JOHN J. HEIL, LTCOL, USMC
John Heil '28
Lucky Bag
From the 1928 Lucky Bag:
Loss
From Find A Grave:
Lt. Col. John J. Heil was held as a POW in the Philippine Islands. In December 1944, he was boarded onto the Oryoku Maru for transport to Japan. The ship sailed on December 13th and came under attack from American planes on December 14th. As evening approached, the attack was called off. The next day the planes returned and continued the attack. When the pilots saw the large number of men climbing from the ship’s holds, they realized the ship was carrying POWs and called off the attack. After the POWs were off the ship, the attack resumed and the ship was sunk by American planes at Subic Bay, Philippine Islands, on December 15, 1944. The surviving POWs were boarded onto the Enoura Maru which sailed on December 27th and reached Takao, Formosa, by the New Year. While docked it was bombed by American planes on January 9, 1945, killing many of the POWs. The surviving POWs were boarded onto the Brazil Maru which sailed on January 13th. Lt. Col. John J. Heil died on the ship before it reached Japan on January 29, 1945. His body was thrown into the sea.
From researcher Kathy Franz:
John's wife was Winifred, and in 1940 their children were John Jr., age 9, Margaret, age 8, and Michael, age 4. That year John's sister Margaret, age 19, lived with them in the Marine Barracks in Quantico.
Wartime Service
Unable to find any details of John's service in the Philippines, though he was executive officer of the 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines.
Prisoner of War Medal
From Hall of Valor:
Major John J. Heil (MCSN: 0-4356), 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 death while still in captivity.
General Orders: NARA Database: Records of World War II Prisoners of War, created, 1942 - 1947
Service: Marine Corps
Rank: Major
The "Register of Commissioned and Warrant Officers of the United States Navy and Marine Corps" was published annually from 1815 through at least the 1970s; it provided rank, command or station, and occasionally billet until the beginning of World War II when command/station was no longer included. Scanned copies were reviewed and data entered from the mid-1840s through 1922, when more-frequent Navy Directories were available.
The Navy Directory was a publication that provided information on the command, billet, and rank of every active and retired naval officer. Single editions have been found online from January 1915 and March 1918, and then from three to six editions per year from 1923 through 1940; the final edition is from April 1941.
The entries in both series of documents are sometimes cryptic and confusing. They are often inconsistent, even within an edition, with the name of commands; this is especially true for aviation squadrons in the 1920s and early 1930s.
Alumni listed at the same command may or may not have had significant interactions; they could have shared a stateroom or workspace, stood many hours of watch together… or, especially at the larger commands, they might not have known each other at all. The information provides the opportunity to draw connections that are otherwise invisible, though, and gives a fuller view of the professional experiences of these alumni in Memorial Hall.
July 1928
2nd Lieutenant, under instruction, Naval Academy
Others at this command:
LCDR Norman Scott '11
LCDR Albert Rooks '14
LCDR Cassin Young '16
LT John Gillon '20
LT John Burrow '21
LT Joseph Hubbard '21
LT Edwin Crouch '21
LTjg Howard Healy '22
October 1928
2nd Lieutenant, under instruction, Marine Corps Schools, Marine Barracks, Navy Yard, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Others at this command:
January 1929
2nd Lieutenant, under instruction, Marine Corps Schools, Marine Barracks, Navy Yard, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Others at this command:
April 1929
2nd Lieutenant, under instruction, Marine Corps Schools, Marine Barracks, Navy Yard, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Others at this command:
July 1929
2nd Lieutenant, Naval Air Station, Naval Operating Base Hampton Roads, Virginia
Others at this command:
October 1929
2nd Lieutenant, 1st Marine Brigade, Haiti
January 1930
2nd Lieutenant, 1st Marine Brigade, Haiti
April 1930
2nd Lieutenant, 1st Marine Brigade, Haiti
October 1930
2nd Lieutenant, 1st Marine Brigade, Haiti
January 1931
2nd Lieutenant, 1st Marine Brigade, Haiti
April 1931
2nd Lieutenant, 1st Marine Brigade, Haiti
July 1931
2nd Lieutenant, 1st Marine Brigade, Haiti
October 1931
2nd Lieutenant, 1st Marine Brigade, Haiti
January 1932
2nd Lieutenant, staff, Marine Barracks, Quantico, Virginia
Others at this command:
Others at or embarked at this command:
2LT Paul Moret '30 (Expeditionary Force, Marine Barracks, Quantico, Virginia)
April 1932
2nd Lieutenant, staff, Marine Barracks, Quantico, Virginia
Others at this command:
Others at or embarked at this command:
October 1932
2nd Lieutenant, staff, Marine Barracks, Quantico, Virginia
Others at this command:
Others at or embarked at this command:
January 1933
2nd Lieutenant, staff, Marine Barracks, Quantico, Virginia
Others at this command:
Others at or embarked at this command:
July 1933
2nd Lieutenant, staff, Marine Base San Diego
October 1933
2nd Lieutenant, USS Pensacola
April 1934
2nd Lieutenant, USS Pensacola
October 1934
2nd Lieutenant, USS Oklahoma
Others at this command:
Others at or embarked at this command:
January 1935
1st Lieutenant, Fleet Marine Force, Marine Barracks, Quantico, Virginia
Others at this command:
April 1935
1st Lieutenant, Fleet Marine Force, Marine Barracks, Quantico, Virginia
Others at this command:
October 1935
1st Lieutenant, Receiving Ship, USS Reina Mercedes, Naval Academy
January 1936
1st Lieutenant, Receiving Ship, USS Reina Mercedes, Naval Academy
April 1936
1st Lieutenant, Receiving Ship, USS Reina Mercedes, Naval Academy
July 1936
1st Lieutenant, Receiving Ship, USS Reina Mercedes, Naval Academy
Others at this command:
January 1937
1st Lieutenant, Receiving Ship, USS Reina Mercedes, Naval Academy
Others at this command:
April 1937
1st Lieutenant, Receiving Ship, USS Reina Mercedes, Naval Academy
Others at this command:
September 1937
1st Lieutenant, Army Infantry School, Ft. Benning, Georgia
Others at this command:
January 1938
1st Lieutenant, Army Infantry School, Ft. Benning, Georgia
Others at this command:
July 1938
Captain, staff, Marine Corps Schools, Marine Barracks, Quantico, Virginia
Others at this command:
January 1939
Captain, staff, Marine Corps Schools, Marine Barracks, Quantico, Virginia
Others at this command:
October 1939
Captain, staff, Marine Corps Schools, Marine Barracks, Quantico, Virginia
Others at this command:
June 1940
Captain, staff, Marine Corps Schools, Marine Barracks, Quantico, Virginia
Others at this command:
November 1940
Captain, staff, Marine Corps Schools, Marine Barracks, Quantico, Virginia
Others at this command:
April 1941
Captain, staff, Marine Corps Schools, Marine Barracks, Quantico, Virginia
Others at this command:
Class of 1928
John is one of 17 members of the Class of 1928 on Virtual Memorial Hall.