Stories of Sacrifice - American POW/MIAs

About Stories of Sacrifice - American POW/MIAs

Stories of Sacrifice Podcast are interviews with families of our Nation's POW/MIAs who are currently buried as Unknown in our National Cemeteries or still listed as Missing in Action. These families are trying to get their MIA loved one identified through DNA. This is a production of the US POW/MIA Family Locating. Please consider supporting us! https://www.StoriesOfSacrifice.org (https://www.StoriesOfSacrifice.org)

Publisher

John Bear

Category

society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

1 Dec 2019

Latest episode

21 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

65 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   21 Oct 2026

   Ordered, Then Executed: The Case of Robert James Zacks

   In the first days of the war on Mindanao, a U.S. civilian named Robert James Zacks stood beside the senior American officer in Davao and did what he was told. Colonel Roger Hilsman, U.S. Army, ordered the safe at the Ohta Development Company opened. Zacks went. Seven months later the Japanese executed him for that act. On 10 July 1942 he was beheaded at Magugpo and buried with the Filipino and Chinese men who died beside him. This episode tells that story from the primary record—NARA RG 331 Report 186—and asks why a U.S. citizen who followed a U.S. Army officer’s orders is still absent from the accounting roster that DoDD 2310.07 itself says is incomplete. What You’ll Hear The December 1941 orders: how Zacks, serving as civilian aide to Col. Hilsman, opened the Ohta safe at Talomo and deposited the recovered funds on Hilsman’s instruction. The affidavits that have sat in the National Archives since 1946—Madeleine Zacks, Leslie E. Stevens, and Gregorio F. Ferreol—describing exactly what happened. The selection at Malaybalay, the Japanese proceeding in Davao, and the execution at Magugpo on 10 July 1942. Why DoDD 2310.07 § 3.1.f already authorizes DPAA to add an eligible omitted U.S. citizen, and why that determination has not been made. What AMAG’s Investigative Team will do on the ground in November. Key Primary Sources NARA Record Group 331, War Crimes Branch Report No. 186 (statements of Madeleine Zacks, 8 October 1945; Leslie E. Stevens, 2 January 1946; Gregorio F. Ferreol, 14 and 24 January 1946). DoDD 2310.07, “Past Conflict Personnel Accounting Policy” (12 April 2017), §§ 3.1.f and 3.1.g. U.S. Department of Labor Form 960, SS Point Ancha, 5 April 1933 (Robert Zacks, oiler). Los Angeles Examiner, 4 May 1945 (Henry P. Zacks on his father’s service). Central Quotes “I was instructed by Colonel HILLSMAN, together with Mr. ZACKS, to proceed there to blow the vault open… Colonel HILLSMAN instructed Mr. ZACKS to turn it in to the City Treasurer… and obtain a receipt.” — Leslie E. Stevens, 2 January 1946 “Lt. Zack… was directed by Colonel Hilsman to open the safe of the Ohta Development Company… Same were brought to the headquarters of Colonel Hilsman by Lt. Zack.” — Gregorio F. Ferreol, 24 January 1946 “When DPAA determines that an eligible person was omitted from the original USG roster, DPAA will add the person.” — DoDD 2310.07 § 3.1.f Why This Matters The World War II rosters are not comprehensive. The directive says so. It also says that when an eligible person was left off, DPAA will add them. Robert James Zacks was a U.S. citizen who acted under the direct orders of a U.S. Army officer and was executed for those acts. The record has existed for eighty years. The authority has existed since 2017. What remains is the determination. Looking Ahead In November, AMAG’s Investigative Team will be at the location. They are going for Robert James Zacks and for the Filipino and Chinese heroes who were executed and buried with him. The work of bringing them home starts on the ground. Support the November Mission The November mission is self-funded. If this story matters to you, help put the team on the ground. Donate here: https://donorbox.org/support-amag-s-worldwide-mia-mission About the Show Stories of Sacrifice: American POW/MIAs is produced by John Bear, Chief of Investigative Research, Asymmetric MIA Accounting Group (AMAG). It’s About Time ⏳ https://amagonline.org #POW #MIA #AMAG #Magugpo #Mindanao #WWII

2. 

