Memorials › PFC James Berry "Jimmy" Kinyon

PFC James Berry "Jimmy" Kinyon

18 Apr 1920 – 24 Jan 1942

Birth18 Apr 1920
Death24 Jan 1942
CemeteryManila American Cemetery and Memorial
Manila , Capital District , National Capital Region , Philippines
Added bysteve s on 25 Sep 2021
FaGhttps://www.findagrave.com/memorial/56783555

Bio

James B. Kinyon Service # 19016632 Entered Service From: Washington Rank: Private First Class, U.S. Army Unit: Medical Department, 2nd Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment Date of Death: 24 January 1942, Bataan Province, Central Luzon, Philippines Status: Missing in Action. Memorialized: Manila American Cemetery – Tablets of the Missing – United States Army and Army Air Forces. Awards: Bronze Star, Distinguished Service Cross, Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ James Berry Kinyon was born at 6:15 p.m. on 18 April 1920 in the Seattle General Hospital, Seattle, King County, Washington to Elmer Berry Kinyon and Laurice Etta "Lydia" Harlow Kinyon (01 September 1890 Meade County, South Dakota – 31 October 1982 Marion, Marion County, Oregon). Jimmy was the fifth of six children. 1930 United States Federal Census (03 April 1930): Maple Leaf Precinct, King County, Washington (sheet 2B, family 52, 8715 Corliss St) – James B. Kinyon (9 Washington). 1935 – West Naches, Washington He attended Naches Valley High School, Naches, Washington for one year. 1940 United States Federal Census (16 April 1940): West Naches, Yakima County, Washington (sheet 4B, household 25, South Naches Road) – James Kinyon (20 Washington, farm laborer). The family had lived in the same house in 1935. Jimmy had completed 1 year of high school. James B. Kinyon (1920 Washington), a resident of Yakima County, Washington, enlisted as a Private (S/N 19016632) in the U.S. Army Medical Department on 23 October 1940 at Fort Lewis, Washington. His enlistment was for Alaska. James was single, had completed 1 year of high school and had been working as "Semiskilled mechanics and repairmen, motor vehicles". With the possibility of war looming on the horizon, Private Kinyon was sent to the Philippine Islands. He was engaged to *Miss Ethel Mae Cochrane, Shelton schoolteacher, before he was sent overseas. *Ethel Mae "Bobby" Rutledge (13 July 1919 Yakima, Washington – 18 June 2012 Boise, Idaho). She taught for 32½ years primarily as a third grade teacher. He was assigned to the Medical Department, 2nd Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment and stationed in Manila. "HAWAII BOMBED–WAR!" On 07 December 1941 Japan attacked the United States Naval Base at Pearl Harbor. Ten hours later, 08 December 1941 (Manila time), Japan attacked the Philippines. The series of raids caught most US planes on the ground, destroying the 19th Bomb Group's B-17s at Clark Field and practically wiping out the P-35 and P-40 pursuit fighter squadrons based at Clark, Nichols, Del Carmen, and Iba Fields. In less than 24 hours, the first day of WWII in the Pacific, the US lost much of its fleet at Pearl Harbor and the heart of MacArthur's Air Force in the Philippines. The 2nd and 3rd Battalion from nearby Estado Mayor, flush with hundreds of green replacements, were on their annual range firing exercise at Fort McKinley's B Range when three waves of Japanese planes attacked adjacent Nichols Field around 9 AM on 09 December 1941. No one with the 31st was hurt. On the airfield, however, there was great devastation. Buildings and wrecked planes billowed thick black smoke and flames into the air. Source: The Birth of the 31st Infantry Regiment and Beyond - Historical Data Relevant Its Distinguished Service In Defending The Philippine Islands December 8, 1941 - May 10, 1942. In response, General Douglas MacArthur, ordered American and Filipino forces to withdrawal to the Bataan peninsula as of the Bataan Defense Force. "At 2 AM on December 12, the 31st Infantry boarded trucks, civilian buses and commandeered taxicabs and headed north from from Fort McKinley....Around 1 PM on December 13, the regiment's lead element was dropped off at kilometer post 137, near Pilar on the Bataan Peninsula's main north-south road. Japanese forces began a full-scale invasion of Luzon on 22 December 1941. On 06 January 1942 the battle for Bataan began. Japanese artillery began shelling the Fil-American positions. "The loud, earth-shaking "carrump, of impacting shells was unnerving to even those not directly affected."... "At 1600 hours the Japanese 1st Formosa Infantry of the 48th Division supported by a tank company and 3 battalions of artillery hit the 31st Infantry with full force. At Layac the 31st paid a dear price for the time needed to successfully withdraw all defending forces to Bataan for their final battles. The 31st had stopped the Japanese regiment cold, and the 48th Division was withdrawn and replaced by General Nara's 6,500-man 65th Brigade. The 31st withdrew through the Abucay defensive line and reverted to reserve. 16 January 1942 - Abucay Line The Japanese 14th Army attacked the Abucay Line and breached it on 16 January, in a brilliant flanking maneuver by General Nara's 9th Infantry over Ht. Natib that broke the Philippine 51st Division. The attack was in the location least expected, and General Jones' local counterattacks failed, so the Corps reserve, the 31st Infantry and the 45th Philippine Scouts, were ordered to stop the Japanese at Abucay Hacienda. In the inky darkness, the two crack regiments of the Philippine Division moved forward as fast as possible to plug up the giant hole. For the next several days the 31st Regiment was almost incessantly attacked by infantry. artillery and air bombs, but it didn't yield an inch. The Japanese infantry attacks were made mostly at night. Source: 31st U.S. Infantry Regiment - History, Lineage, Honors, Decorations and Seventy-Third Anniversary Yearbook (Department of the Army, Fort Sill, Oklahoma, 