Frank H. Bigelow, POW of WWII, dies

He taught another generation about the harsh conditions in the Japanese camps, where he lost a leg but never lost his fighting spirit.

By JEFFREY S. SOLOCHEK, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published July 17, 2003

BROOKSVILLE - Frank H. Bigelow never got the compensation he sought from Japanese companies he said enslaved him and other American prisoners during World War II.

But before he died Thursday (July 10, 2003) at 81, the Navy veteran, whom friends remembered as generous, gregarious and, above all, patriotic, ably highlighted a dark part of world history that otherwise might never have surfaced.
Using the news media, congressional hearings, school speeches and even a lawsuit, Mr. Bigelow taught the world about the camps where captured American soldiers like himself were forced to work, unpaid, in harsh and dangerous conditions. He spent more than two years, and lost a leg, laboring in the Mitsui Co. coal mines of Omuta, Japan.
"One of his main things was educating young people about it," said Charlene Bigelow, his wife of 10 months.
In a recent letter to Mr. Bigelow, one of his lawyers called him an inspiration, a joy and a "true American hero." Mrs. Bigelow emphasized the part where the lawyer called her husband a spokesman for his cause, who created a legacy so people will know the story.

Born in North Dakota, Mr. Bigelow was a 19-year-old truck driver when he enlisted in the Navy about a year before the attack on Pearl Harbor. He was seeking respite from North Dakota winters, and he volunteered for duty that would take him to the tropics.

He wound up on the island of Corregidor in the Philippines, which the Japanese captured in 1942, and was shipped to Omuta in 1943 as a prisoner of war. He was released after the bombing of Nagasaki in 1945.

Mr. Bigelow owned a taxi company in suburban Washington, D.C., before retiring to Brooksville in 1979. While living here, he made a name for himself as an activist and a fighter.
In addition to his time devoted to veterans issues, he fought the Clover Leaf Farms owners for reneging on a promise to keep monthly rent at $85 forever. A judge backed Mr. Bigelow and 154 other residents in their efforts to retain the "lifetime leases."
"He was very active in everything there was," Mrs. Bigelow said. "That was his life."
John Trepes, a friend of 15 years who said Mr. Bigelow was like a brother, said Mr. Bigelow was a "bright, outstanding man" who was happy with his life. "He was a man who lived his whole life with a patriotic duty to his country. He loved the people around him," Trepes said. "He always kissed the ladies and he always had a good word to say for everybody."

Mr. Bigelow died of complications from melanoma, which had spread to his lungs. A memorial service will be at 12:30 p.m. Monday at Clover Leaf Farms in Brooksville, followed by honors at Florida National Cemetery in Sumter County.
 
Main Page    Biographies Page   Bigelow's Biography