Austin C. Shofner

Austin C. Shofner. . , Born on March 3, 1916 and raised in his father’s ancestral home of Bedford County, Tennessee, Austin C. Shofner forever changed World War II., When World War II commenced for the United States in 1941, Capt. Shofner fought as a company commander in the 4th Marine Regiment in defense of the Philippines. Upon the surrender of Corregidor, Shofner endured 11 months in a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp., On April 4, 1943, Shofner led the first successful escape from a Japanese prison camp. Shofner’s escape party consisted of twelve men: they were soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and two Filipinos. After this escape, Shofner and his men remained in the Philippines for six months leading Filipino guerrillas against the Japanese. Thereafter, the Americans in the escape party returned to the United States. Upon their return to the States, these men revealed the atrocities being committed against American POW’s and the citizens of the American Commonwealth of the Philippines., Through Shofner’s escape party, the government and people of the United States learned for the first time of the Bataan Death March, where ten thousand American and Filipino servicemen died at the hands of the Japanese, and of the brutal starvation, torture and death of men held in Japanese prisoner-of-war camps. By the end of the War in 1945, over 40% of the prisoners-of-war held by the Japanese had fatally succumbed to torture, starvation or disease., Because Shofner and his compatriots brought home stark evidence of Japanese atrocities, the United States and their allies were compelled to alter their strategy in world war two. These reports of Japanese atrocities ignited an urgency to resolve the war against Japan more quickly. In response to these reports relayed by Shofner and his men, the allied nations developed operation to take the war directly to the Japanese homeland. Thereafter, the war in the Pacific was fought with the same priority as the war in Europe. With a new expedient strategy, the Allies shortened the war and saved countless thousands of lives. , In 1944, Shofner returned to the Pacific Theater. During the campaign to liberate the Philippines, Shofner assisted the General of the Armies, Douglas MacArthur, and his forces. Thought Shofner's personal reconnaissance behind enemy lines and his liaison with guerrillas leaders, Shofner helped rescue over 500 American and Allied prisoners slated for death in the Japanese prison camp at Cabanuatuan. In addition, Shofner commanded Marine battalions in the battles for Pelellu and Okinawa., For his service in world war two, Shofner was awarded the Army's Distinguished Service Cross, the Legion of Merit with V for Valor, two Silver Stars, the Bronze Star with V, two Purple Hearts and the Chinese Cloud and Banner, along with numerous campaign and service medals., In 1959, Shofner retired from the U.S. Marine Corps as a Brigadier General and returned home to Bedford County.