U.S. Army Cpl. Leo J. Barlosky to be Laid to Rest at Cape Canaveral National Cemetery 82 Years After Dying in Japanese Captivity

remains were identified in 2022 using dental and anthropological analysis, circumstantial evidence and mitochondrial DNA analysis

Corporal Barlosk was captured at age 24 by the Japanese and endured the Bataan Death March, only to die while a prisoner of war

BREVARD COUNTY • TITUSVILLE, FLORIDA – North Brevard Funeral Home is inviting the public to attend the final interment of World War II  U.S. Army Corporal Leo J. Barlosky at Cape Canaveral National Cemetery on Tuesday, Sept. 10, at 2:30 p.m.

Corporal Barlosky bravely served during World War II and was captured, becoming a Prisoner of War at Cabanatuan POW Camp, the same camp that was featured in the movie The Great Raid.

Tragically, he died in captivity on July 27, 1942, and was initially buried in a designated grave at the camp. Due to the challenges and chaos of war, proper procedures were not followed, leading to the burial of many unidentified remains.

In recent years, renewed efforts to identify unknown remains led to the identification of Corporal Barlosky. With the support of his distant relatives, who were located through these efforts, arrangements have been made to provide him with the honorable burial he deserves.

“It is our privilege to be a part of this momentous occasion, as we lay to rest a patriot who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country,” said a North Brevard Funeral Home spokesperson. “We invite the community to join us in paying tribute to Corporal Barlosky and honoring his service and sacrifice.”

North Brevard Funeral Home, which is located at 1450 Norwood Avenue in Titusville, said if you wish to be part of the procession to the cemetery, please arrive to the funeral home at 1:30 p.m. on September 10.

Corporal Barlosk was captured at age 24 by the Japanese and endured the Bataan Death March, only to die while a prisoner of war.

In late 1941, he was a member of the 7th Chemical Company, Aviation, when Japanese forces invaded the Philippine Islands. After intense fighting, and with no hope for resupply, the Bataan peninsula was surrendered on April 9, 1942.

The men, already desperately weakened by hunger and disease, suffered unspeakably during the March. Regardless of their condition, POWs who could not continue or keep up with the pace were summarily executed. Even stopping to relieve oneself could bring death, so many chose to continue walking while relieving themselves.

Corporal Barlosky was reported captured when U.S. forces in Bataan surrendered and he was among the POWs subjected to the 65-mile Bataan Death March. He was held at the Cabanatuan POW camp where more than 2,500 POWs died.

According to prison camp and other historical records, Corporal Barlosky died July 27, 1942, and was buried in the Cabanatuan Camp Cemetery in Common Grave 225.

According to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, those remains were exhumed after the war ended and relocated in a mausoleum near Manila. In 1947, the American Graves Registration Service examined the remains, but were able to identify only three bodies.

The remains were buried at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial as “Unknowns.”

Then in 2018, the remains were disinterred and taken a laboratory in Hawaii for analysis where scientists, using dental and anthropological analysis, circumstantial evidence and mitochondrial DNA analysis were able to identify Barlosky’s remains in September 2022.

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