Jim Bollich

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Jim Bollich
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BornAugust 15, 1921
Occupation
  • Geologist
  • Author
  • Artist
  • Horticulturalist
  • Amateur ornithologist

James Joseph "Jim" Bollich (August 15, 1921) is a retired American geologist, author, artist, horticulturalist[1], and amateur ornithologist[2] who served as an enlisted soldier in the United States Army Air Corps in World War II[3]. He was captured by the Japanese and served as a prisoner of war[4] (POW) in the notorious Japanese POW concentration camp in Mukden,[5] Manchuria[6]. At age 100, Bollich is one of the oldest of the few known living American survivors of the Bataan Death March.[7]

Early Life

Jim Bollich was born on August 15, 1921, in the rural German community of Mowata[8], Acadia Parish, Louisiana to parents Anton L. Bollich (1870–1958) and Edna N Boudreaux (1886–1966). His father was a member of a Rhineland-Palatinate[9] German immigrant family and of the first European settlers along the banks of the Missouri River near St Helena Nebraska.[10] His mother was a French Acadian[11](Acadie[12]) descendant whose ancestors were exiled from Nova Scotia[13] to Louisiana during the Le Grand Derangement[14] in the mid-18th century.

Bollich, one of 11 siblings, was raised on the family farm in Mowata where, in addition to growing and harvesting rice, he also learned hunting, trapping, and fishing. He would later attribute and document these outdoor skills[15] in his book entitled Young James[16], as one of his means of survival during his military service in the Philippines leading up to the start of World War II, the Bataan Death March, and the following 3 ½ years of captivity in the Japanese POW Mukden camp in Manchuria.

In 1938 Bollich graduated from St Edmund High School in Eunice[17] Louisiana after which he enrolled in college[18] at Southwestern Louisiana Institute (now University of Louisiana[19] at Lafayette) until the end of 1939.

World War II

With the advent of war on the horizon in 1940, Bollich left college and enlisted along with high school friend Bruce Miller[20] of Eunice in the Army Air Corps at Barksdale Field[21][22] in Shreveport Louisiana and assigned to the 16th Bomb Squadron, 27th Bomb Group[23] where he met enlistee Woodrow LeBlanc[24] of Lafayette Louisiana who became a close friend. Soon, the three men were transferred to Manila and assigned to posts in the Philippines.

Eighteen days after their arrival, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor[25] launching the US into war. As the Japanese advanced on the Philippines, Bollich befriended Alex Savoie[20] of Carencro, Louisiana while on duty near Manila. Soon after, Bollich, Miller, LeBlanc, and Savoie and thousands of other US and Filipino soldiers were evacuated to the Bataan Peninsula where they awaited evacuation by the US Navy. But the rescue ships never arrived, and they could not hold out on Bataan as they ran out of food[26] and ammunition supplies[27]. In the weeks prior to the death march, Bollich was wounded[28] from shrapnel when a Japanese bomb fell near his position while he was manning a machine gun. Not fully healed from the shrapnel wound, Bollich, along with Miller, LeBlanc, Savoie and the many American and Filipino soldiers were captured following the Japanese invasion. Bollich, Miller, and LeBlanc survived the Bataan Death March, in which the Japanese forced 78,000[29] Allied prisoners to trudge 65 miles[29] without rest[30] from Bataan to POW Camp O'Donnell[31] day and night without food[32] and water[33]. After arriving at Camp O'Donnell Bollich was assigned burial detail where, over a period of up to six weeks, his "captors made him dig graves for the 20 to 30 prisoners killed daily by malnourishment and disease"[34]. An estimated 12,000[29] prisoners died during the march including Savoie[35], of dysentery[36], after he reached the POW camp at Cabanatuan.[37]

Following the Bataan Death March, Bollich, Miller, LeBlanc, and Father Joseph Verbis LaFleur[38][39], a Catholic priest and U.S. Army Chaplain from Opelousas[40] Louisiana who was also captured and assigned to the death march, were evacuated onto hell ships[41] to be delivered to other Japanese POW camps outside the Philippines. Bollich was initially evacuated on the hell ship Tottori Maru[42] to Pusan[43] South Korea, while LeBlanc and Fr LaFleur were assigned to the SS Shinyo Maru[44]. On September 7, 1944, the SS Shinyo Maru was torpedoed and sunk by a U.S. submarine off Sindangan Point[45], Liloy, Zamboanga del Norte, Philippines. Both LeBlanc[46][47] and Fr LaFleur[46][48] perished in the sinking of the ship.

