John Reynolds

John E. Reynolds: There is a story of the ultimate family sacrifice that the Woodmansey clan tells. My Grandmother Kathryn (Reynolds) Woodmansey had a brother, Earl Woodmansey. Earl was known as a rolling stone. At one point, he had a ranch around Sidney Montana and he sold it for pennies on the dollar, even after oil was found on the land. Earl had a son, John, who enlisted in the Army in the 1930s. John was born November 9, 1920. This was during the Great Depression, jobs were hard to find. John was not fond of the Army and he begged his father Earl to make a payment to the Army so that he could be released. Earl told his son that he had enlisted, he needed to finish his enlistment. The records show that he was with Co. B, 31st Infantry in the Philippines at Corregidor. The Battle of Corregidor, fought May 5-6, 1942, was the culmination of the Japanese campaign for the conquest of the Philippines. Reynolds was shown to be in a “beleaguered status” from 8 December 1941 to 6 May 1942 (Public Law 490, Section 14). The Japanese Government reported to the International Red Cross, who then reported to the Army Provost Marshall the death of John Reynolds. He was reported Missing in Action and was originally reported deceased on 16 June 1943, from “Dysentery while a Prisoner of War.” Subsequent records received showed the date of death as 21 September 1942, the corrected date. He was originally interred in a Manila cemetery, but the Army sent a letter to Earl Reynolds on 28 November 1951 telling him that that SGT John Reynolds was buried at Grave 38-C, Section 82, Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, in St. Louis, MO. Woodmansey lore was that Earl Reynolds went to his grave devastated that he didn’t pay for his son’s release from the Army before World War II started. The paperwork shows that the Army was diligent in constantly informing the family of John Reynolds’ status and then where he was buried.