Jack Pickard Gould

Pre-WSC Background

Jack Pickard Gould was born on August 13, 1917 to Rollo Gould and Lottie Flo Pickard Gould. He grew up in the town of La Crosse, Washington, where Rollo worked as a manager at a dray line in the early 1920s. A dray was a low, flat-bed wagon without sides, generally pulled by horses or mules and used to transport and/or haul items. With the use of automobiles quickly replacing horses and mules during Gould’s early childhood, by 1930 Rollo switched careers and worked as a school bus “chauffeur.” Later he worked as a gradesman for the county highway, while Lottie began working as a telephone operator.

La Crosse is a small town in Whitman County, Washington; the population as of the 2010 census was just 313. It began, like a lot of towns on the Palouse, as a stop off on the Oregon Railroad and Navigation Company (O.R.&N). The O.R. & N. completed a line between Riparia and La Crosse in 1888, and the first residents of the latter town were George Dawson, a section foreman, and his wife. The town served as a wheat delivery center, but it never saw a population boom as other towns in the region did. The first store wasn’t even built until 1899, eleven years after the Dawsons settled, and the town wasn’t incorporated until 1917.

Gould graduated from La Crosse High School.

WSC Experience

Gould attended Washington State College (WSC) during the 1936 to 1937 academic year as a General Studies major. His father had an 8th-grade education and made just $1200 in 1939. Like many first-generation college students, it is likely Gould found it financially difficult to remain in school. By the time he registered for the draft on October 16, 1940, he was living in Los Angeles and working at La Brea & Pico Service Station at 4951 West Pico. Today there is a Lucy’s Drive-In restaurant where the service station once stood.

Wartime Service and Death

Gould enlisted as a Private in the Army Air Corps on November 6, 1940, at Fort MacArthur in San Pedro, California. He listed his civil occupation as “electrician.” He trained at Camp Roberts, which is located roughly twelve miles north of Paso Robles, California, midway between San Francisco and Los Angeles. The base became one of the world’s largest basic training sites during World War II. Over 436,000 troops passed through the 17-week training cycle. Following basic training, Gould was assigned to the Headquarters Squadron, 19th Bomb Group (Heavy).

The 19th Bombardment Group (Heavy) was equipped with B-10’s, then with B-18’s, and in 1941 with B-17’s. Both Gould and the 19th moved to the Philippine Islands from September to November 1941. On December 8, 1941 (December 7 Honolulu local time), the Japanese attacked Clark Field in the Philippines. Supplies and headquarters moved away from Clark Field to relatively safe spots close by, while planes that escaped severe damage received emergency repairs and transferred to Del Monte. At Del Monte, the 19th began reconnaissance and bombardment operations against Japanese shipping and landing parties. The group sustained heavy losses, and were forced to cease actions after two weeks. Ground personnel joined infantry units in fighting against the Japanese invaders. Many of the men evacuated or escaped, while most were either killed or captured.

Several members of the 19th went with the air unit to Australia in later December 1941, where they transported medical and other supplies to the Philippines. They later moved to Java, and flying B-17, LB-30, and B-24 aircraft attacked enemy planes, ground installations, warships, and transports as the Japanese advanced through the Philippines and Netherlands Indies in early 1942. It is unknown if Gould went with them, but if he did, he returned to the Philippines at some point before April 1942. U.S. and Filipino forces under General Douglas Mac Arthur prepared to defend the Bataan Peninsula and Corregidor Island, but by March 11, MacArthur received orders to leave for Australia. Bataan’s defense transferred to Lieutenant General Jonathan M. Wainwright.

The Battle for Bataan lasted from January to April 9, 1942. MacArthur originally planned to hold his ground on the Bataan Peninsula and Corregidor Island until the U.S. Navy could bring reinforcements and supplies, but the attack on Pearl Harbor precluded any deliveries. The Japanese navy blockaded both Bataan and Corregidor, ensuring U.S. troops did not receive any food, ammunition, or medicine. The troops on Bataan survived on half-rations but still fought back Japanese attacks for three months. Troops lost as much as 30 percent of their body weight, and malaria, dysentery, and other tropical diseases decimated the ranks. Less than half of the remaining forces could be considered “combat effective,” defined as “a man who could walk 100 yards without staggering and still have enough strength left to fire his weapon.” The Japanese army launched its final assault on Bataan on April 3, 1941, with fresh troops brought in for the attack.

Army Major General Edward P. King surrendered to Japanese General Masaharu Homma on April 9, 1942 rather than see any more of his “starving, diseased men slaughtered by Japanese forces.” Roughly 12,000 Americans and 63,000 Filipinos became prisoners of war, included Private Jack Gould. Following the surrender, the Japanese marched the Allied troops toward Camp O’Donnell in Tarlac province; this march became known as the Bataan Death March. Most prisoners began the long walk in Mariveles, at the tip of Bataan, which meant they marched sixty-six miles to the spot where they were loaded onto trains and sent to Camp O’Donnell. The Japanese summarily executed anyone who fell, attempted to escape, or stopped to seek a drink from a puddle. Between 7,000 and 10,000 men died during the Death March, but because no records were kept the exact number is unknown.

Once at Camp O’Donnell, it is estimated 26,000 Filipino soldiers and roughly 1,500 Americans died of starvation and disease. Of the nearly 22,000 Americans captured by the Japanese on the Bataan Peninsula, only about 15,000 returned to the United States, a death rate of more than thirty percent. Private Jack Gould died of disease at Camp O’Donnell on May 5, 1942. He was initially reported missing after the surrender of Bataan, and his family would not find out his fate until August 1945.

Postwar Legacy

Gould is memorialized at the Manila American Cemetery, Manila, Philippines as well as the WSU Veterans Memorial. He posthumously received the Purple Heart. His brother, Max, survived the Battle of Okinawa and served for nearly thirty years in the U.S. Army and Air Force. Max’s son, Michael D. Gould, Lt. Col, Retired, United States Air Force, left the following message for his uncle on the website, FindAGrave.com:

Uncle Jack, you did not know me. I am your brother Max’s son. Max is with you now. He, like you, are part of the fading “Greatest Generation” that sacrificed for our nation in a great time of need. You gave all there was to give. Max was in the invasion of Okinawa and he served honorably for nearly 30-years in the US Army and Air Force. I followed in Viet Nam and my son followed in Afghanistan. I pray you are in God’s hands. Thank you. Michael D Gould, Lt Col, Retired, USAF.

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