Top of page

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
  • Branch of Service: Navy
  • Unit of Service: 4th Marine Regiment
  • Location of Service: China; Bataan (Philippines); Manila (Philippines); Japan; Korea; Manchukuo; Corregidor Island (Philippines)
  • Highest Rank: Chief Warrant Officer 3

View full service history

"For all we knew, we were existing in Hell." (Journal)

Under immensely daunting conditions, Pharmacist's Mate Cecil Peart kept notes for a journal beginning in December 1944 while he was being transferred from a prison in Manila to Japan. It took three ships to make the trip; the first two were strafed by American planes and sunk. Peart cared for his best friend, wounded in one of the attacks, until he died, and like many other survivors, he scavenged clothing off the newly deceased before they were buried at sea. His final destination was Mukden, Manchuria, and work in a factory. Of the over 1600 men who boarded that first boat, the S.S. Oryoku Maru, out of the Philippines, fewer than 400 lived to tell of their ordeal.

View Enlarged Image
[ Peart's Journal, Prepared form notes kept on a Prisoner of War Odyssey from Bilibid Prison, Manila, P.I., to Manchukuo, via the Prison Ship S.S. Oryoku Maru. ]

More Resources

View Enlarged Image
[ Transcript of enlisted naval service of Peart, Cecil Jesse 03/16/38 -04/09/46. ]

About this Item

Title

  • Cecil Jesse Peart Collection

Names

  • Peart, Cecil Jesse
  • Peart, Cecil

State of Birth

  • CA

Home State

  • CA

Headings

  • -  Peart, Cecil Jesse
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Navy.
  • -  Prisoner of War -- United States

Repository

  • Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Gender

  • Male

Status

  • Veteran

Service History

  • World War, 1939-1945

    • Branch of Service: Navy
    • Unit of Service: 4th Marine Regiment
    • Location of Service: China; Bataan (Philippines); Manila (Philippines); Japan; Korea; Manchukuo; Corregidor Island (Philippines)
    • Highest Rank: Chief Warrant Officer 3
    • Dates of Service: 1938-1946
    • Prisoner of War: Yes
    • Military Status: Veteran
    • Service History Note: The veteran was captured by the Japanese in the fall of Corregidor, and was a prisoner of war (POW) in the Bilibid Prison, Manila.

Materials

  • Manuscript: Military papers (orders, personnel/201 files, etc) [1 item] -- (collected 1952)
  • Manuscript: Diaries and journals [1 item] -- (collected 1944 - 1945)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/1205

Cite as

  • Cecil Jesse Peart Collection (AFC/2001/001/1205), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • image
  • pdf

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Rights & Access

Using VHP Material in Publication or Exhibition

The Veterans History Project (VHP) at the Library of Congress collects, preserves and makes accessible the firsthand recollections of U.S. military veterans who served from World War I through more recent conflicts and peacekeeping missions, so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand what they saw, did and felt during their service. The Veterans History Project Collection includes oral histories along with documentary materials such as original letters, diaries, photographs, and memoirs.

Veterans and interviewers contribute these materials to the Library for scholarly and educational purposes, retaining any copyright they may hold. Therefore, permission must be obtained before using the interview or other materials in exhibition or publication. Researchers or others who would like to make further use of these materials should contact the Veterans History Project for assistance.

As a publicly supported institution, the Library generally does not own rights to material in its collections. Therefore, it does not charge permission fees for use of such material and cannot give or deny permission to publish or otherwise distribute material in its collections. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item from the Library’s collections and for securing any necessary permissions rests with persons desiring to use the item.

Please contact us with questions.

Obtaining Copies of VHP Materials

In order for VHP materials to be duplicated, we must receive written permission from the interviewee for you to obtain a copy of the recording unless the proposed use is limited to personal use, research, or other uses permissible by copyright law. If the interviewee is deceased, their next-of-kin may grant written permission.

Please contact VHP for assistance if you need to contact a veteran for permission to use their materials in exhibition or publication, or if you have received permission from the veteran and need access to high-resolution copies of VHP collection materials.

Citing VHP Materials

Please use the following formats when citing Veterans History Project materials (substituting the appropriate name and collection ID number).

Materials as a whole:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Manuscript material:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Memoirs (MS02), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Transcript (MS04), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Correspondence (MS01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Recording:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Audio recording (SR01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Video recording (MV01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Photograph:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Photographs (PH01), photographer unknown, Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Photographs (PH03-PH14), Ralph Williams photographer, Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Computer file:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Computer file (CF01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Artifact:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Artifact (AR01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Peart, Cecil Jesse, and Cecil Peart. Cecil Jesse Peart Collection. 1938. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.01205/.

APA citation style:

Peart, C. J. & Peart, C. (1938) Cecil Jesse Peart Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.01205/.

MLA citation style:

Peart, Cecil Jesse, and Cecil Peart. Cecil Jesse Peart Collection. 1938. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.01205/>.