Bollich endured three and a half years of imprisonment in Mukden camp until he was liberated by the Russian army[49][50] on his 24th birthday, August15, 1945. During captivity, Bollich and the other POW enlistees were fed meager meals comprising cornmeal mush and soybean soup[51] three times a day. Bollich became afflicted with several diseases to include malaria[52], dysentery, Beri-Beri[53], hepatitis[54], scurvy[55], pneumonia[56], and frostbite[57] in addition to malnutrition.[58] Before reaching the prison camp he lost 70 pounds weighing 90 pounds upon arrival. At his liberation and release from Mukden by the Russians, over three years later, he weighed 115 pounds[59].

Also, during captivity POW officers were allowed pens and tablets for documentation purposes, but this was not the case for POW enlistees. Despite not having pen and pad to journal, Bollich relied on his excellent memory to recall vivid details and chronology of events he experienced. After 50 years of holding his story inside of him, Bollich chronicled much of what he endured and witnessed in his 1993 book entitled Bataan Death March: A Soldier's Story[60][27]

Post-World War II

In the fall of 1945, before returning to his boyhood home in rural Acadia Parish, Bollich stopped at a barber shop in Crowley Louisiana for a haircut. It was there that he learned for the first time, from the barber, the fate of his two brothers[61], Andrew and Stephen, who died in Europe during the war. 2nd Lt Andrew Leo Bollich[62], a P-40[63] pilot with the 319th Fighter Squadron[64], went missing in action during a combat flight over southern Sardinia[65] on June 24, 1943. 2nd Lt Stephen Joseph Bollich[66], a B-24[67] Bombardier[68] with the 758th Bomb Squadron, 459th Bomb Group[69], died of severe head injury in Foggia[70] Italy on March 27, 1944.

Bollich retired from the U.S Army Air Corps on February 17,1946[71] with the rank of Sergeant. Soon after, he re-enrolled in college[18] and completed his bachelor's degree in 1948 then moved to Albuquerque, enrolled in the University of New Mexico[72], and earned a master's degree in geology. It was there that he met and married[73] paleontologist[74] Celia Faith Hendren[75] in 1949. After graduation he enrolled in the University of Wyoming[76] in Laramie to commence post-graduate studies. He was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship[77] to which he enrolled into the University of Queensland[78] in Brisbane[79] Australia for post-graduate geological research. He returned to Lafayette Louisiana in 1953 to raise his family and work for Tenneco Oil Company[80] until his retirement in 1986.

During his life after the war, he developed personal friendships with US Representative Clay Higgins[81], US Representative Charles Boustany[82], Louisiana Senator Jesse Knowles[83][84], numerous other elected and government officials, Major General Bob G. Hollingsworth[85]. other military leaders and veterans, civic leaders and civilians. His military uniform, commendation medals and ribbons, and Samurai sword[86] are displayed on the USS Kidd Museum[87] in Baton Rouge Louisiana. On October 16, 2014, Bollich was inducted into Living Legends at the Acadian Museum in Erath[88] Louisiana. In 2019 he was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal[33].

Bollich turned 100 years old on August 15, 2021. His wife, Celia[89], died in 2016 after 67 years of marriage. They had three children with the oldest daughter succumbing to an illness at age three. The two living daughters are Sally Rue (Stephen) and Melinda Gilbert (Ronald). James Bollich has 5 grandchildren, and 7 great grandchildren. He lives in Lafayette Louisiana in the same home since 1953.

Military Commendations

  1. American Campaign Medal[29][90]
  2. American Defense Service Medal with one Bronze Star[91][29][92]
  3. Army Good Conduct Medal[93][29]
  4. Asiatic-Pacific medal with two Bronze Stars[94][95]
  5. Bronze Star[96][95]
  6. Congressional Gold Medal[97][30]
  7. Philippine Defense Medal[98][29]
  8. POW Medal[99][100]
  9. Philippine Independence Medal[101][102]
  10. Philippine Liberation Medal[103][104]
  11. Philippine President's Medal[29][105]
  12. President Unit Citation with two Oak-leaf Clusters[88][106]
  13. Purple Heart[30][88][107]
  14. WWII Victory Medal[99][108]

Novels

  1. Bataan Death March: A Soldier's Journal[109]
  2. Young James[110]
  3. Rebel Grandfather[111]
  4. Still Miles to Go[112]
  5. Escaped[113]
  6. From Buggies to Jets[114]
  7. Innocents at War[115]
  8. White Cotton over Black Gold[116]
  9. The Search[117]

