January 30, 2000
Richard G. Grow on Active Duty U.S. Navy writes:

"My Uncle died in Oct. 1944 and the Department of the Army "believes" that his death came about during either the "Bataan Death March" or the while he was aboard one of the "Hell Ships" that was sunk.

His name is William LaVon Bostock.   I have also tried getting a copy of his service record/file but it happens to be one that is "believed" to have been destroyed during the fire at the building all records are kept.   I don't have any more information than that on the fire.   I recently received a letter from the Army stating that they will be sending a copy of his citations and medals, I already have his Purple Heart and citation preserved.   I would like to bring some closure to the circumstances of his death so my Mother may finally be at ease and finish the mourning process.

If you have any information or leads that I may pursue it would be greatly appreciated.   Thank you for the diary and accounts that you already have made available, it has been a great comfort knowing that our service members had some people in the field to help during that trying time in history.   Now if we could just convince the school systems of America to teach this kind of History in the class room so Americans will never forget the struggles and pain that has been endured to secure the freedoms that we enjoy today.

God Bless,
Sincerely,
AE1 Richard G. Grow
Email addresses:
rgrow@chtwp.nasni.navy.mil
cgrowgo@email.msn.com