Beshear recognizes sacrifice of Kentucky soldier who died as Japanese prisoner of war in WWII

FRANKFORT, Ky. – Gov. Andy Beshear recognized the sacrifice of a Mammoth Cave soldier who died in a Japanese prisoner of war camp.

A release by the governor’s office says U.S. Army Pfc. Thomas Franklin Brooks, 23, died in the Philippine Islands in 1942 while he was a prisoner of war. However, his remains were not identified until this summer.

That announcement was made by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency Tuesday.

“It is heartbreaking to learn about this loss, but we are thankful for those doing the work to finally identify so many of the unknown casualties of war,” Beshear says. “We are grateful to bring Pfc. Frank Brooks home where he belongs.”

Brooks was a member of the Company D, 194th Tank Battalion, U.S. Army Forces Far East, when Japanese forces invaded the Philippine Islands, according to the governor’s office. Intense fighting was ongoing until the surrender of the Bataan peninsula on April 9, 1942, and of Corregidor Island on May 6, 1942.

The governor says thousands of U.S. and Filipino service members were captured and interned at POW camps.

According to prison camp and other historical records, Brooks died Dec. 10, 1942 and was buried with other dead prisoners in the local cemetery there.

Brooks will be buried Oct. 1, 2023, in Mammoth Cave. Beshear will order flags lowered to half-staff in honor of Brooks on the day of interment.