Last Utah survivor of Bataan Death March dies at 96

SALT LAKE CITY — A Utah veteran who survived captivity during World War II has died at the age of 96.

The Deseret News reports Theodore “Ted” Kampf was the last living Utah resident to survive the Bataan Death March and last to be held captive as a prisoner of war in a Japanese forced labor camp, where he was kept for 3.5 years.

He died Sunday in Salt Lake City.

His nephew, Robert Race, said Kampf served in the Army Air Corps in the Pacific theater and was sent to the Philippines where U.S. troops attempted to defend the coastline with only limited weapons.

Surrounded and outnumbered by Japanese forces, he was among 76,000 U.S. soldiers forced to surrender and march more than 50 miles to where trains took them to an airstrip to be flown to Japan.

In Other News

MacArthur still endures as a larger-than-life figure — for good or ill

Few subjects in military history are more loaded than public perception of Douglas MacArthur.

January 6 convict asks for light sentence in order to remain in Navy

An active-duty service member convicted in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack urged a judge for a light sentence in order to remain in the Navy.

Agreement helps military spouses keep federal jobs in overseas moves

Here's how an agreement between the Pentagon and State Department will help federally employed military spouses move their jobs overseas in a PCS.

Biden says uncle’s remains never found during WWII due to cannibals

While the claim contradicts the DPAA report about his uncle's fate, Biden's comments on cannibalism in the region during WWII are not far off.

Will the Supreme Court’s GI Bill ruling mean more money for vets?

A major veterans education benefits ruling by the Supreme Court this week could have far-reaching effects for millions of students.

Load More