website watertownhistory.org
ebook History of Watertown, Wisconsin
Harvey Riedeman
1918 - 1945
Ken Riedl
Father,
Sgt. Harvey Riedeman, Mother
Sgt.
Harvey Riedeman. Harvey was a member of
the 192nd Tank Battalion and was assigned to A Company.
The
company was originally a Wisconsin National Guard Tank Company from Janesville.
Contributed
photo of Harvey Riedeman. From the scrapbook of 1st Lt. Jacques Merrifield.
Merrifield
was an Illinois National Guardsman who went to the Philippines as a sergeant
and
received a battlefield commission.
From
what is known, the two men were
good
friends at Ft. Knox and in the Philippines.
1945
Watertown Daily Times, 09
28 1945
Staff
Sgt. Harvey H. Riedeman, Watertown's only prisoner of war of the Japanese, is
dead. Official word to that effect came here this morning in a message from the
office of the secretary of war.
The message
reached Watertown shortly after
"It
was one of the saddest things I ever had to do," Mr. Redstrom said. He
contacted Miss Marion Haney, local Red Cross representative, and informed her
of the fact, asking her to go to the Riedeman home, which she did.
Text of Message
It was
from Miss Haney that the Daily Times
secured the text of the message to Mr. and Mrs. Erick A. Riedeman,
"The
secretary of war asks me to inform you that your son, Staff Sgt., Harvey H.
Riedeman died aboard a Japanese transport while a prisoner of war on
Mrs.
Riedeman was too distraught to speak when sympathetic friends and neighbors
called. She broke down upon receipt of
the message. She had been hopeful that her son was alive and was looking for
the day when a message telling her of his safety would come to the home.
Instead, today there came the death message. Mr. Riedeman, a railroad man, was
out of the city when the message came. He was due to return this afternoon.
Friends Notified
The Daily Times dispatched a telegram to
Maj. Paul L. Ashton, a young army doctor, in Corona, Cal., informing him of the
death message. Maj. Ashton was the closest friend young Riedeman
had in Bilibid prison in the Philippines where both were held
prior to Riedeman's transfer to Japan.
Maj.
Ashton, who was among the Americans liberated in the Philippines and returned
to this country, paid Watertown a visit in August, calling at the Daily Times, following a prior exchange
of correspondence.
Maj.
Ashton is the last man who has been located who saw Riedeman alive. That was
last December 12. At that time Riedeman was ordered transferred to Japan. The
transport on which he was taken was attacked and sunk and since he did not die
until Jan. 30 of this year, as now officially revealed, he was among the group
who survived that disaster and was sent on another transport later, on which he
died.
Intestinal Inflammation
The
term "acute enteritis" which was used in the war department message as
the cause of death is a medical term for inflammation of the intestines.
Maj.
Ashton at the time of his visit in Watertown said that when he last saw
Riedeman he appeared good shape, though the improper diet which all prisoners of
the Japanese were forced to subsist on had left its mark.
Riedeman
was one of the brave band of Americans who fought against overwhelming odds on Bataan and Corregidor which
fell to the Japanese on April 6, 1942 (webmasters note: believe this should be
April 9). Previously he had been stationed at Fort Knox before he went overseas
with Co. A,
192nd Tank Corps.
His
capture, like that of the rest of the gallant band, was veiled in mystery until
In the
interval his family wavered between hope and despair regarding his safety and
the possibility of his return. Then, early this year, when word came from his
friend, Maj. Ashton, the family's spirits were considerably buoyed up and every
day word was awaited that he had been among the Americans freed, but that word
never came.
Message Misinterpreted
Some
weeks ago, after the capitulation of Japan, it was reported that Riedeman was
alive in Japan, but it was later developed the message had been misinterpreted,
that his family had merely been notified it could send a message which would be
delivered to him at the nearest possible liberation center if he was among
those who turned up.
When
Maj. Ashton was in the city he brought with him several articles belonging to
Riedeman which he turned over to his mother.
