Question about USS Princeton CVL 23 and USS Birmingham

The USS Princeton was sunk on October 24, 1944 and the USS Birmingham suffered severe damage in the same incident.

I believe my cousin Lonnie T. Slaughter was on one of these ships although he was in the army.
He is listed as MIA 10/14/44.

Does anyone know where I could find casualty lists for these two ships so I could confirm that he was there?

Thanks in advance.
Stan

 

Family legend is that he was on board a ship that was sunk in the Pacific and he was MIA.

His name is engraved on the memorial at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial in the Phillipines.

His death date is listed as October 24, 1944, which is the same day as the Princeton sinking.

He was definitely in the Army and I have his serial number.

Thanks,
Stan

 

Sounds like he died on land at Leyte, and not at sea.

You know the unit he was attached too?

 

It is certainly possible that he was killed on land; but I would like to either prove or disprove it.

I don't know the unit he was attached to.

Thanks,
Stan

 

This is what the ABMC has.

Lonnie T. Slaughter
Private, U.S. Army
Service # 38031345
200th Coast Artillery Regiment

A search of his unit history indicates this unit was in the PI prior to the war.

I found his name at a website with the history of that unit:

http://www.angelfire.com/nm/bcmfofnm/history/briefhistory.html
http://www.angelfire.com/nm/bcmfofnm/names/names.html
http://www.angelfire.com/nm/bcmfofnm/names/s.html

Sorry to say, but he most probably died in captivity and was buried in an unmarked grave.

He endured a lot while defending Bataan and Corregidore. I give him a salute for his service and hope you reach out to the dwindling number of survivors of those horrible years and learn more about his unit and comrades.

 

Thank you both very much. I now know more than I ever have about him. I shall check out more.
Thanks,
Stan

 

Given the date of October 24, 1944, and the information provided by syscom3, I would have to say that he perished aboard the Japanese "Hell Ship" Arisan Maru. She was sunk on that date by either the USS Shark II(SS-314) or USS Snook(SS-279). It is unknown which submarine actually sank the Arisan Maru, since the Shark II was herself sunk during this action by the Japanese destroyer Harukaze. The USS Snook would fight on for another seven months before she was lost on her 9th war patrol, sometime during April, 1945

I have come across his name on the Arisan Maru roster compiled by Bill Bowen. The "S" section is here: Bill Bowen
The lead page by William "Bill" Bowen provides some background information on the Arisan Maru: US-Japan Dialogue on POWs
Also came across his name here(this is a large database and it takes some time to load): bob1
According to this site, he boarded the Arisan Maru on October 11, 1944, and was lost when she was sunk on the 24th. His last known POW camp was Clark Field.

For further information you can spend some time perusing these websites: Japanese-pow Home Page
index
POWs in Japan, World War II, POW Camps
As well as mansell.com's subsection: LIST OF ALL JAPANESE PW CAMPS
and pertaining to the Philippines in particular: List of POW Camps in the Philippines
and Prisoners of War in the Philippine Islands, Military Intelligence Department, 1944

 

x

 

Great work Takao!

I would never have guessed he perished on the hell ships.

 

A big thank you to all of you who have responded to my inquiry. You have solved a 67 year old mystery in my family. Lonnie Slaughter had several Brothers and Sisters. One of his Sisters is still living. She is 93 years old and living in a rest home. She is still alert and fully rational and active. Lonnie's Parents were a farm couple, barely literate. The only thing they ever learned about Lonnie was that he was MIA. For several years they hoped and half expected that he would return home. Both of them have been dead for many years. Given the facts about Lonnie's demise, I think maybe it was a good thing they never knew. Who knows?

Thank you again,

Stan

 

Very, very Sad indeed. Also sad is the fact that it will probably happen again - somewhere.
Stan

 

Stan, do you have a picture of him? Id like to put a face upon his name. After so many years, his memory was never forgotten.

 

Sorry, I do not have his picture, but I will scrounge around among the relatives and see if some of them do. If I get one I will post it.
Thanks
Stan

 

Today is the 67th anniversary of the sinking of the Arisan Maru.

RIP to all the allied casualties of that day.

 

I did find a picture of him, to my surprise. Not a good picture, but the only one I have.
Stan

 

Thank you very much Stan. I hope his story is passed down through all your relatives, so he, and his comrades will not be forgotten. Nor their sacrifices for a "terrible today for a better tomorrow".