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"I'm probably the only G.I. in the U.S. Army who sunk a warship single handedly." (Video Interview, 17:57)

   John L. Stensby, Sr.
Image of John L. Stensby, Sr.
John Stensby, 2002
War: World War II, 1939-1946
Branch: Army
Unit: 60th Coast Artillery
Service Location: Fort Mills, and Corregedor (Philippines); Pacific Theater
Rank: Chief Warrant Officer 3
POW: Yes
Place of Birth: Hales Corners, WI
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John Stensby held out as long as he could from Japanese capture on the Philippines, then made an art form of sabotage whenever his captors tried to use him for slave labor. His incompetent welding job on a Japanese warship created a launch that was an extreme embarrassment for the Japanese Navy. He had to steel himself when buddy after buddy dropped by the wayside, in prison camps, on the hell ships that took POWs off to Japan and Manchuria, and in factories and mines.

Interview (Video)
»Interview Highlights  (10 clips)
»Complete Interview  (72 min.)
  Photos
»Photo Album (1 photo)
 Memoirs
»The Survivors
 Official Documents
»Japanese Order Posted in POW Camps [1944]
 Personal Correspondence
»From his mother [August 28, 194?]
 Other Materials
»View List (4 items)
More like this
»Forever a Soldier
»POWs in Japan
 Video (Interview Excerpts) (10 items)
American soldiers' resistance to their captors. (01:19) The lighter side of being a prisoner. (05:35) Bravery and resourcefulness of American forces. (01:24)
Premature report of his death. (00:46) Narrowly escaping death - luck or instinct? (03:52) Sabotaging the Japanese war effort; liberation. (07:05)
Single-handedly sinking a war ship. (01:54) Japanese mistreatment of prisoners. (02:30) Early days of the war in Bataan and Corregidor. (04:06)
Postwar injustices regarding his pay while a POW. (05:10)  
  
 Other Materials (4 items)
Page Two, 29th Depot Daily Times [25 September 1945] U.S.-Jap[anese] Policy News article for unspecified newspaper Menu from the transport "Hugh L. Scott" [November 15, 1941]
News article & photo from undocumented source depicting Stenby and other POWs of the Japanese  
  
 
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  The Library of Congress
  May 29, 2007
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