Thomas F. Breslin
Encyclopedia
Civil engineer
A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering; the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructures while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing infrastructures that have been neglected.Originally, a...
and a civilian contractor for the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
. He was pinned as a Colonel at the outbreak of the Battle of the Philippines and died during the Bataan Death March
Bataan Death March
The Bataan Death March was the forcible transfer, by the Imperial Japanese Army, of 75,000 American and Filipino prisoners of war after the three-month Battle of Bataan in the Philippines during World War II, which resulted in the deaths of thousands of prisoners.The march was characterized by...
, the brutal POW
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
march in the aftermath of the Battle of Bataan
Battle of Bataan
The Battle of Bataan represented the most intense phase of Imperial Japan's invasion of the Philippines during World War II. The capture of the Philippine Islands was crucial to Japan's effort to control the Southwest Pacific, seize the resource-rich Dutch East Indies, and protect its Southeast...
.
Birth and early life
Thomas Breslin was born in Summit Hill, PennsylvaniaSummit Hill, Pennsylvania
Summit Hill is a borough in Carbon County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,974 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Summit Hill is located at ....
on July 6, 1885, the son of Francis Breslin and Mary Malloy. He was baptized 6 days later at the Church of St. Joseph. Francis was a Justice of the Peace
Justice of the Peace
A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...
in Summit Hill. Francis' family had immigrated from Glenties
Glenties
Glenties is a village in the northwest of Ireland in central County Donegal. It is situated where two glens meet, northwest of the Blue Stack Mountains, near the confluence of two rivers. Glenties is the largest centre of population in the parish of Iniskeel...
County Donegal
County Donegal
County Donegal is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Ulster. It is named after the town of Donegal. Donegal County Council is the local authority for the county...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
in 1865. Mary was also born in Summit Hill. They were married at St. Anthony's Church in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, New York. Thomas was the oldest of six children and grew to be 5' 11".
Education
He received dual degrees in Civil Engineering and Mining Engineering from Pennsylvania State College, now called Pennsylvania State UniversityPennsylvania State University
The Pennsylvania State University, commonly referred to as Penn State or PSU, is a public research university with campuses and facilities throughout the state of Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1855, the university has a threefold mission of teaching, research, and public service...
, graduating at the age of 22 in 1907.
Work and marriage in Cebu
Thomas received a contract with the U.S. Government to survey large portions of the island of CebuCebu Island
Cebu is an island of the Philippines. It is the main island of Cebu Province at the center of the Visayan Islands, south of Manila.It lies to the east of Negros Island; to the east is Leyte and to the southeast is Bohol Island. It is flanked on both sides by the Cebu Strait and Tañon Strait...
in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
which was then under American rule following the Spanish-American war
Spanish-American War
The Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...
. While in Cebu, he married Maria Mata Laurel who was born in Danao City
Danao City
Danao City is a 3rd class city in the province of Cebu, Philippines. According to the 2007 census, it has a population of 109,534 people.In 2005, Metro Cebu's definition was expanded to include Danao City, a leader in the gun industry, in the north and the municipalities of San Fernando and Carcar...
on Cebu Island, the daughter of Candido Laurel and Gabina Mata. They had 11 children together. A street named "Brezlin Street" was named (with a phonetic spelling) after him in Cebu City
Cebu City
The City of Cebu is the capital city of Cebu and is the second largest city in the Philippines, the second most significant metropolitan centre in the Philippines and known as the oldest settlement established by the Spaniards in the country.The city is located on the eastern shore of Cebu and was...
, Cebu. He became multilingual during his time there.
According to a record held by his son, Robert Breslin, "The Island of Cebu bears his initials at each mountain peak" meaning that his initials are on the surveying benchmarks
Benchmark (surveying)
The term bench mark, or benchmark, originates from the chiseled horizontal marks that surveyors made in stone structures, into which an angle-iron could be placed to form a "bench" for a leveling rod, thus ensuring that a leveling rod could be accurately repositioned in the same place in the future...
at each mountain peak on Cebu. Surveyor's initials are left on benchmarks so that if questions or disputes arise, the original surveyor can be consulted.
Luzon
They moved from Cebu to the island of LuzonLuzon
Luzon is the largest island in the Philippines. It is located in the northernmost region of the archipelago, and is also the name for one of the three primary island groups in the country centered on the Island of Luzon...
in order for Thomas to work as a mining engineer and mine inspector in Baguio. At the outbreak of World War II, he was working as a civilian contractor for the US Army. He was in charge of constructing new barracks at Fort William McKinley
Fort William McKinley
Fort William McKinley, was established in the Philippines during the Philippine–American War in 1901 when the whole land south of Pasig River down to Alabang was declared a U.S. Military Reservation. During the World War II era, it was where USAFFE had its headquarters for the Philippine Department...
, just south of Manila
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
. According to his obitutary in a Summit Hill, Pennsylvania newspaper, "Mr. Breslin's fortunes and prominence grew until his name was notably linked with many business and governmental institutions in the Philippines. He established his home on Cebu, and Americans who visited him were impressed with the obvious success he had made of his prominence."