References

  1. ↑ "Definition of HORTICULTURIST". www.merriam-webster.com. Retrieved 2021-12-27.
  2. ↑ "Definition of ORNITHOLOGY". www.merriam-webster.com. Retrieved 2021-12-27.
  3. ↑ "A History of the Army Air Corps". History. 2018-10-23. Retrieved 2021-12-23.
  4. ↑ prisoner of war | international law | Britannica
  5. ↑ Microsoft Word - PAC-HOTEN (axpow.org)
  6. ↑ "Manchuria | historical region, China | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2021-12-23.
  7. ↑ Editors, History com. "Bataan Death March". HISTORY. Retrieved 2021-12-23. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  8. ↑ "Mowata, Louisiana Latitude/Longitude". www.lat-long.com. Retrieved 2021-12-23.
  9. ↑ Rhineland-Palatinate | state, Germany | Britannica
  10. ↑ CASDE | St. Helena -- Cedar County (unl.edu)
  11. ↑ Acadian | History | Britannica
  12. ↑ "Acadie", The Free Dictionary, retrieved 2021-12-22
  13. ↑ "Nova Scotia | History, Map, Points of Interest, & Facts | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
  14. ↑ Acadian Expulsion (the Great Upheaval) | The Canadian Encyclopedia
  15. ↑ Bollich, James (2003). Bataan Death March: A Soldier's Journal. Gretna Louisiana: Pelican Publication Company. p. 15. ISBN 9781589801677.
  16. ↑ Bollich, James (1996). Young James to Jim. Lafayette, La. ISBN 0-9643275-1-1. OCLC 1059774365.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  17. ↑ Acadia Parish Louisiana Genealogy & History Network (msghn.org)
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 "Pelican Products:A - B, James Bollich". pelicanpub.com. Retrieved 2021-12-27.
  19. ↑ History | University of Louisiana at Lafayette
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 Karen, Fontenot (May 22, 2015). "Freedom is Not Free. Lest we Forget". Lafayette Daily Advertiser.
  21. ↑ "The Digital Collections of the National WWII Museum : Oral Histories | Oral History". www.ww2online.org. Retrieved 2021-12-27.
  22. ↑ Barksdale Air Force Base > Home (af.mil)
  23. ↑ 27th Fighter Group - WWII - World War II - Army Air Forces (armyaircorpsmuseum.org)
  24. ↑ Thibodeaux, Gene (April 16, 2019). "Acadia Prisoners of the Rising Sun". The Crowley Daily Signal. p. 5.
  25. ↑ "Pearl Harbor attack | Date, History, Map, Casualties, Timeline, & Facts | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
  26. ↑ Bollich, James (1993). Bataan Death March: A Soldier's Story. Gretna Louisiana: Pelican Publishing Company. p. 51. ISBN 9781589801677.
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 "Pelican Products:A - B, James Bollich". pelicanpub.com. Retrieved 2021-12-23.
  28. ↑ Bollich, James (1993). Bataan Death March: A Soldier's Story. Gretna Louisiana: Pelican Publishing Company. p. 48. ISBN 9781589801677.
  29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 29.2 29.3 29.4 29.5 29.6 29.7 "The Acadian Museum in Erath, Louisiana". www.acadianmuseum.com. Retrieved 2021-12-24.
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 30.2 "Eunice News: Salute to Veterans". The Eunice News. November 10, 2019. p. 9B.
  31. ↑ "Bataan Death March - The march and imprisonment at Camp O'Donnell | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
  32. ↑ "The History of the Bataan Death March and Remembering our POWs". ITS Tactical. 2014-04-09. Retrieved 2021-12-27.
  33. ↑ 33.0 33.1 Fuselier, Herman. "76 years after surviving death march, local vet gets Medal of Honor". The Daily Advertiser. Retrieved 2021-12-26.
  34. ↑ Kirgan, Harlan (October 17, 2018). "Eunice Native Survived Bataab Death March". Eunice News.
  35. ↑ Fontenot, Karen (May 22, 2015). "Freedom is not free, lest we forget". Daily Advertiser.
  36. ↑ "Dysentery". nhs.uk. 2017-10-18. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
  37. ↑ October 25, 2006 (dpaa.mil)
  38. ↑ "Joseph Verbis LaFleur : First Lieutenant from Louisiana, World War II Casualty". www.honorstates.org. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
  39. ↑ "U.S. Bishops Conduct Canonical Consultation on Cause of Beatification and Canonization of the Servant of God Joseph Verbis Lafleur, Diocesan Priest | USCCB". www.usccb.org. Retrieved 2021-12-24.
  40. ↑ Opelousas History, Opelousas Museums, Opelousas Historical Society (townsquarepublications.com)
