The Seattle Times: Snohomish County News: "I'm not saying I'm a hero"

The World War II ordeal of former Marine Jack Elkins of Everett came to light after his grandson, Brian Hensarling, was commissioned as a Marine Corps officer.

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Jack Elkins was among a dwindling force of Marines who defended a besieged Corregidor Island on a moonless May night in 1942.

The Japanese army had already swept through much of the Philippines, overrunning Manila and capturing tens of thousands of Filipino and U.S. troops in the process. All that stood between the Japanese and capitulation of the Philippines was the tiny island outpost in Manila Bay.

The man next to Elkins that pitch-black night was named Wederbrook — his first name escapes Elkins after so many decades — and they could hear the motors of the Japanese transports getting ready to unload thousands of troops on Corregidor.

"We were on the beach together when the Japanese landed," said Elkins, 81. "Wederbrook ... made a statement, 'I'm not backing up anymore.' Sometime around 3 or 4 a.m., he quit firing. He was killed."

It is in behalf of Marines like Wederbrook that Elkins said he will accept a Bronze Star tomorrow in a ceremony that is a result of equal parts happenstance and heroics. It's recognition that has eluded Elkins for more than 60 years, though he never sought it out.

"The Bronze Star is not just for me but for those I was with as a POW (prisoner of war) and particularly those who aren't here now," said Elkins, of Everett. "I never wanted it, and I never asked for it. But it seems like the whole country is looking for heroes now. I'm not saying I'm a hero. ... But I appreciate it."

Elkins is being awarded the medal for his efforts helping defend Corregidor Island before it fell to the Japanese on May 6, 1942, about a month after U.S. and Filipino troops had surrendered en masse on the mainland. Elkins, then 19, was among an estimated 15,000 survivors captured on the tiny island.

He spent the next three years as a prisoner of war, enduring forced labor, starvation, sickness and injury.

Near the end of the war, as Allied forces fought their way toward Japan, Elkins was freed. Like hundreds of thousands of other GIs, Elkins simply returned home after the war and got married, had children and carved out a life. There were no medals waiting for the former POW.

Then last year, Elkins' grandson, Brian Hensarling, was being commissioned as an officer in the Marine Corps at Whidbey Island Naval Air Station. Elkins was on hand to give his grandson his first salute as an officer.

That's where Elkins met Col. Steven Keim, the commanding officer of the Marine Aviation Training Support Group at the station, and Maj. Ken Devero, the executive officer under Keim.

"We got to talking with Jack at the commissioning ceremony," Devero said, "and we invited him back to be our guest of honor at our Marine Corps birthday ball. We had him come up and tell us some of the stories from when he was in the Marine Corps."

Through those conversations, they learned that Elkins likely earned the Bronze Star for his wartime service, but for some reason he never received the medal. So Keim and Devero contacted the office of U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Lake Stevens, and asked him for help getting Elkins the honor he deserved.

Because many military records from the time are incomplete, it took the Navy — which is in charge of awarding Marine Corps service medals — some investigating to confirm Elkins had indeed earned the honor but not received it, said Abbey Blake, a spokeswoman for Larsen.

"Anyone who can get through three years of Japanese prison is heroic to me. A Bronze Star is the least we can do," Devero said.

Elkins still bears the physical scars from his years as a POW. He lost part of a finger in a sawmill accident while working as a prisoner.

He was moved among several POW camps before ending up at a camp in Kamaishi, a large Japanese city that was shelled heavily in the final days of the war. Elkins was eventually rescued by a hospital-ship crew.

"When talking to people like Jack and others who were of that generation, you have to respect what they went through, what they did and why they did it," Devero said.

It also will be a privilege for Hensarling, 23, to see his grandfather receive the honor at a 10 a.m. ceremony tomorrow at the Everett Elks Lodge.

"I grew up seeing his uniform hanging in the closet, and I really respected my grandpa for what he did," Hensarling said. "... As I got older, I began to appreciate the reality of what he went through. The Bronze Star in and of itself doesn't mean anything. It's what it represents."

Rachel Tuinstra: 425-783-0674 or rtuinstra@seattletimes.com

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