U.S. Army Tec 5 Clifford H. Strickland, who died as a prisoner of war in a Japanese camp during World War II, will finally have a final resting place in Florence. The 25-year-old Strickland, a member of Company C, 803rd Engineer Battalion (Aviation), was taken prisoner after the U.S. surrendered to the Japanese in the Bataan peninsula.
Following the surrender, he endured the grueling 65-mile Bataan Death March and died on July 29, 1942. He was buried in Common Grave 215 at a POW camp in the Philippines. However, his remains were among the seven ultimately deemed unidentifiable by the American Graves Registration Service.
His body was then moved to the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial where it remained for around 70 years until December 20, 2023 when he was finally identified using his teeth and DNA among other methods by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency using modern science. His remains will now be buried at Union Highland Cemetery in Florence providing closure to his family and honoring his service and sacrifice during World War II.
Strickland’s story is one of many soldiers who fought valiantly during World War II only to become prisoners of war and eventually die as a result of their captivity. It is important that we remember their sacrifices and honor them with respectful burials like this one.
