Sacrifice and Valor in the service of Liberty

James Roger Tuggle was born on Oct. 9, 1913 in Cumberland County. He attended Clinton County High School and was part of the Class of 1939 at Western Kentucky University, where he was Captain of their ROTC Program. Following college, he joined the service and was sent to Fort Francis E. Warren in Laramie, Wyoming for training.

Captain Tuggle served with the U.S. Army's 101st Philippine Division, 101st Field Artillery Regiment and was a training officer for the Philippine Scouts. On May 7, 1942, following the fall of Bataan, the most intense phase of the Japanese invasion, probably in a skirmish at Mindanao, he was taken as a prisoner of war. The Japanese invasion of the Philippines is often considered the worst military defeat in U.S. history. About 23,000 American military personnel and about 100,000 Filipino soldiers were killed or captured.

Captain Tuggle was first kept in Cabanatuan Prison Camp #1 and then later at Bilibid at Muntinlupa, several miles southeast Manila, until December 1944, when he was transferred to the Oryoku Maru, a Japanese passenger cargo ship that had been commissioned by the Imperial Japanese Navy as a prisoner of war transport ship for transport to Japan. He survived an American aircraft bombing of the ship in December 1944, which killed 200 Allied POWs and was eventually transferred to the Brazil Maru on a voyage from Takao to Moji.

The ship had been hauling livestock and no attempt was made to clean out the manure prior to the boarding of the prisoners. Records indicate that Captain Tuggle died of acute colitis from eating or drinking contaminated food or water while aboard the Brazil Maru. An estimated 500 prisoners would die aboard the Brazil Maru, although sources vary. The ship was sunk by a mine at Kobe on May 12, 1945.

Captain Tuggle was listed as dead at sea on Jan. 11, 1945, at the age of 31. His name is on a monument at Manila American Cemetery and Memorial in the Philippines. It is also on Clinton County's War Veterans Monument. Manila American Cemetery contains the largest number of graves of our military dead of WWII, more than 17,000. Another 36,286 are listed as missing in action. Over 500 Philippine Scouts are buried there according to the American Battle Monuments Commission. The cemetery, and all who are there or mentioned, including Captain James Roger Tuggle, is an epic story of sacrifice and valor in the service of liberty.

Captain Tuggle was the son of William and Bessie Tuggle, who are buried at Highway Cemetery. A plot for Captain Tuggle is also there. Another son, Fred, was an Army Major who served in Korea. He is buried at Camp Nelson National Cemetery in Nicholasville. Sister Reba Barrett is buried at Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville, where Kentucky Governor and Clinton County native Thomas Bramlette is buried.

Captain Tuggle was awarded a Silver Star.

Edison Records: Battle Hymn of the Republic

My 105-year-old recording of "Battle Hymn of the Republic," by singer Thomas Chalmers, was recorded May 29, 1917 at Thomas Edison's recording studio in Manhattan. The recording is registered with the Library of Congress.

"Battle Hymn of the Republic" first gained popularity around Charleston, South Carolina. It became known as "John Brown's Body," following the insurrection at Harper's Ferry, led by Abolitionist John Brown, whose actions, trial and subsequent execution made him a martyr.

"John Brown's body
lies a-mouldering in the grave
His soul is marching on"
By the time of the Civil War, the song had become a popular marching song with Union Army regiments. It was when Julia Ward Howe visited Washington, DC on November 18, 1861 that "Battle Hymn of the Republic" was first born. Howe and her husband were active abolitionists, who had experienced first-hand a skirmish between Confederate and Union troops in nearby Virginia, and heard the troops go into battle singing "John Brown's Body." That evening in the nation's capital, Howe was inspired to write a poem that better fit the music. It began "Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord."

This photo of Julia Ward Howe was taken in 1908.

The Homecoming

"I'll be home in seven more nights. Won't that be fine!" my grandfather wrote to his daughters, my aunt Betty and my mom, Glenda, on Sept. 20, 1944, three months after D-Day. He had been aboard the S.S. Samuel De Champlain during WWII, serving in the American, European and Asiatic theaters, and participating in the Normandy Invasion cleanup. "I will be glad to see your new sailor dresses and new shoes," he wrote. As you can see in the photo, aunt Betty and my mom were waiting by the gate when he arrived home. Oh how his heart must have leaped for joy at the sight of them in their new outfits. "Even prettier than I could have ever imagined," he might have said. What a reunion it must have been! Growing up, I was blessed to have witnessed a special bond my grandparents shared with their children. I was always in awe of that. It was because of God's perfect design that they were placed together into a family. Just as my aunt Betty and her siblings did, may we all seek to honor the father and mother who brought us into this world and influenced our lives for good.

In memory of Betty Marx
Nov. 22, 1940 - Mar. 8, 2021
(Mom's sister)