was kind enough to forward his returned recommendation to my grandmother.

I have just recently begun this search, via websites such as those created by the “Battling Bastards of Bataan” survivors, and books such as Louis Morton’s The Fall of the Philippines.   I’m beginning to make a dent in my ignorance of this part of our country’s political and military history, in part try to decipher the personal history of my Uncle Philip, and those who served with him, so that I can pass on to my children what they are not learning in school.

If you served with Private Philip Fromyer during 1941 or 1942, and you are willing to correspond with me regarding your memories of your mutual experiences, please contact me or my brother:


Heidi Szrom
P.O. Box 1310
Valparaiso, IN 46384
(219) 465-7715
szromfamily@comcast.net

Stephen Fromyer, Jr.
Silver Spring, Maryland
fromyer@aol.com

Posted: 19 May 2004