The Men of the Lost Battalion
Became like Brothers in Captivity, Brothers Ever Since
The men of the Lost Battalion (2nd Battalion, 131st Field Artillery) comprised a Texas National Guard unit (36th Infantry Division) that mostly went through boot camp as a cohort in early 1941. In August 1941, the unit participated in the Louisiana Maneuvers, two months of war games in the rain-soaked bogs at Camp Beauregard near Lake Charles, LA. Accounts from survivors indicate that the unit comprised the “blue team” that captured the enemy, thus winning the war games. The reward for their performance? The unit was nationalized, mobilized, and shipped out the Pacific just before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
When they went to war, the original strength of the unit was 558 men. Of those, three were killed in action when the Japanese invaded Java. Of the 534 taken prisoner, 89 died in prison camps and 445 were repatriated after the war.
Ever since the end of World War II, the Lost Battalion has always included the Marines and Navy service members from the USS Houston that were imprisoned with them.
Two plaques at the Thai-Burma Railway Centre in Kanchanaburi Thailand recognizing the groups are connected with a small engraved marker indicating, “Became like Brothers in Captivity, Brothers Ever Since.” There were originally 74 Marines and 937 Navy men on the USS Houston.
Anyone who attended the reunions between the mid-1940’s and the turn of decade could easily observe the fraternal bond of the Army, Navy and Marine servicemen, relationships forged in the crucible of Japanese POW camps.
The 2nd Battalion, 131st Field Artillery is the “Most Decorated Unit in Texas” in any war, and the USS Houston (CA-30) is the “Most Decorated” vessel of its class in the U.S. fleet. The men of the Lost Battalion and the USS Houston are heroes to all who knew them. We are grateful for their service to the Country, as we are grateful to all veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces.