California soldier who fought during WWII accounted for

Rhea Caoile
·2 min read

SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — A soldier from California who fought and died as a prisoner of war during World War II has been accounted for, according to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency.

The agency announced that U.S. Army Private First Class Marcus Engesser, 21, from Vallejo was accounted for last September. However, the announcement came Tuesday after his family just recently learned of his identification, the agency said.

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In 1942, Engesser was a member of Company L, 31st Infantry Regiment in the Philippines when Japanese forces invaded the country in December. (See the photos of Engesser below, courtesy of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency).

  • U.S. Army Private First Class Marcus Engesser, 21, from Vallejo, Calif. was captured and died as a prisoner of war during WWII. (Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency)
    U.S. Army Private First Class Marcus Engesser, 21, from Vallejo, Calif. was captured and died as a prisoner of war during WWII. (Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency)
  • U.S. Army Private First Class Marcus Engesser, 21, from Vallejo, Calif. was captured and died as a prisoner of war during WWII. (Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency)
    U.S. Army Private First Class Marcus Engesser, 21, from Vallejo, Calif. was captured and died as a prisoner of war during WWII. (Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency)
  • U.S. Army Private First Class Marcus Engesser, 21, from Vallejo, Calif. was captured and died as a prisoner of war during WWII. (Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency)
    U.S. Army Private First Class Marcus Engesser, 21, from Vallejo, Calif. was captured and died as a prisoner of war during WWII. (Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency)

During WWII, U.S. Army General Douglas MacArthur had planned to keep troops in the Philippines’ Bataan peninsula and Corregidor Island until the Navy could bring in reinforcements. However, after the attack on Pearl Harbor, there were no ships available to bring in the reinforcements, according to the U.S. Army.

After military forces in the Bataan peninsula surrendered to the Japanese on April 9, 1942, thousands of U.S. and Filipino service members were captured, including Engesser, the agency said.

According to the U.S. Army’s website, this was the largest surrender in U.S. military history, leading to 12,000 Americans and 63,000 Filipinos becoming prisoners of war who were later subjected to the 65-mile Bataan Death March toward the Cabanatuan POW camp. More than 2,500 POWs died at the camp during the war, according to the agency.

According to historical records, Engesser died Sept. 23, 1942 and was buried alongside other POWs in the Cabanatuan Camp Cemetery in Common Grave 707. The remains from the grave were sent to the agency’s laboratory for analysis in 2018.

After analyzing DNA as well as dental and anthropological evidence, scientists were able to identify Engesser’s remains. The agency said Engesser will be buried in his hometown of Vallejo.

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