1989), Chapter 5, The Philippines and Bataan 1932-1942 60 men from the 31st Infantry Regiment were killed in the Japanese counter attack of the Abucay Line on Bataan. Private James B. Kinyon was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his actions during the fighting. Kinyon Gets War Medal The Distinguished Service Cross has been awarded a Seattle boy fighting with General MacArthur. He is Private First Class James B. Kinyon, son of Mr. and Mrs. Elmer B. Kinyon; his mother operates a health food store at 2121 Queen Anne avenue. His father is a sheet metal craftsman. The award was made to Kinyon for continuing to aid wounded after he himself had been wounded. He is with a medical company on the Bataan peninsula. When he enlisted he was living at the Larned Hotel, 2041 Westlake avenue. Jimmy Kinyon, D. S. C., was born in Seattle 21 years ago, and attended school here, in Naches and in Yakima. His mother said he is engaged to Miss Ethel Mae Cochrane, Shelton schoolteacher. He has a sister, Audrey, 18 years old. Source: The Seattle Star (Seattle, Washington), Monday, 23 February 1942, page 5. DSC Citation Synopsis for at the time Private James B. Kinyon: The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross to Private James B. Kinyon, United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy while serving as a Medical Aidman with the 2nd Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, Philippine Division, in action against enemy forces at Abucay Hacienda, Bataan, Philippine Islands, on 22 and 24 January 1942. Although wounded, he continued to treat other wounded men at the risk of his own life. Private Kinyon's extraordinary heroism, personal bravery and zealous devotion to duty exemplify the highest traditions of the military forces of the United States and reflect great credit upon himself and the United States Army. 101 Heroes Given DSC Group of Bataan Defenders Praised for Action WASHINGTON. May 1 – (AP) – The heroism of 101 Americans and Filipinos in the defense of the Philippines was officially recognized today in a war department communique announcing a list of awards of the distinguished service cross. Covering awards made since the Japanese invasion of the islands starting December 8, the list includes the name of Lieut. Gen. Jonathan M. Wainwright, now Philippine commander...The roll of heroes included also the names of several other Americans and Filipinos whose exploits have become a part of the Pacific War saga. Others who received the award... Private James B. Kinyon, Mrs. Laurice B. Kinyon, mother, Seattle...Source: The News Tribune (Tacoma, Washington), Monday, 04 May 1942, page 3. "KINYON, Pvt James B., Med., of Washington. DSC for heroism in giving first aid to wounded while under heavy fire on Bataan, carrying on though severely wounded until battle ended before receiving treatment for his own wounds." Source: Yank The Army Weekly Magazine, 26 March 1943, page 9. Private First Class James B. Kinyon was killed in action on 24 January 1942, on Bataan. According to 31st Infantry records he was killed after getting hit by Japanese shrapnel while riding in an ambulance while on the way to the hospital. He was buried the next day, 25 January 1942 in *USAF Cemetery Cabcaben, Bataan, adjacent to General Hospital No. 2. After the war his cross was found behind the cemetery on the ground but his body was not recovered. *The USAF cemetery in Cabcaben was a temporary wartime cemetery located in the barangay (district) of Cabcaben within the municipality of Mariveles in the province of Bataan, Philippines. This was adjacent to General Hospital No. 2 on the Bataan Peninsula. Following World War II, the remains of the American soldiers buried there were reinterred at the Manila American Cemetery or brought home. The USAF cemetery at Cabcaben no longer exists. MISSING NACHES SOLDIER IS NOW REPORTED DEAD YAKIMA, Sept. 26. – According to word received by Mrs. Thomas McCartney of Naches this week, James Kinyon, former Naches boy who was reported missing in action since the battle of Bataan, was killed during a Jap raid on a hospital, where he was receiving treatment. He previously had been awarded the army's medal of honor (incorrect, it was the Distinguished Service Cross) for exceptional service. He was the son of Mr. and Mrs. E. B. Kinyon of Seattle and was a Naches high school graduate. Source: The Spokesman-Review (Spokane, Washington), Sunday, 27 September 1942, page 1. Private First Class James B. Kinyon is memorialized on the Tablets of the Missing - United States Army and Army Air Forces at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines. FAMILY OF BATAAN HERO EVENS SCORE Almost the entire family of Jimmy Kinyon of Seattle, Washington is helping to even the score for Jimmy who gave his life for his comrades on Bataan. His parents Mr. and Mrs. Elmer B. Kinyon were notified recently that Private First Class James B. Kinyon had died of shrapnel wounds last January. The Kinyons are helping to avenge Jimmy's heroic death by building planes and tanks. His mother Mrs. Maurice Kinyon, his father and sister, Audrey, are helping to build planes at Boeing's Seattle Plant. A brother, Edward, 21, is helping build tanks at Renton and another sister, Mrs. William G. Anderson of Torrance, California, is doing her bit in the North American Aircraft Company. For service beyond the call of duty — Jimmy heroically continued to give medical service to the wounded at the risk of his own life and despite his own wounds — Private First Class Kinyon was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. Source: Dayton Union News (Dayton, Ohio), 21 January 1943, page 4. Private First Class James B. Kinyon is memorialized on the Tablets of the Missing - United States Army and Army Air Forces at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.

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