WASHINGTON –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced today that U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. John W. Ruark, 21, who was captured and died as a prisoner of war during World War II, was accounted for March 25, 2025.
In late 1941, Ruark was a member of Company M, 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, when Japanese forces invaded the Philippine Islands in December. Intense fighting continued until the surrender of the Bataan peninsula on April 9, 1942, and of Corregidor Island on May 6, 1942.
Thousands of U.S. and Filipino service members were captured and interned at POW camps. Ruark was among those reported captured when U.S. forces in Bataan surrendered to the Japanese. They were subjected to the 65-mile Bataan Death March and then held at the Cabanatuan POW camp. More than 2,500 POWs perished in this camp during the war.
According to prison camp and other historical records, Ruark died on Nov. 19, 1942, and was buried along with other deceased prisoners in the local Cabanatuan Camp Cemetery in Common Grave 717.
This is an initial release. The complete accounting of Ruark's case will be published once the family receives their full briefing.
For additional information on the Defense Department’s mission to account for Americans who went missing while serving their country, visit the DPAA website at or on social media at , , , or .