Stories Behind the Stars: 3 POW camps, 3 hell ships & no ticket home

By John J. Turanin

For the MVI

When John Matola Jr. joined the U.S. Army in 1937, he may have been seeking adventure beyond his hometown of Monessen. Instead, he was heading into a three-year nightmare. Most Americans know that the United States entered World War II when the U.S. military base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, was attacked by surprise by the Japanese Imperial Navy on Dec. 7, 1941. On the same day, the Japanese attacked the Philippines, Guam, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand in a massive pan-Asian military operation.

To read the rest of the story, please see a copy of Saturday’s Mon Valley Independent, call 724-314-0035 to subscribe or subscribe to our online edition at http://monvalleyindependent.com.