This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list.
Surnames: Ruge
Classification: Query
Message Board URL:
http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/Yi.2ADE/937
Message Board Post:
Robert Franklin Ruge of Valparaiso, Indiana was killed October 24, 1944, while serving in
the South Pacific during World War II. He had been captured by the Japanese. Toward the
end of the war it was inevitable the Japanese were going to lose the Philippines back to
the Americans so desperately they boarded the American POW's on unmarked cargo ships
to transport them to mainland Asia for slave labor. He was on the POW Hellship Arisan
Maru. The ship fired on American forces and was immediately sunk with the POW's
onboard.
He is officially listed as missing or buried at sea and his name appears on the “Tablets
of the Missing” at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines. We are seeking
information regarding his military and civilian life and especially locate any family
members still living so we can send them the free photographs of his grave site and the
beautiful memorial in the Philippines.
I am a retired Hoosier from Madison County Indiana residing in the Philippines with my
Filipino wife. We are seeking family and military information of nearly a thousand
servicemen from Indiana killed in the South Pacific during World War II. There are 17,206
Americans buried here and thousands more that are missing or buried at sea and are honored
on the “Tablets of the Missing”. Please visit our website to see the beautiful memorial
located in Manila, Philippines.
http://fizkid.tripod.com/
My wife and I visited the cemetery as visitors and left with a mission in our heart. We
have been taking photographs of the graves of the Indiana servicemen buried here and have
been uniting them (at no charge) with their family members in Indiana and across the
United States. To receive the photo of your family member, neighbor or friend all you need
is a working email address. We do not send them to regular mailing addresses due to the
costs. Please help us find the families of the men that might still be living. Our project
is only successful because of teamwork and your contributions are noted on our website. If
you wish to help us we will be pleased to add your name to our ACKNOWLEDGMENT page on the
website. The obituaries usually did not appear till to three months after the death date.
If you are not a genealogist you can help by just picking up the telephone directory and
find someone with the same last name and give them a call. It has worked many times for
us.
Zenas5(a)yahoo.com
Sincerely,
Dave and Apple Dwiggins
San Pablo City, Philippines