Wake Island veteran survived 4 years as POW

LeRoy N. Schneider, 86, one of the few remaining U.S. Marines who fought in the defense of Wake Island in December 1941, passed away after an extended illness on Aug. 18, 2007, at his home.

A funeral Mass with the Rev. Tom Bishop as celebrant was held Aug. 22 at St. Anne Church in Barrington. LeRoy's grandson, U.S. Marine Sgt. Christopher Schneider, led the coffin, which was carried by LeRoy's six youngest grandchildren. Christopher's friend, Marine Sgt. Josh Junge, walked at the rear of the coffin.

LeRoy was buried in the veterans section of Evergreen Cemetery in Barrington. Members of VFW Post 7706 and American Legion Post 158 provided honor guards at his wake and burial, ending with a 21-gun salute and taps.

Born in Wilmette, LeRoy joined the U.S. Marine Corps in June 1940. He was assigned to the Wake detachment of the First Defense Battalion, U.S. Marine Corps, under the command of Maj. James P.S. Devereux.

In August 1941, he was sent to Wake Island with about 430 Marines, a few Army and Navy personnel, and unarmed civilians to prepare defenses for an expected war with Japan. The bombing of Wake Island began just hours after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941.

On Dec. 11, 1941, the Wake Island defenders repelled an enemy attempt to invade the island, a feat that made history. They were credited with sinking or severely damaging five warships, shooting down many hostile planes and killing an unknown number of Japanese troops.

A quote from Masatake Okumiya, commander of the Japanese Imperial Navy, summed it up: "Considering the power accumulated for the invasion of Wake Island, and the meager forces of their defenders, it was one of the most humiliating defeats the Japanese Navy had ever suffered."

It was a morale uplift the U.S. needed after the devastation at Pearl Harbor. Unfortunately, the jubilation was short-lived. The enemy air strikes continued. On Dec. 23, LeRoy awoke to see the island surrounded by enemy warships, with hundreds of enemy soldiers already on land. Despite a fierce last effort in hand-to-hand combat, the invasion force captured the island.

The Marines had been warned, "The Japanese do not take prisoners; they kill their enemy upon capture." With that knowledge, LeRoy felt a great sadness for his parents as he prepared to die.

The prisoners were put under heavy guard and ordered to remove their clothing. They were bound with communication wire tied around their necks and hands in a way that they would choke themselves if they tried to move. They were forced to kneel, naked, on the sharp coral of an air strip, facing a line of manned machine guns and Japanese warriors pacing back and forth with beheading swords strapped to their backs.

Suddenly, some enemy officers began arguing and someone decided the strong young prisoners were of more use alive than dead.

On Jan. 12, 1942, the Wake defenders were barged out to the Japanese vessel Nitta Maru and beaten as they were forced into holds deep within the ship with no toilet facilities or drinking water. They sat amid their own waste for almost two weeks as they sailed toward slave labor camps in Japan and Japanese-occupied China, where they remained until the war ended.

Within the first year of captivity, LeRoy lost almost 100 pounds, as did many other prisoners. LeRoy never fully recovered from almost four years of slaving in steel mills and ship yards on a starvation diet of fewer than 600 calories a day. He suffered from beri-beri, pellagra, dysentery and other effects of severe malnutrition. He was very near death and suffering from gangrene in his leg when American forces found him three weeks after the war had ended. He was flown to the United States and hospitalized for several months before he was honorably discharged in February 1946.

Not long after the war, he lost one of his kidneys, which was damaged from his frequent beatings during captivity. Other physical and mental ramifications of wartime captivity followed him throughout his life. With thanks to his dedicated doctors who monitored and treated his serious health problems, he was able to lead a fairly normal life.

Over the post-war years, annual reunions have forged lifelong bonds among the Wake Island defenders and their families. In 1988, they returned to Wake Island under totally different -- and joyful -- circumstances.

For participation in the defense of Wake Island, LeRoy and his comrades were awarded The First Presidential Unit Citation issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. He also was awarded the Purple Heart, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, United States Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal, United States Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, Prisoner of War Medal, World War II -- Medal of Freedom, American Defense Medal (issued by the president of the United States) and the China Service Medal (from the Chinese government for service in China while a prisoner of war of the Japanese).

He was honored in 1998 when University of Nebraska Press chose his photo for the cover of an award-winning history book, "Facing Fearful Odds -- The Siege of Wake Island" by author/historian Dr. Gregory J.W. Urwin.

After the war, he married and had two sons and three daughters, 10 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. He was a good-natured family man with a delightful quick wit, and greatly loved by his large extended family.

He had worked in the concrete industry until he retired in 1980 due to health reasons. He had been the first manager of the Concrete Pump Division for Meyer Material Co. in Des Plaines, which was instrumental in introducing concrete pumping (an innovation in placing concrete) to the Chicago area.

He was a life member of The American Ex-Prisoners of War, The Defenders of Wake Island, The Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S., The American Legion, The Disabled Veterans and The Survivors of Wake, Guam, and Cavite.

He was a peace-loving man with a strong faith in God. He bore no animosity toward his captors and throughout his life he prayed for peace in the world.

LeRoy is survived by Cecilia, his devoted wife of 61 years; sons Philip Schneider and James (Colleen) Schneider; daughters Mary Jo (Joseph) Heyen, Patricia Schneider and Joan (William) Bell; grandchildren Anne Marie (Robert) Sweet, Kristen (Jason) Dolan, Andrew (Sarah) Schneider, Jessica Schneider, Christopher Schneider, Melissa Schneider, Emily Anderson, Anna Anderson and Laura Anderson; great-grandchildren Austin Sweet, Courtney Sweet, Jake Dolan and Lauren Dolan; brother Ervin Schneider; and many nieces, nephews and cousins.

He was preceded in death by his granddaughter Tiffany Schneider; his parents, Philip and Catherine Schneider; and brother Willard Schneider.