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Birth and Early Life:
James Shockman was born on June 15, 1919. He was raised in Berlin, North Dakota, where his father Michael ran a farm and a hardware store. At the age of twenty, James enlisted from nearby LaMoure.
Enlistment and Boot Camp:
Shockman joined the Marines on September 27, 1939. After completing his boot training at MCRD San Diego, Shockman was transported to Bremerton, Washington for duty with the guard detachment at Puget Sound Navy Yard.
Service Prior to World War II:
James Shockman was promoted to Private First Class in December, 1939; he was transferred in April 1940 to duty with the Cavite Navy Yard in the Philippines. On August 18, Shockman committed a cardinal offense: quitting his post without being properly relieved. He was kept in the brig until his trial on the 26th, when he was sentenced to be reduced in rank to private.
Wartime Service:
Shockman regained his PFC rating in 1941; when the Fourth Marines arrived in the Philippines to prepare defenses, his garrison was absorbed into the regiment as its Third Battalion. PFC Shockman became a member of Company M, a weapons company, and after fighting in the initial defense of the Philippines, was detailed to Fort Hughes with other members of his company to man defenses for the heavy batteries there.
Date Of Loss:
PFC Shockman was listed as killed on May 6, 1942, the day the Japanese overran Corregidor. He was awarded the Army Soldier's Medal; the details of his citation have been lost, but it was credited to his actions on May 6.
Next Of Kin:
Mother, Mrs Catherine Shockman
Status Of Remains:
Unknown.
Memorial:
Manila American Cemetery and Memorial, Philippines.
Other Comments:
Body Not Recovered
Soldier's Medal
SYNOPSIS: Private First Class James P. Shockman (MCSN: 275167), United States Marine Corps, was awarded the Soldier's Medal (Posthumously) for heroism involving voluntary risk of life not involving conflict with an armed enemy, in the Solomon Islands, on 6 May 1942. Action Date: May 6, 1942
Prisoner of War Medal
Private First Class James P. Shockman (MCSN: 275167), United States Marine Corps, was captured by the Japanese after the fall of Corregidor, Philippine Islands, on 6 May 1942, and was held as a Prisoner of War until his execution later on that same day. Action Date: May 6, 1942
Philippine Islands Campaign (1941-42)/Battle of Bataan
From Month/Year
December / 1941
To Month/Year
May / 1942
Description The Battle of Bataan represented the most intense phase of Imperial Japan's invasion of the Philippines during World War II. The capture of the Philippine Islands was crucial to Japan's effort to control the Southwest Pacific, seize the resource-rich Dutch East Indies, and protect its Southeast Asia flank. It was the largest surrender in American and Filipino military history, and was the largest United States surrender since the Civil War's Battle of Harper's Ferry. Ultimately, more than 60,000 Filipino and 15,000 American prisoners of war were forced into the infamous Bataan Death March.
After more than two years of fighting in the Pacific, General Douglas MacArthur fulfilled a promise to return to overseeing the The Campaign for the Liberation of the Philippines. As part of the campaign, the Battle for the Recapture of Bataan (31 January to 21 February 1945) by US Forces and Philippine guerillas avenged the surrender of the defunct United States Armed Forces in the Far East (USAFFE) to invading Japanese forces.
