Life Story

Born: 13 May 1914 - Murray City, Ohio

Grandparents: Ed & Sarah Davenport

  - adopted by grandparents as a child 

Home: Elm Street - Canal Winchester, Ohio

  - in 1940, he was living with his mother, Mary Muncie, and step-father, Henry P. Muncie 

Education: left high school after sophomore year

Occupation: bulldozer operator

Inducted:

  - U. S. Army

- 24 January 1941 - Fort Hayes, Columbus, Ohio

  - Thomas was using "Muncie" as his last name when he was inducted

 - the Army required that he use "Davenport" which was the last name on his birth certificate. 

Training: 

  - Ft. Knox, Kentucky

  - Camp Polk, Louisiana

Overseas Duty: 

  - Philippine Islands

Engagements: 

 - Battle of Luzon

  - 8 December 1941 - 6 January 1942 

- Battle of Bataan

  - 7 January 1942 - 9 April 1942 

Prisoner of War: 

  - 9 April 1942

  - Death March

  - Mariveles - POWs start march at southern tip of Bataan  - POWs ran past Japanese artillery firing at Corregidor  - Americans on Corregidor returned fire  - San Fernando - POWs put into small wooden boxcars  - each boxcar could hold eight horses or forty men  - 100 POWs packed into each car  - POWs who died remained standing  - Capas - dead fell to floor as living left boxcars  - POWs walked last ten miles to Camp O'Donnell

POW Camps: 

 - Philippine Islands: 

  - Camp O'Donnell

  - unfinished Filipino training base  - Japanese put camp into use as POW Camp  - only one water spigot for entire camp  - as many as 50 POWs died each day  - Japanese opened new POW camp to lower death rate 

 - Calauan - Bridge Building Detail

  - Half of POWs worked at a sawmill

 - One POW escaped

 - 10 POWs were executed after the escape the other half of the POWs built bridges 

Died: 27 May 1942 - Calauan, Philippine Islands

  - cause of  death on 192nd Final Report - dysentery

Buried:

  - Calauan Cemetery - Philippine Islands

Reburied:

  - 24 October 1948

  - Lithopolis Cemetery - Canal Winchester, Ohio 

Note: Thomas Davenport may have been one of the ten POWs executed after another POW escaped from the POW sleeping area at the sawmill they were working at.  The sawmill provided lumber to the bridge building detail.  His army record indicates that he was "Killed in Action," which may indicate he was executed.  In addition, the Japanese would often make that the American doctors give a phony cause of death when a POW was executed.