Ralph Rodriguez, Jr. was born October 27, 1917 in Bernalillo, NM. He was drafted into the Army when he was 18 years old. He was serving in the Philippines as a medic in the 515 Coast Artillery when World War II broke out.

On December 9, 1941,  Japanese attacked the Philippines, where approximately 1,800 men from the 200th and 515th Coast Artillery Regiment were stationed. The U.S. and Philippine military unites battled against the the Japanese  for four months before being ordered to surrender.

After being taken prisoner they were forced to endure the Bataan Death March, on which 1,000 Americans and 9,000 Filipinos perished on the journey to the POW camps where they would be interned for three years.  Not liberated until 1945, they suffered horrific conditions and Ralph shared many years later that he still had "very vivid memories" of the torture. 

Rodriguez was a native New Mexican. He moved to Albuquerque when he returned from war. He celebrated his 100th birthday in October 2017.

RALPH RODRIGUEZ JR

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