   16 Oct 2026

   It’s About Time: The Forgotten Men and the Families Still Waiting

   Stories of Sacrifice / AMAG Mindanao Mission Eighty-four years after American and Filipino personnel were executed or died on Mindanao, their families are still waiting for graves. This episode tells the stories of the forgotten men and the daughters, sons, and widows who have carried the absence ever since—and why funding is needed now to complete the search. The Families Tess Bernales — An infant when her father, Capt. Francisco Maniquiz Gregorio, was executed on 10 July 1942 at Magugpo Cemetery (now Tagum City). She is now in her mid-eighties and has authorized AMAG to represent the family. A site investigation is planned for November 2026, with recovery targeted for early 2027 so she can still be part of it. Henry Zacks and Madeline Zacks — Henry was ten years old in 1945 when newspapers called him “the boy who had forgotten how to smile.” His father, American civilian Robert James Zacks, was buried in the same Magugpo common grave. His mother carried the news through internment. The Fort Family — Brig. Gen. Guy O. Fort was executed in November 1942 after refusing to order Moro guerrillas to surrender. His family has never had a grave. Barbara Fox and Dr. Joseph Postigo (brother of the late actress Julie Vega, Fort’s great-granddaughter) are working directly with AMAG. An independent panel’s first assessments fell within 15–75 meters of the research target. Helen and Roy Welbon — Helen left on the USS Narwhal in November 1943 at her husband’s insistence. On 26 February 1944 Col. Wendell Fertig reported that 1st Lt. Roy E. Welbon had been killed on 24 January while evacuating radio equipment at Baroy and buried in a marked grave with full military honors. She never saw the place. The family is now working directly with AMAG. Pratt, Vesey, Price, and Chandler — 1st Lt. Robert H. Pratt died supporting an older officer on the July 1942 march into Iligan. Lt. Col. Robert H. Vesey volunteered to take the place first assigned to Fort and endured roughly two hours under the bayonet. Living eyewitness Ben Hagans has described the ground. These families have lived with closed files that pre-dated the evidence now in hand. Many of the men buried with the Americans were Philippine Army, Constabulary, and Scout personnel. The same investigations serve their families too. Why This Mission, Why Now Years of primary-source research led by Chief of Investigative Research John Bear identified the sites. Imagery analyst Ed Bauer’s review of period aerial photography and archival records further narrowed the candidate areas. AMAG’s all-volunteer team—Founder and President Michael Henshaw, John Bear, forensic anthropologist Karin Dominko, conflict archaeologist Danny Keay, and Ed Bauer—has partnered with Filipino archaeologists and the Bangsamoro Commission for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage. Mindanao is a red zone for U.S. government travel, which has kept large official teams away. Leadership and scientific volunteers have funded most of the work to date from personal resources. The late-November 2026 through March 2027 window will advance the Fort locus, investigate the Magugpo site, and continue work on the Welbon and Pratt leads. Every investigation is designed to end with a recoverability recommendation or a documented closure. Recoveries will follow chain-of-custody through the National Museum of the Philippines. Support the Mission Both the United States and the Philippines should help fund completion of this work. Private donations are still essential. Donate here: https://donorbox.org/support-amag-s-worldwide-mia-mission (https://donorbox.org/support-amag-s-worldwide-mia-mission) Every contribution supports travel, local coordination, equipment, training of Filipino archaeologists, and the ability of volunteers to stay in the field. Eighty-four years is long enough. It’s About Time.

3. 

   15 Oct 2026

   Tess and the Search for Her Father: The Magugpo Cemetery

   In 1942, Capt. Francisco Maniquiz Gregorio was taken from his family and never returned. His daughter Tess was only a baby. For more than eighty years she has searched for the truth about what happened to her father and a way to bring him home. She eventually reached out to Asymmetric MIA Accounting Group (AMAG). This episode tells the story of Capt. Gregorio and the other men who died with him on July 10, 1942, at Magugpo Cemetery in Mindanao. The group included American civilian Robert James Zacks and Filipino officers and civilians such as Col. Felicisimo Torres, Lt. Alejo Ong, Lt. Amado Halili, and Lt. Francisco Roa. They were selected from the Malaybalay internment camp, taken to Davao, and brought before a Japanese tribunal under Lt. Hosaka. The charges—looting, rape, and mistreatment of Japanese civilians—were supported largely by pre-war Japanese residents who held personal grudges. Fellow prisoners believed the accusations were framed. On the afternoon of July 10, the men were loaded onto a truck and driven to Magugpo Cemetery. Eyewitness Socorro Lopez hid behind a tree and watched as Japanese soldiers dug a long common grave. Lt. Suzuki beheaded Zacks; the others were executed and buried in the same place. A postwar U.S. Army War Crimes Branch investigation collected sworn statements from nine witnesses and concluded that, because the men had received a trial under the occupying authority, the case did not meet the standards for a punishable war crime. It was closed and filed. Decades later, AMAG investigative researcher John Bear, Director Mike Henshaw, and imagery analyst Ed Bauer have located the execution site. The team is now preparing to deploy ground-penetrating radar this winter to find the grave. Tess has waited her entire life for answers. AMAG is working to bring her father and the others home. Support the winter recovery mission at amagonline.org (http://amagonline.org).

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Apple Podcasts (US)

4.9 / 5

12 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

1 ratings

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