  41. ↑ Answers may finally be coming for some families of "hell ship" victims, more than 75 years later - CBS News
  42. ↑ "Tottori Maru - Thai Wreck Diver". www.thaiwreckdiver.com. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
  43. ↑ "Pusan | History, Population, & Facts | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
  44. ↑ "American POWs on Japanese Ships Take a Voyage into Hell". National Archives. 2016-08-15. Retrieved 2021-12-24.
  45. ↑ Sindangan Point Map - Zamboanga Peninsula, Philippines - Mapcarta
  46. ↑ 46.0 46.1 "Louisiana". www.dpaa.mil. Retrieved 2021-12-26.
  47. ↑ "Shinyo Maru Roster working". www.west-point.org. Retrieved 2021-12-24.
  48. ↑ "Shinyo Maru Roster working". www.west-point.org. Retrieved 2021-12-24.
  49. ↑ Bollich, James (1993). Bataan Death March: A Soldier's Journal. Gretna Louisiana: Pelican Publishing Company. pp. 181–188. ISBN 9781589801677.
  50. ↑ "Rescue at Mukden". www.mansell.com. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
  51. ↑ Bollich, James (1993). Bataan Death March: A Soldier's Journey. Gretna Louisiana: Pelican Publishing Company. p. 121. ISBN 9781589801677.
  52. ↑ Prevention, CDC-Centers for Disease Control and (2021-12-13). "CDC - Malaria - FAQs". www.cdc.gov. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
  53. ↑ "Beriberi". Healthline. 2021-12-12. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
  54. ↑ "What is Viral Hepatitis? | CDC". www.cdc.gov. 2021-04-08. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
  55. ↑ Scurvy: Symptoms, causes, treatment, and prevention (medicalnewstoday.com)
  56. ↑ "Pneumonia - Symptoms and causes". Mayo Clinic. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
  57. ↑ "Frostbite - Symptoms and causes". Mayo Clinic. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
  58. ↑ "Malnutrition: Definition, Symptoms and Treatment". Healthline. 2018-10-10. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
  59. ↑ Bollich, James (2012). Bataan Death March: A Soldier's Journal. Gretna Louisiana: Pelican Publishing Company. p. 179. ISBN 9781589801677.
  60. ↑ Bollich, James (1993). Bataan Death March: A Soldier's Journal. Gretna Louisiana: Pelican Publishing Company. ISBN 9781589801677.
  61. ↑ Bolich, James (1993). Bataan Death March: A Soldier's Journal. Gretna Louisiana: Pelican Publishing Company. p. 211. ISBN 9781589801677.
  62. ↑ "Andrew Leo Bollich : Second Lieutenant from Louisiana, World War II Casualty". www.honorstates.org. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
  63. ↑ "World War II: Curtiss P-40 Warhawk". ThoughtCo. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
  64. ↑ "319th Fighter Squadron - 325th Fighter Group - World War II". www.325fg.org. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
  65. ↑ Sardinia | History, People, & Points of Interest | Britannica
  66. ↑ "Stephen Joseph Bollich : Second Lieutenant from Louisiana, World War II Casualty". www.honorstates.org. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
  67. ↑ "The B-24: The Great Liberator". Lockheed Martin. 2018-03-28. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
  68. ↑ "Definition of BOMBARDIER". www.merriam-webster.com. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
  69. ↑ "459th Bombardment Group - 15th Air Force - World War II - B-24". www.459bg.org. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
  70. ↑ Foggia | Italy | Britannica
  71. ↑ Bollich, James (1993). Bataan Death March: A Soldier's Story. Gretna Louisiana: Pelican Publishing Company. p. 216. ISBN 9781589801677.
  72. ↑ "The History of the University < New Mexico State University". catalogs.nmsu.edu. Retrieved 2021-12-24.
  73. ↑ "Bataan Death march". www.af.mil. Retrieved 2021-12-27.
  74. ↑ Society, National Geographic (2011-04-29). "Paleontology". National Geographic Society. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
  75. ↑ Hendren, Celia (1949-01-23). "Paleoecology of the Brachiopoda". Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs.
  76. ↑ The Encyclopedia Americana (1920)/Wyoming, University of - Wikisource, the free online library
  77. ↑ History | Fulbright Scholar Program (cies.org)
  78. ↑ History of UQ - About UQ - University of Queensland
  79. ↑ History of Brisbane - Brisbane Australia (brisbane-australia.com)
