Name/Title
Harrodsburg Tankers: William GentryEntry/Object ID
2024.8.8Secondary Title
William Gentry was one of the Harrodsburg TankersDescription
1st Lt. William H. Gentry joined the Harrodsburg Guard unit sometime between 1934 and 1936. Became an officer at Fort Knox and assigned to Headquarters Company and eventually was assigned to C Company. It was at Baluiag that Gentry's platoon of tanks won the first tank victory of World War II against enemy tanks on December 31, 1941. On the 11th of April 1942, Gentry and the other members of C Company became Prisoner of Wars. They made their way to Mariveles where they would begin the death march. It took him eleven days to complete the march. Suffering from malaria, Gentry was carried for three or four days during the march by his fellow tankers. In particular, 2nd Lt. Jacques Merrifield of B Company carried Gentry most of this time. First held at Camp O'Donnell and then on June 6, 1942 when he was sent to Cabanatuan. In October 1942, he was sent to the Philippine Experimental Farm on the Island of Mindanao where he worked on a rice farm. In June 1944 he was returned to Manila by ship and then to Cabanatuan. On the night of January 30, 1945, Gentry and the other prisoners were liberated when Rangers of the United States Army raided Cabanatuan. Gentry and the other liberated POWs were lead through enemy lines to American lines. Gentry eventually returned to Harrodsburg and he passed away in April 2000.Collection
Harrodsburg TankersCreated By
dak@mcplib.infoCreate Date
July 30, 2024Updated By
dak@mcplib.infoUpdate Date
July 30, 2024
