Cecil Richard Welchko

Cecil Richard Welchko was born March 2, 1915, in Iowa Falls, Iowa, to Emma Harvey Welchko and Charles Welchko. He had one older sister and two older brothers. Unfortunately for the Welchko clan, Charles died just one month after filling out the census in January of 1920. He was laid to rest in his hometown of Tucson, Arizona. Emma remarried four months later. This was not uncharacteristic for the time period as the United States in the 1930’s was not a time for women to raise a family by themselves. Work opportunities were bad enough given the great depression, not to mention that work was largely unavailable for women even when the economy was not in crisis, least of all women with four children. Quick courtships followed by marriage was the expected social norm for women in Emma’s position, not a deviation from it. She married A.B. Ashby and moved to Bonners Ferry, Idaho, where they set down roots to raise their family. Mr. Ashby was born Allen C. Ashby in London, England. He entered the railroad business at a young age, becoming an agent for the Great Northern Railroad, a career which brought him to Bonners Ferry. He was considered a “pioneer,” and an upstanding community member. He was Chairman of the first national bank of Bonners Ferry and served on the board of trustees for the local school district, among other notable community activities. 

Cecil attended Bonners Ferry high school where his athletic prowess and leadership abilities were recognized by his peers. The Spokane chronicle in 1935 wrote that the Bonners Ferry high school basketball team was honoring its letterman, Welchko among them. It noted that “The vote for honorary captain of the team . . . was tied between David Pace and Cecil Welchko.'" Welchko committed to Washington State College in Pullman, Washington and arrived on campus in 1936. He signed up for the United States Army and entered WSC’s ROTC (Reserve Officer Training Corp) program, which dovetailed nicely with his position on the college’s sharpshooter’s team. He grew into a tall and shockingly handsome young man. He was 6 feet tall, square jawed, broad shouldered, weighed 175 pounds, with jet black hair parted on the side and combed back, he would not have looked out of place in a Clark Gable movie. He also made the football roster his freshman year as a halfback, or “right wing” as they were called in Babe Hollingberry’s Wing-T offense. 

Welchko excelled off the gridiron as well. He was made commanding officer of “Company A” in ROTC. He was a member of the “prize combat squad,” which he led to victory in the ROTC summer training camp at Fort George Wright. Upon graduation from WSC, the ROTC standout received a commission as a 2nd lieutenant in the United States Army in 1940 and was assigned to serve under General Douglas MacArthur in the 31st Infantry Regiment, part of the newly activated Philippine Division. The Philippine Division was comprised of the 31st infantry, two regiments of Philippine Scouts, and support artillery. Cecil once again showed promise as a leader in the Philippines and was promoted to the rank of Captain, placing him in charge of, once again, Company A, but this time it was a real company in the United States Army.

When the Japanese Imperial Army made landfall at Lingayen Gulf and Lamon Bay; they had already annihilated American airpower on the islands and chased off American naval forces. On December 23, 1941, General McArthur announced that “WPO-3 is in Effect.” (War Plan Orange - 3) This plan was a general withdrawal of all American and Filipino forces to the Bataan Peninsula and the small island fortress of Corregidor. However, the Japanese advance was moving much faster than anyone could have anticipated. The poorly trained and supplied American and Filipino soldiers, almost 100,000 strong, in forward positions were no match for the battle-hardened Japanese army with overwhelming naval and air superiority. It was ordered that the 31st infantry would move from the Zambales coast into the peninsula and quickly construct defensive fortifications to the best of their abilities. Their orders were simple and seemingly impossible: slow down the Japanese advance at all costs. The 31st was reinforced by some elements of the 41st division on December 28, and they dug in. Just like that Halloween night in 1936, Cecil Welchko found himself backed up against his own endzone by a rapidly advancing enemy. Once again, Welchko and his team came up with some fourth-quarter heroics.

The 31st infantry and the rest of the Filipino and American soldiers managed to turn a desperate retreat into a tactical withdrawal while turning the Bataan Peninsula into a 15-mile-wide rolling gun-battle. Instead of a quick victory over a disoriented enemy, the Japanese advance slowed to a crawl before stopping completely. While the Japanese waited for reinforcements and resupply, many American and Filipino military personnel, including General MacArthur, managed to retreat to Corregidor fortress. Over the next three months the Japanese tried again and again to crack the defenses but could not break through. The American and Filipino soldiers held out despite being outgunned, surrounded, cut-off from supplies, starving, and rife with illness. Under such withering fire and in the complete absence of support of any kind, the defenders eventually retreated to Corregidor Fortress and held out as long as they could. Finally surrendering on May 6, 1942. It was the largest surrender of American forces in the history of the United States, comprising some 12,000 American, Cecil Welchko among them, and 65,000 Filipinos.

In the aftermath of the fall of Corregidor American and Filipino POW’s were subjected to what is now known as the Bataan Death March. The POW’s that had just finished a 3-month battle, were malnourished, dehydrated, and sick with a dozen different diseases, were forced to march more than 60 miles over brutal terrain in extreme heat and humidity. Those that fell behind were killed by Japanese soldiers escorting them to the POW camps. Thousands of Filipinos and hundreds of Americans died on the march, but Cecil Welchko managed to survive and was interred at POW Camp 2, Cabanatuan 1 2 3, Nueva Province in Luzon, Philippines. The news that the former star halfback had been taken captive hit WSC and the surrounding area like a bombshell.

On January 9, 1945 General MacArthur and the American military were back in the Philippines, this time on the offensive. They invaded Luzon, retook the Bataan peninsula and the island fortress of Corregidor. The Japanese, now convinced that they could not hold the islands, decided to gather up the POW’s and transport them to Japan where they could continue to get free labor out of them to continue the war effort. Many ships were designated to transport the POW’s to their appointed destinations, four of which were The Shinyo Maru, Arisan Maru, Oryoku Maru, and the Brazil Maru. Today these ships are referred to simply as “Hell Ships,” for the conditions inside them were unbearable and deadly regardless of what else happened to them. These ships transported more than 126,000 Allied prisoners to locations closer to the Japanese home islands in 156 voyages.

On December 15, 1944 the Oryoku Maru filled its hull with 1,600 prisoners from the Cabanatuan camps in the Philippines and set sail for Japan. The ship was attacked by Allied bombers and submarines that did not know it contained American POW’s. The ship was sunk. On January 9, 1945 another attack on the Enoura Maru had the same result. The estimates of POW’s that were killed in these attacks range widely. But it is believed that as many as 21,000 Allied POW’s lost their lives in these and other “friendly fire” attacks in the ending months of the war. Cecil Richard Welchko was one of them. It is difficult to say with certainty which ship Cecil Welchko was on, sources disagree. Given the number of sources that list a January date of death it is likely that Captain Welchko was killed on board the Enoura Maru or the Brazil Maru. The Prisoners of War Roster in the National Archives lists Welchko’s death with the note: “Brazil Maru – transported survivors of the Enoura Maru to Japan (January 13 – 29, 1945). Some POWs died in transit." It does not explicitly state that this was the location of his death, and his body was never recovered. It is likely that the exact time and location will never be known. 

Cecil Richard Welchko is memorialized at the sites of both of his heroic defensive stands. His name is on the World War II memorial on the Washington State University campus in Pullman, and he is also memorialized in the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial in the Philippines. He is listed on the “Tablets of the Missing: A Structure erected in honor of someone whose remains lie elsewhere.” His death is listed as occurring on January 9, 1945.