  80. ↑ "Our History". Tenneco. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
  81. ↑ "Congressman Clay Higgins". Congressman Clay Higgins. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
  82. ↑ Honorable Charles Boustany, Jr., M.D. - Capitol Counsel LLC
  83. ↑ Bollich, James (2003). Bataan Death March: A Soldier's Journal. Gretna Louisiana: Pelican Publishing Company. p. 10. ISBN 9781589801677.
  84. ↑ "Portrait of Louisiana Senator Jesse M. Knowles". Louisiana Digital Library. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
  85. ↑ "Bobby Hollingsworth - Recipient -". valor.militarytimes.com. Retrieved 2021-12-27.
  86. ↑ "Samurai Sword". World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
  87. ↑ "Ship and Museum Tours in Downtown Baton Rouge". USS KIDD. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
  88. ↑ 88.0 88.1 88.2 "Home". Town Of Erath. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
  89. ↑ "Obituary for Celia Faith Hendren Bollich at Fountain Memorial Funeral Home & Cemetery". www.fountainmemorialfuneralhome.com. Retrieved 2021-12-24.
  90. ↑ "American Campaign Medal".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  91. ↑ "American Defense Service Medal". public2.nhhcaws.local. Retrieved 2021-12-26.
  92. ↑ "American Defense Service Medal". www.rollofhonor.org. Retrieved 2021-12-24.
  93. ↑ "Army Good Conduct Medal". www.govinfo.gov. Retrieved 2021-12-24.
  94. ↑ "Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal". www.rollofhonor.org. Retrieved 2021-12-24.
  95. ↑ 95.0 95.1 Boustany, Charles (November 30, 2010). "Awards, Medals, Prizes" (PDF). Congressional Record: E2013.
  96. ↑ "Bronze Star Medal". www.rollofhonor.org. Retrieved 2021-12-24.
  97. ↑ Advocate, DAN BOUDREAUX | Special to The. "Bataan Death March survivor from Eunice receives prestigious award from Congress". The Advocate. Retrieved 2021-12-24.
  98. ↑ "Philippine Defense Medal". Air Force's Personnel Center. Retrieved 2021-12-24.
  99. ↑ 99.0 99.1 "Congressional Record, Volume 156 Issue 154 (Tuesday, November 30, 2010)". www.govinfo.gov. Retrieved 2021-12-24.
  100. ↑ "Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency > Resources > Prisoner of War Medal". www.dpaa.mil. Retrieved 2021-12-26.
  101. ↑ "How to Survive The Bataan Death March with James Bollich - The Alinea Coaches Podcast". iHeart. Retrieved 2021-12-24.
  102. ↑ "Miiitary Awards". Army Regulation 600-8-22. Chapter 9: 124. June 25, 2015.
  103. ↑ "Barksdale events honor Bataan Death March survivors". Air Force Global Strike Command AFSTRAT-AIR. Retrieved 2021-12-24.
  104. ↑ "Philippine Liberation Medal | Philippine Embassy of Canberra Australia". www.philembassy.org.au. Retrieved 2021-12-26.
  105. ↑ "Executive Order No. 236, s. 2003 | GOVPH". Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines. Retrieved 2021-12-26.
  106. ↑ "Presidential Unit / Distinguished Unit Citation Display Recognition". www.amervets.com. Retrieved 2021-12-26.
  107. ↑ "The History of the Purple Heart". The National WWII Museum | New Orleans. Retrieved 2021-12-26.
  108. ↑ "World War II Victory Medal". www.rollofhonor.org. Retrieved 2021-12-26.
  109. ↑ Bollich, James (1993). Bataan Death March: A Soldier's Journal. Gretna Louisiana: Pelican Publishing Company. ISBN 9781589801677.
  110. ↑ Bollich, James (1996). Young James. English. ISBN 0-9643275-1-1.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  111. ↑ Bollich, James (2007). Rebel Grandfather. USA. ISBN 0964327570.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  112. ↑ Bollich, James (2004). Still Miles to Go. USA. ISBN 0-9643275-5-4.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  113. ↑ Bollich, James (2011). Escaped. USA. ISBN 0-9643275-8-9.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  114. ↑ Bollich, James (2015). From Buggies to Jets. USA.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  115. ↑ Bollich, James (2000). Innocents at War. USA. ISBN 0-9643275-5-4.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  116. ↑ Bollich, James (1998). White Cotton Over Black Gold. USA. ISBN 0-9643275-2-X.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  117. ↑ Bollich, James (2016). The Search. USA. ISBN 978-0-692-67661-5.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

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