The remains of an American soldier who was captured by Japanese forces in the Philippines and later died as a prisoner of war have been accounted for more than 80 years after his death.
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced that 20-year-old US Army Private First Class Joseph C. Murphy of Bogalusa, Louisiana, was considered accounted for on April 1, 2024.
Murphy was a member of Company I, 31st Infantry Regiment when Japanese forces invaded the Philippines in December 1941. After intense fighting, thousands of American servicemembers were captured following the surrender of the Bataan Peninsula on April 9, 1942, and Corregidor Island on May 6, 1942. Murphy was among the forces captured in Bataan and subjected to the 65-mile Bataan Death March before being held at Cabanatuan Prison Camp No. 1.
More than 2,500 POWs died at the camp during the war.
Records indicate that Murphy died on October 28, 1942, and was buried along with other prisoners at the camp cemetery in Common Grave 713.
Murphy is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial in the Philippines. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate that he has been accounted for.
Murphy will be buried in Bogalusa, Louisiana, on August 3, 2024.
