Soldier died at POW camp
Butler native Sgt. Paul Flecken was one of roughly 75,000 captured soldiers forced to walk in the Bataan Death March during World War II.
Like his fellow prisoners of war, Flecken endured intense heat and abuse by Japanese soldiers during the grueling 65-mile march.
“It was a horrible, horrible thing,” said his nephew Barry Flecken of Summit Township.
Paul Flecken ended up in the same prison camp as Abie Abraham of Butler, who mentions meeting Flecken in his book, “Oh, God, Where are You?”
Unlike Abraham, Flecken never made it out of the camp.
“We know he died in the camp according to Abie,” Barry Flecken said.
Paul Flecken, who grew up with three brothers on Oak Street, enlisted in the U.S. Army Coast Artillery in 1938.
Flecken was promoted to sergeant in June 1941.
“He wound up in the Philippines,” Flecken said about his uncle. “He was there when the war broke out.”
Japanese forces invaded the Philippines the day after the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor was bombed on Dec. 7, 1941.
The Japanese captured Manila, the capital of the Philippines, within a month, causing American and Filipino defenders to retreat to the Bataan Peninsula.
“They were not prepared,” Flecken said.
After the three-month Battle of Bataan in the Philippines, U.S.-Filipino forces — suffering from starvation and disease — surrendered on April 9, 1942.
The captured troops were forced to walk from Mariveles at the southern end of the peninsula to San Fernando. Thousands died along the way.
Divided into groups of around 100, the captured soldiers, who were starved and beaten, spent around five days making the arduous trek.
Thousands more, including Flecken, died in prison camps from starvation, disease or other mistreatment.
Flecken said the prisoners were put into groups of 10 with the condition that if any escaped, the other nine would be killed.
“They were called blood brothers,” he said.
Abraham wrote about meeting Paul Flecken after one of the POWs told him another Butler man was in the prison at Camp Cabanatuan.
According to the book, “As I walked in I saw a young man heading my way with a big smile on his face. I grasped his hand and shook it for a minute or so. We sat for some time gabbing about things back home and friends we left back in that small community.”
The May 17, 1943, edition of the Butler Eagle reported on Flecken's death. He was 22.According to the front-page article, Flecken's family last received word from him in a letter written in April 1942.Barry Flecken's father, George, received word his youngest brother died May 12. A cause of death was not listed.John Cyprian, director of county veteran services, lauded the efforts of soldiers, particularly those who lose their lives in the line of duty.“We should never forget the sacrifice made, especially on the death march,” Cyprian said. “Freedom is not free. Somebody paid for it.”U.S.-Filipino forces recaptured the peninsula in February 1945. Manila was liberated in early March.Barry Flecken credited Abraham, who stayed in the Philippines after he was liberated, retracing the death march, collecting dog tags.“He spent a long time there,” Flecken said about Abraham. “He did above and beyond the call of duty.”After the war, an American military tribunal tried Lt. Gen. Homma Masaharu, commander of the Japanese invasion forces in the Philippines.Homma was held responsible for the death march, which was declared a war crime, and was executed by firing squad on April 3, 1946.Flecken said there is a gravestone for his uncle in the Philippines.“Whether he is there or not, we don't know,” Flecken said.He does know a few things about his uncle, who was a competitive swimmer like his brothers.He recalled an anecdote about his uncle that indicated his toughness before enlisting.Flecken said his uncle was walking out of the old red brick high school when a couple would-be toughs assaulted him.“He got jumped coming out of the building,” Flecken said.Following the fight, his uncle subsequently called the Butler Police station to report the incident.“My uncle told police there might be a couple guys down there who need (medical) attention,” Flecken said.
