Person:Joseph Schertz (1)

Joseph William Schertz, Jr. was born on 27 June 1918 in Chicago, Illinois. He lived in a home in Oak Park, Illinois with his parents, his older sister Elizabeth May “May”, and his grandmother Elizabeth Patten Ordway. The family was probably well off as young Joseph is shown in several pictures with various riding toys. They took many summer camping and weekend trips to Lake Geneva, Wisconsin or to Tiskilwa, Illinois to visit the Schertz relatives. Trips to both of these places, the people who were there, and the events that occurred there were very important to Joseph and he frequently reminisced about them as an adult. Joseph’s parents had a strong circle of friends and also closeness with the large Schertz family in Tiskilwa. When the family went to Tiskilwa they would stay at the home of his cousins Mildred and Eleanor and their parents. According to his cousin Mildred, everyone enjoyed each other’s company and had a wonderful time. Joseph was especially close with his cousin Eleanor and according to Eleanor’s sister, Mildred, when he came back from World War II, it was only to Eleanor that he described his experience in a Japanese prisoner of war camp.

Pictures and Joseph’s reminiscences of his childhood indicate that it must have been a pleasant one. However, when he was almost fourteen years old and then again shortly after he was sixteen, two very sad things happened in his life. In 1932 his Grandmother Ordway died. And in 1934 his mother died unexpectedly after a short illness. This must have been very difficult for Joseph. On the day of his mother’s death his sister, Elizabeth May married Carl Huml of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. Not too long after this, Joseph’s father went to Washington, D.C. where he worked as an engineer under the Roosevelt administration. He left his son Joseph at home in the hands of a housekeeper and a cook.

Joseph did not go to college as his older sister had. The reason for this is uncertain. College was not regarded as being as necessary as it is today. According to his wife, Joseph’s father would not send him to college as he felt that Joseph would not do well in college. After high school graduation, Joseph launched his business career and continued living with his father who had returned to Oak Park.

In August, 1941 he enlisted in the United States Navy as the United States’ entry into World War II became imminent. Joseph was sent on a ship to Guam where he was to pick up his military orders (which were to return to San Francisco California for espionage school.). Unfortunately he never reached Guam as the Japanese torpedoed the ship in March 1942 in the Coral Sea. The ship was so far out to sea that the men could not see the shore, but Joseph swam and he swam in the right direction. When he reached the shore he and others were captured by the Japanese and remained in a prisoner of war camp first in Java and then at Serang, Batavia Bicycle camp, and at the notorious Changi Prison Camp in Singapore. He was among the prisoners who were forced into slave labor by the Japanese to build the Bridge over the River Kwai for the Burma Railway (also called the Burma Death railway). There are many stories about this group of prisoners and they were very badly abused and tortured. Being a prisoner of war is of course difficult. Being a Japanese prisoner of war during World War II was an especially difficult experience. The men in the prison camp were often abused, beaten and tortured. They also had poor diets and were malnourished. They were given a lot of rice and consequently the Schertz family did not eat rice for many years after the war. According to his cousin Mildred Schertz, Joe appeared very changed when he came back from World War II. She refers to that time as his "troubles". The only person that he talked to about the war was Mildred's sister, Eleanor. Eleanor never shared that information with others. The Schertz relatives always wondered why he would never come to visit after the war. Joe never spoke about the events of World War II.

Joseph worked as a credit manager. He worked in Chicago and then moved to Brookfield Wisconsin and finally Kenosha Wisconsin. On 9 February 1946 he married Mary Winifred Conklin in Jerseyville, Illinois. Mary Winifred was teaching in Wilmette Illinois and she met Joseph shortly after he returned from World War II. Joseph’s cousin, Eleanor Schertz, introduced them. Joseph died on 18 January 1993 in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Joseph and his wife are buried with Joseph’s parents at Milton Cemetery in Milton, Wisconsin.

Records from University of Houston say that he joined the USS Houston on Jan 8, 1942. A lot of men including Joe were transferred from the USS Chaumont, a navy transport ship on this day. Transfer occurred in Darwin, Australia. Records from Univ of Houston say that he became a POW on March 1, 1942 at Serang camp in Batavia. From Sept 1, 1942 until Oct 1, 1942 he was a mess cook. On Oct 16, 1942 he was at Changi Camp in Singapore. On Jan 7, 1943 he was left in the Changi Camp hospital in Singapore when the main group left on that day. He and 45 other men were left under Lt. E. Miles Barrett. During his prisoner of war experience Joseph also spent time in slave labor working on the Burma railroad including the building of the famous Bridge over River Kwai.

On Oct 29, 1944 he was reported to be in good health and Singapore.