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Birth and Early Life:
Grover Pool was born on May 2, 1918. He was raised in Austin, Texas by his father Hill (a school janitor) and mother, Viola.
Enlistment and Boot Camp:
Pool enlisted in the Marines on December 21, 1939. After completing boot training in San Diego, he was assigned to the Marine Barracks at Mare Island Navy Yard.
Service Prior to 1941:
Private Pool served at Mare Island until October 1940; he was promoted to Private First Class in September. Late that year, his transfer to Company E, Second Battalion, Fourth Marines in Shanghai was ordered, and he arrived at his overseas post that December.
Wartime Service:
Pool traveled to the Philippines with his regiment in 1941 where they prepared defenses they hoped they would not have to use, but the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor closely followed by bombing attacks on installations at Cavite and Olongapo dashed those hopes. PFC Pool fought in the defense of the Philippines, but was cut off on the Bataan Peninsula. His unit was surrendered by General Edward King on April 9, 1942, after a brutal campaign that saw starting American and Filipino troops overwhelmed by superior numbers of Japanese troops. Pool and the other captives were divided into groups of one hundred men apiece and compelled to walk to their destination Camp O'Donnell in Tarlac. The resulting brutality would become infamous as the Bataan Death March. Conditions at O'Donnell, a former Philippine Army camp, were deplorable, to say the least. It was vastly overcrowded, diseases ran rampant, there was little more than a cursory nod towards sanitation, and relief from the heat was second only to the wish for food in the prisoners minds.
Date Of Loss:
Grover Pool was reported dead on May 8, 1942. He was last known to be a prisoner at O'Donnell; the details of his fate are unknown.
Next Of Kin:
Parents, Hill & Viola Pool
Status Of Remains:
Unknown.
Memorial:
Manila American Cemetery and Memorial, Philippines.
Austin Memorial Park, Austin, Texas.
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