John L. Schock Papers, 1904-1962
0.5 Linear feet (1 manuscript box and 1 tube)
The John L. Schock Papers document Schock's military service, imprisonment, and his death in the Philippines during WWII. The collection includes personal documents, educational records, and professional achievements from childhood to adulthood.
The Correspondence series consists of letters from Schock to his family, including a series of 19 postcards used as stationary and written during a trip to Japan before the outbreak of war; details of his capture; 9 postcards (8 original and 1 photocopy) sent from prison camps; and telegrams to his mother on Mother's Day.
Letters from others to his family provide information regarding his well-being while imprisoned and his death on the Hell Ship "Brazil Maru."
Government correspondence consists of letters from the War Department, Army Service Forces, a member of Congress, and Information Circulars from the Prisoner of War Information Bureau on how to send mail to POWs. A handwritten note from Schock found at Bilibid along with a letter from the War Department detailing its discovery is included. The note was designed for some kind of Japanese radio broadcast, possibly as propaganda. Liberating soldiers found it among other items left at the camp at the end of the war. Of note is a telegram from the Secretary of War, informing the family of Schock's death.
The Miscellaneous subseries contains a notebook, photographs, clippings, a small badge, and various documents. The small, spiral bound notebook was recovered in Cabanatuan where Schock buried it along with the Busuanga Mine badge. The notebook contains phonetic translations of Japanese words and phrases; notes on treatment and care of specific POWs; ledger entries of "pay" to POWs; and notes on POW diet and how it was supplemented.
There are several yearbook page fragments; one photograph of Fort Mills, Philippines before the fall of Bataan; one unidentified negative; and a limited number of local newspaper clippings where Colonel Schock is mentioned.
Also included are assorted documents - bank records related to property sale, a letter of recommendation, and certificates related to Schock's education, military service, and professional activities, including diplomas, professional awards, military certificates, and report cards.