Ivan John Weaber

Captain Ivan J. Weaber was born in Dacoma, Oklahoma, in 1907 and graduated from Enid High School in 1924. A 1928 ROTC graduate of Oklahoma A&M College in Stillwater, he served as an Army Reserve Officer. In April 1941 he was called to active duty at Camp Wallace, Texas, for anti-aircraft training. Weaber deployed to the Philippine Islands in August 1941 and was assigned to the 92nd Coast Artillery Regiment at Fort Mills on Corregidor Island. He commanded Battery Keyes, a unit composed of US  Army enlisted Filipino soldiers and American officers.

Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, Japanese forces subjected Corregidor to relentless air attacks. Despite dwindling ammunition, inadequate shelter, and scarce food, CPT Weaber and his men continued to fight. During one intense bombardment, a large barracks caught fire. Weaber left the safety of his position and helped battle the flames while ammunition exploded around him and enemy aircraft continued their attacks. For his extraordinary courage under fire, he was later awarded the Silver Star and Bronze Star.

When Corregidor fell on 5–6 May 1942, Captain Weaber was captured by the Japanese, enduring two and a half years as a POW imprisoned at Cabanatuan prison camp No. 1. In December 1944, CPT Weaber was among approximately 1600 POWs who were repeatedly moved and forced aboard a series of unmarked Japanese merchant transport vessels notoriously referred to as “Japanese hellships.” US Navy aircraft attacked these vessels not knowing American prisoners were on board. The first ship Weaber was on sank. After making it to shore, he and survivors were forced to march to San Fernando and loaded onto a second hellship headed for Formosa. Desperately weakened and starving in appalling conditions, on a third hellship bound for Moji, Japan, CPT Ivan Weaber died onboard in January 1945. He was posthumously awarded the Prisoner of War Medal.