Willibald C. Bianchi
United States Army Medal of Honor recipient
Died when: 29 years 303 days (357 months)Star Sign: Pisces
Willibald Charles Bianchi (March 12, 1915 – January 9, 1945) was an officer in the Philippine Scouts who received the Medal of Honor for actions in Bataan, Philippines during that country's capitulation to Japanese forces during World War II.
After the action near Bagac in the Bataan Province, Bianchi was among the troops captured by the Japanese at the fall of Bataan, on April 9, 1942.
He was part of the Bataan "Death March," and was imprisoned in several Japanese prisoner of war camps, enduring horrible conditions.
He was known for his compassion and efforts to better the lot of his fellow prisoners by bartering with their captors for extra food and medicine.
On January 9, 1945, while imprisoned in an unmarked Japanese prison ship, Bianchi was killed instantly when an American plane, unaware that the ship contained American prisoners, dropped a 1,000-pound bomb in the cargo hold.
Bianchi is one of three members of the Philippine Scouts who were awarded the Medal of Honor.
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