WASHINGTON –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced today that U.S. Navy Fireman 1st Class Robert G. Shove, 21, who was captured and died as a prisoner of war during World War II, was accounted for Dec. 9, 2025.
In late 1941, Shove was serving aboard the USS Canopus, which was anchored off Mariveles when Japanese forces invaded the Philippine Islands in December. In February 1942, crew members from the Canopus were evacuated to Corregidor to support the 4th Marine Regiment's defense of the island. 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. Shove 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 #1. More than 2,500 POWs perished in this camp during the war.
According to prison camp and other historical records, Shove died Oct. 27, 1943, and was buried along with other deceased prisoners in the local Cabanatuan Camp Cemetery in Common Grave 854.
This is an initial release. The complete accounting of Shove's case will be published once the family receives their full briefing.
For additional information on the War Department’s mission to account for Americans who went missing while serving our country, visit the DPAA website at www.dpaa.mil, find us on social media at www.facebook.com/dodpaa or https://www.linkedin.com/company/defense-pow-mia-accounting-agency, www.instagram.com/dodpaa/, or https://x.com/dodpaa.