The Baatan Death March
Although he was a leading civilian and was not in the military, he was pinned a Colonel when the Battle of the Philippines (1941–1942) started. According to a record held by his son Robert Breslin: "After his commanding general pinned Colonel's rank on his lapel, he made his goodbyes at home and by Christmas Day, 1941 was helping to position the defenses at Bataan." His language skills are thought to have been an important consideration in his pinning as most of the enlisted men in the United States Philippine Division were from the Philippines.When the American forces there were overcome by the Japanese in the Battle of Bataan
Battle of Bataan
The Battle of Bataan represented the most intense phase of Imperial Japan's invasion of the Philippines during World War II. The capture of the Philippine Islands was crucial to Japan's effort to control the Southwest Pacific, seize the resource-rich Dutch East Indies, and protect its Southeast...
, the prisoners of war were made to march about 100 km as part of their journey to several concentration camps in the Bataan Death March
Bataan Death March
The Bataan Death March was the forcible transfer, by the Imperial Japanese Army, of 75,000 American and Filipino prisoners of war after the three-month Battle of Bataan in the Philippines during World War II, which resulted in the deaths of thousands of prisoners.The march was characterized by...
. It was during this death march
Death march
A death march is a forced march of prisoners of war or other captives or deportees. Those marching must walk over long distances for an extremely long period of time and are not supplied with food or water...
that, according to his son Robert's record, "Sick with dysentery and malaria, his comrades hid him in a culvert on the road to avoid the Japanese bayonets. A young Filipino man found him, took him to his home and hid him underground in his backyard, trying to nurse back his strength for about a month. With meager food amounts and no medicine, he succumbed to the diseases that plagued him." He died on May 10, 1942.
His son's ordeal
His son, Richard "Dick" Breslin, was also on the death march but was much younger and stronger and so survived. Around April 3, 1942, Dick visited his father at the "Quartermaster Corps" before going to the front lines of the Battle of Bataan. This was the last time they would meet. After the surrender to the Japanese, Dick marched from Mariveles, BataanMariveles, Bataan
Mariveles is a 1st class municipality in the province of Bataan, Philippines. According to the latest census, it has a population of 102,844 people in 19,460 households...
to "Kilometer 69", and then was sent by cattle train to Camp O'Donnell
Camp O'Donnell
Camp O'Donnell was a facility of the United States Air Force in Capas, Tarlac, The Philippines. Before the facility was transferred to the Air Force, it was first a Philippine Constabulary post then a United States Army facility....
in Tarlac
Tarlac
Tarlac is a landlocked province of the Philippines located in the Luzon Island. Its capital is Tarlac City. Tarlac borders Pampanga to the south, Nueva Ecija to the east, Pangasinan to the north, and Zambales to the west...
. Because he was relatively healthy he was moved to "Camp #1" in Cabanatuan, and from there was on assignment, constructing the airport in Las Pinas from 1943 to 1944. He was near Corregidor
Corregidor
Corregidor Island, locally called Isla ng Corregidor, is a lofty island located at the entrance of Manila Bay in southwestern part of Luzon Island in the Philippines. Due to this location, Corregidor was fortified with several coastal artillery and ammunition magazines to defend the entrance of...
when the Americans/Allies conducted the airstrike. Two days later, Dick was put in the coal bin of a hell ship
Hell Ship
A hell ship is a ship with extremely unpleasant living conditions or with a reputation for cruelty among the crew. It now generally refers to the ships used by the Imperial Japanese Navy to transport Allied prisoners of war out of the Philippines, Hong Kong and Singapore during World War II. The...
and spent 38 days there before landing in Formosa
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
. From Formosa they sailed the China Sea to Muji, Japan. From Muji he was sent by train to Tokyo and then to Odati for the winter 1944–1945 where he worked in an open pit lead mine until the war ended. He weighed about 87 lbs. at the end.
His family
His family searched for him during the later, similar march of the prisoners from the Battle of CorregidorBattle of Corregidor
The Battle for Corregidor was the culmination of the Japanese campaign for the conquest of the Philippines. The fall of Bataan on 9 April 1942 ended all organized opposition by the U.S...
. They had no word of the fate of him or of his son until late in the war.
Burial
After the American and Filipino army reoccupation of Luzon in 1945, a villager on the Bataan peninsula pointed out where his body had been buried to the soldiers. Only at this point did his family learn that he had died. Thomas' body was then exhumed and re-buried at Fort William McKinleyFort William McKinley
Fort William McKinley, was established in the Philippines during the Philippine–American War in 1901 when the whole land south of Pasig River down to Alabang was declared a U.S. Military Reservation. During the World War II era, it was where USAFFE had its headquarters for the Philippine Department...
, just south of Manila
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
. His grave is maintained by the American Battle Monuments Commission
American Battle Monuments Commission
The American Battle Monuments Commission is a small independent agency of the United States government. Established by Congress in 1923, it is responsible for:...
.
External links
- Summit Hill, Pennsylvania Newspaper Obituary circa 1944 in the possession of Robert Breslin
- Short biography of Thomas Breslin in the possession of Robert Breslin
- A 1937 Philippine Supreme Court Judgement in a land case mentioning his testimony as an "engineer, surveyor, and real estate broker" (in section 2)
- The company "SMS Cebu Inc." is located on "Breslin Street" (33rd entry)
- Numerous photographs and vital records in the possession of Robert Breslin and others
- Oral histories delivered by his children Richard Breslin of Manila, The Philippines, Anthony Breslin of Santa Clara, California, and Ann Breslin Wilfert of Lake Charles, Louisiana collected by B. Holden in 2004 and 2005, verifiable by repeating these interviews.
- History of Richard "Dick" Breslin biographical video tape in the possession of his daughter, Marion McDonald.
- Biography of a soldier whose POW ordeal overlapped that of Richard "Dick" Breslin