Former POW honored in Mayodan

Photos and memorabilia recalling the history of Mayodan cover the walls of the red room at Mountain Side Restaurant, providing the perfect atmosphere for an event of historic significance Friday afternoon.
Friends and family of Conrad Alberty crowded into the room with representatives from the U.S. Army to make a surprise presentation to Alberty in recognition of his World War II experiences as a POW and survivor of the Bataan Death March.
“The more I heard about this man’s story, the more I realized something had to be done to properly honor him for his sacrifice and service to his country,” said Anthony Reed, an ambassador at-large for the U.S. Army Reserve.
Reed first heard the story from Alberty’s nephew, Ed Barham, during a social event in Culpepper, Va. Barham asked Reed about his military service and the conversation soon evolved to a discussion of Alberty’s experiences during WWII.
“I just became intrigued by his uncle’s service; how he came back into his community without being fully recognized for his extraordinary service,” Reed said.
Reed said he often heard stories about men and women who gave up a lot to complete their military duties and came back unheralded.
“They just went back to pumping gas, working in the bank or whatever,” he said. “I’d seen so much of that and I just told Ed, ‘We’re going to fix this and make it right.’”
That chance conversation one year ago initiated the process that led to Friday’s ceremony.
Working with Lt. Gen. Jack Stultz, chief of Army Reserve and commanding general of the U.S. Army Reserve Command, Reed was able to secure a Welcome Home Warrior Citizen Award for Alberty. Established to honor Army Reserve soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, Reed required special permission to present it to Alberty.
“Because of his extraordinary experiences in service we were able to get the regulations amended to present him with the same award these brave servicemen receive,” Reed said.
Presenting the award to Alberty, Army Reserve Ambassador for North Carolina Johnny Dwiggins called the veteran “a true patriot.”
“It’s not often you get the opportunity to meet someone who has endured and lived through the things that Conrad has experienced,” Dwiggins said.
Alberty’s story began as 16-year-old enlistee in the U.S. Army. Alberty said he recalled listening to reports from London as a youngster of war in Europe with Germany.
“When I enlisted I wanted to get as far from Europe as possible, so they sent me to the Philippines – right into the trap,” Alberty said.
About 75,000 Filipino and American soldiers surrendered to the Japanese army on April 9, 1942 during the final stage of the Battle of Bataan – the single largest surrender of a military force in American history. The next day, the Japanese began moving those prisoners of war from Mariveles at the southern end of the Bataan peninsula to Camp O’Donnell, a prison camp about 80 miles north. The prisoners were force-marched about 60 miles of that journey, to a rail station in San Fernando, in only six days.
“The forcible transfer was characterized by wide-ranging physical abuse and murder, resulting in very, very high death rates among the prisoners,” Reed said. “Beheadings and casual shootings were among the more merciful actions taken against the prisoners.”
The prisoners were denied food or water while being forced to march, sometimes day and night, for nearly a week in tropical heat. Prisoners were often beaten or killed for trying to assist another prisoner who fell due to weakness. Those who stopped or rebelled were killed to keep the march moving forward.
Presenting Alberty with the Welcome Home Warrior flag, Dwiggins mentioned the words displayed on the flag – “Ready and Relevant.”
“Just like today’s soldiers this flag represents, you were ready when the call to duty came and your service was certainly relevant to the needs of our nation at that time,” Dwiggins said. “Because of you and men like you, I could lay my head on my pillow last night and sleep without worrying about somebody coming after me or the bad guys harassing me. Thank you for what you did. Your nation is truly indebted to you.”
In addition to the Warrior Citizen Award, Reed also prepared a special presentation for Alberty. Reed checked Alberty’s service records to find all of the awards, medals and commendations he earned during his years of service. He collected all of those awards – including the Combat Infantry Award, two bronze stars, two purple hearts, the Presidential Distinguished Unit Citation and numerous campaign medals from the U.S. Army and Filipino awards – framed them and gave them to Alberty.
“This guy is something else,” Reed said. “He’s really something else.”
Addressing his uncle near the end of Friday’s ceremony, Barham fought back tears as he spoke.
“I just want you to know that you’ve always been a hero to me, to all of us,” Barham said. “Today, we want to tell you we love you and thank you for being such a great role model.”
Choking back tears of his own, Alberty, 83, humbly acknowledged the honors bestowed on him for service to his country more than 60 years ago. As he slowly stood to speak, still weak after an illness requiring months of hospitalization and rehabilitation, his voice grew stronger as started telling the familiar story he has presented to schools, military cadets and civic organizations for many years.
“It was a long road, a hard road, but I made it,” he said. “I faced it and did the best I could, but so many men didn’t make it back.”
Alberty said only one other member of his company of 125 men remain today – only about 100 from his entire regiment.
“I’ve had a great life, but I think of so many men then and still today that give their lives for their country,” he said. “As Abraham Lincoln said, they ‘gave the full measure’ for their country.”
Although his life was spared during the Bataan Death March and through years as a POW, Alberty suffered great physical and mental brutality. He said he suffered from malaria eight or nine times during his captivity and was wounded in the stomach. In order to maintain some form of cleanliness, since prisoners were only allowed one set of clothes, he would wash outside during the frequent rains in the region.
Many of the men imprisoned died from malnutrition, but Alberty stayed healthier than some with a little trick. The men lived off of nothing but rice and fish soup and had to scrounge for anything else.
“I got iron in my diet by sticking an old rusty nail in a can with some water and shaking it up over a couple or three days,” he said. “Then I’d drink the water to get some iron and minerals.”
When the war ended and Alberty was sent back to a hospital in San Francisco to recover from his ordeal, he weighed only 87 pounds.
“It took a while to get my weight and strength back, but I’ve tried to keep fit ever since,” he said.
Like Barham, Alberty’s daughter, Amy Walton, said her father had always been a great role model for her. She recently looked through an article about Bataan in a National Geographic magazine with her father and he pointed out his old army barracks in an aerial photograph.
Later, Walton found a photo of those barracks online and made the photo into a screensaver for her computer at work.
“Now, whenever I get up against the wall or upset over something, I just bring up that screensaver,” Walton said. “It reminds me of what my dad went through, and if he can conquer something like that, I can certainly conquer whatever minute obstacles I have to face.”