Thread: Jack Brady, WWII vet, Bataan Death March survivor

Jack Brady learned about death as a young private first class in the Army during World War II.

At age 21, he became a prisoner of war in the Philippines and survived the aptly named Bataan Death March, trudging 60 miles in six days without food or water. About 1,000 Americans died on the journey.

"It's amazing when you see so many dead people you stop feeling very much about it one way or the other," Mr. Brady would later say.

So Mr. Brady was at ease when his time came last Monday, said daughter, Karen Brady Smith. At age 87, he died at Point Defiance Village in Tacoma after a long illness.

"He was always so accepting of death," the daughter said. "He saw so much of it. He accepted it as part of life."

For years, Mr. Brady rarely spoke about the war experience. In fact, his daughter says, he rarely shared his feelings on anything. He took medication at times to curb his nightmares.

But in 2000, Mr. Brady agreed to let his family record him as he spoke at length about his time as a prisoner of war. The transcript came to 100 pages and reveals atrocities in Mr. Brady's understated narrative.

One morning, for example, Mr. Brady woke at a prisoner camp and poked the man sleeping next to him to see if he were awake.

"He didn't answer, so I looked over, and he had died during the night," Brady recalled. "So I punched the guy on the other side of me and said 'Hey, this guy over here is dead.' There wasn't any motion over there either, so I looked over on the other side and he had died during the night, too."

Mr. Brady had a close call during the Death March when — dehydrated — he saw an artesian well and ran for the water. A Japanese soldier struck him between the shoulder blades with the butt of a rifle. But Mr. Brady was lucky enough to return to the line. Often, disobedience meant death.

Mr. Brady was haunted during the war by having to leave behind a friend who just couldn't go on. He knew stopping to rest was a death sentence. After the war, Mr. Brady went to California to see the friend's parents. But when he knocked on the door, the friend answered. The Japanese had just left the man lying there, giving him a chance to escape.

Mr. Brady earned two Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star for his service. After the war, he rejoined the Army, rising to the rank of major.



After retiring from the military, he graduated from the University of Puget Sound and became a high-school math teacher, first in the Peninsula School District and later at Annie Wright School in Tacoma.

Mr. Brady was born Feb. 26, 1921, in Georgia. His wife of 40 years, Audrey, died in 1987.

He is survived by his three children, Karen Brady Smith of Kent, Adele Brady Bolson of Redmond, and Roger Brady of Monroe; two grandchildren, and his brother, Augustus Brady of Los Altos, Calif.

A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. Thursday at Temple Beth El in Tacoma. Mr. Brady will be buried at Tahoma National Cemetery in a private ceremony. Donations may be made to Temple Beth El or the Fisher House Foundation, which supports military families.

The nightmares are gone, and only peace remains. Sleep the quiet slumber.