John E. Pearsall
Era: World War II
Military Branch: Marines
John Edward Pearsall of Virginia, Minnesota enlisted in the Marine Corps on Oct. 31, 1939.
He was a Sergeant and a rifleman and auto mechanic with the 1st Defense Battalion in the Pacific Theater.
He participated in action against Japanese on Wake Island, where he was captured and became a prisoner of war of the Japanese from Dec. 22, 1941 to Dec. 16, 1945.
He says: "I was sent to Wake Island in June 1941. Wake was attacked by Japanese two hours after Pearl Harbor was. On Dec. 11, 1941, we stopped an attempted Jap invasion of Wake. On Dec. 23 our island was overrun, and I became a prisoner of war.
"I was wounded on Wake and later shot by a Jap soldier while a POW. I was at POW camps in China, Manchuria, Korea and Japan."
Mr. Pearsall received the: Purple Heart, Good Conduct Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Service Medal with a bronze battle star, and the World War II Victory Medal.
He was discharged in March 1946.
Source: Hometown Heroes: The St. Louis County World War II Project. 241.