Among these was an identification tag which he had made, a book, a flag
and several carvings. Maj. Ashton had also brought to this country a diary
which Riedeman kept in Bilibid prison and which was turned over to the war
department and then sent to the Riedeman home here.
Maj.
Ashton said at the time he regarded Harvey like a brother, since the two had
been very close friends and had worried together in prison. He said he found
him resourceful and competent, a young man of exceptionally fine character who
bore up well under the hardships and humiliation at the hands of the
Japanese. He said Riedeman had assisted
him in his work at the prison, taking care of the records and issuing supplies.
Born in Milwaukee
Riedeman
was born in Milwaukee
He
attended Lincoln school and graduated from Watertown High school on
He was
later employed as a messenger and clerk by the Farmers and Citizens Bank, a position
he held for two years, prior to entering service on January 27, 1941, at Fort
Sheridan, Ill.
Incidentally,
Arthur Hilgendorf, a close friend, entered service with him the same day and
was today notified by the Daily Times
of his friend's death. Hilgendorf was enroute to Texas today from Scott Field
where he has been stationed.
Riedeman
was transferred to Fort Knox, Ky., on
After
the fall of Corregidor he was listed as captured on
Besides
his parents, he is survived by a sister, Lorraine
Riedeman, this city. He also has a grandmother, Mrs. Louise Glaus, living
in Milwaukee.
He was
a member of St. Mark's Lutheran Church here.
Cross-References:
No 1: Men of the 192nd Tank Battalion
Company B Sgt. Harvey Herbert
Riedeman was born in Milwaukee on August 17, 1918, to Mr. & Mrs. Erick A.
Riedeman. He grew up at 746 West Main
Street in Watertown, Wisconsin and attended Lincoln School. He was a 1936 graduate of Watertown High
School.
On
January 27, 1941, Harvey was inducted into the U. S. Army. He was sent to Ft. Sheridan, Illinois and
next sent to Fort Knox, Kentucky for basic training. His hometown newspaper reported that he was a
messenger and clerk for the Farmers and Citizens Bank in Watertown before being
inducted into the army.
Upon
arriving at Ft. Knox, Harvey was assigned to the 192nd Tank Battalion which had
been formed from National Guard units from Wisconsin, Illinois, Ohio and
Kentucky. It was during his basic
training that Harvey became friends with Ed DeGroot.
After
basic training, Harvey was assigned to A Company, 192nd, which had originated
as a Wisconsin National Guard tank company from Janesville. After being assigned to the company, Harvey
and Ed became good friends with Sgt. Owen Sandmire.
In the
late summer of 1941, Harvey took part in maneuvers in Louisiana. It was after these maneuvers, on the side of
a hill, the he and the other members of the battalion learned that they were
being sent overseas.
Harvey
and the other men, who were shipping out, were given leaves home to say goodbye
to their families and friends. He then
returned to Camp Polk, Louisiana and rode a train to San Francisco. Upon arriving there, he and the other men
boarded a ferry that took them to Angel Island.
Harvey
sailed for the Philippine Islands arriving on November 22nd, Thanksgiving
Day. A little over two weeks later, on
December 7, 1941, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Ten hours later, he and the other tankers
lived through the Japanese attack on Clark Air Field.
For
the next four months Harvey fought to slow the Japanese conquest of the
Philippine Islands. On April 9, 1941,
Capt Fred Bruni informed A Company that Bataan on been surrendered to the
Japanese. It was on that day that Harvey
became a Prisoner of War.
From
Mariveles at the southern tip of Bataan, Harvey started what became known
as the death march. He made his way to San Fernando. From there, he rode a train to Capas where he
and the other POWs disembarked. He then
walked the last few miles to Camp O'Donnell.
It is
not known if Harvey went out on a work detail, but it is known that he was sent
to Cabanatuan after the new camp opened.
He was later sent to Bilibid Prison where he became friends with Dr.
Paul Ashton. Harvey worked as an aide to
Dr. Ashton and kept records and issued supplies to the POWs. During his time at Bilibid, Harvey kept a
diary. After the war, his dairy was
given to his family.
In
late 1944, the Japanese began evacuating POWs to Japan or another occupied
country. Their reason for doing this is
that they did not want the men to be liberated by the advancing American
forces. On December 15, 1944, Harvey, along with 1619 other POWs were
marched from Bilibid to the Port Area of Manila, The POWs were boarded on the "Hell
ship" Oryoku Maru which was bound for Japan.
The
Oryoku Maru came under attack by American planes. The attack on the ship lasted two days
resulting with the ship being intentionally grounded and then sunk by the
planes on December 26, 1944. Harvey and
the other survivors swam to shore near Olongoa, Philippine Islands. He did this while under Japanese machine gun
fire.
While
the Japanese attempted to recapture the POWs, the prisoners were rounded up and
held on tennis courts. After all the prisoners
were back in custody, the Japanese asked if any of the POWs were too weak to
continue the voyage to Japan. Those who
said that they were too weak to go on were loaded onto trucks and taken to the
mountains. They were never seen again.
The
remaining prisoners were taken by train to San Fernando and then returned to
Manila where they boarded another "Hell Ship" the Enoura Maru. On this ship, the POWs were held in three
different holds. Men who attempted to
get fresh air by climbing the ladders were shot by the guards.
The
POWs on the ship were taken to Formosa.
There, Harvey once again came close to death when the ship was bombed
and sunk by American planes on January 13, 1945, while it was still docked. During the attack, a bomb exploded in one of
the ship's holds. This explosion resulted in the deaths of many POWs, including
Lt. Leroy Scoville, of A Company, who was wounded by the bomb.
On
January 14, 1945, Harvey was boarded onto his third "hell ship" the
Brazil Maru which left Formosa and arrived in Moji, Japan, on January 29,
1945. Of the original 1619 men that
boarded the Oryoku Maru, only 459 of the POWs had survived the trip to Japan.
Harvey
may have been wounded when the bomb exploded in the hold of the Brazil Maru,
since he was taken to Moji POW Hospital.
According to the final report on the 192nd Tank Battalion written by 1st
Lt. Jacques Merrifield, Sgt. Harvey H. Riedeman died on February 4, 1945, at
the Moji
POW Hospital in Moji, Japan. The
official cause of death was listed as dysentery.
After
Harvey died, his remains were cremated and he was buried in the Charnel House
at Moji. It is known that the Japanese
combined the ashes of the POWs buried in the house. After the war, his family requested that his
ashes be returned home to Watertown where they were buried in Oak Hill
Cemetery.
After
Harvey died, his remains were cremated and interred in the Charnel House at
Moji. The Japanese combined the ashes of
the POWs who had died. After the war,
Sgt. Harvey H. Riedeman's remains were interred at the Yokohama Commonwealth War Cemetery.
This is a British Military Cemetery.
The urn contains the remains of 335 British, Australian, Dutch and
Americans who died while POWs. On the walls of the memorial, appear the names
of the POWs whose remains are contained in the urn.
click
to enlarge
Original grave where the ashes of Harvey Riedeman
and 301 other POWs were buried in at Moji Hospital in Japan.
Photo
below is of the urn that contains the remains of Sgt. Harvey Riedeman at the Yokohama Commonwealth Military Cemetery
in Japan. Since most of the remains in
the urn were British Commonwealth soldiers, the urn was relocated to a British
Cemetery after WW II.
At
some point, Harvey's family also had a memorial dedicated to him at the Oak
Hill Cemetery in Watertown, as seen at top of this page.
Set of Images
while at Fort Knox:
Riedeman
and friend Sandy (l-r)
WHS_005_713
Friend
Sandy & Riedeman WHS_005_714
Friend
Sandy & Riedeman
WHS_005_715
Riedeman WHS_005_716
Riedeman WHS_005_717
Riedeman WHS_005_718
History of Watertown, Wisconsin