Family and Profession Refocused after Trip to Bataan

Photo By Karlheinz Wedhorn | Peggy Garza, chair of the English Language Program Department at the George C. Marshall European Center’s Partner Language Training Center Europe (PLTCE) addresses a language class. Garza recently traveled to the Philippines to learn more about her father, a survivor of the Bataan Death March.  

GARMISCH-PARTENKIRCHEN, BY, GERMANY

05.15.2017

Story by James Brooks 

George C. Marshall Center for Security Studies

GARMISCH-PARTENKIRCHEN, Germany (May 16, 2017) – Peggy Garza, chair of the English Language Program Department at the George C. Marshall European Center’s Partner Language Training Center Europe (PLTCE) never knew the details of her father’s World War II prisoner-of-war experience. But she knows a little more after traveling to the Philippines this past April to retrace his steps along the Bataan Death March.

“My father didn’t tell us much about his experience. I remember growing up and remember summers where he would shake violently when his malaria returned,” said Garza. “I helped him to apply and receive the POW medal when it was authorized. He was proud of that medal.”

FOLLOWING IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF HER FATHER

Garza’s father, William Schoeffler, was an Army private with the 803rd Engineer Battalion at Clark Air Base when war broke out in Dec. 1941. On Apr. 9, 1942, Schoeffler and his unit surrendered to Japanese forces. Schoeffler and his unit joined the forced procession approximately 17 kilometers from the start in Mariveles near a place called “Little Baguio” where the Japanese herded U.S. and Philippine prisoners of war. Schoeffler survived the forced march and internment for more than three and a half years in a camp near Cabanatuan, Luzon, Phillipines. Of the approximately 3200 American POWs held there, Schoeffler was one of only 647 liberated at the end of the war.

“My brother and I traveled to where his march began and then to San Feranando where my father was put into a railroad boxcar and moved to the prisoner of war camp. Many more died during that trip. I don’t know how he survived,” said Garza. “The memorials where the prisoner of war camp stood are not in great condition. But this was a trip we planned on doing for some time. Hearing Philippine President speak not only made me proud of my father’s legacy but put my job into a different perspective.”

RECOMMITMENT TO TODAY’S THREATS

Garza and her brother were among the thousands who attended the 75th Commemoration of the Araw ng Kagitingan and Veterans’ Week held at Mt. Samat National Shrine in Pilar, Bataan on April 9. There, they heard Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte say: “As we fought together to stave off the enemy then, so should we help each other to address the threats that confront our societies, our region and our world. To be sure, there will be difficulties. Where before the lines of duties where clearly drawn, now the menace of terrorism, violent extremism and transnational crimes – such as the illegal drug trade – have called into question efforts to uphold the responsibility to defend the interests of the common good.”

Those words struck a chord with Garza. Her father’s legacy was a reflection of her day-to-day work at PLTCE.

“I’m listening to Duterte and when he said those words, I thought, ‘Hey! He’s talking about the Marshall Center!’ That’s exactly what we do—bring people together to fight those threats. I was not only proud of my father’s service but I think I appreciate the contribution my coworkers and I are making today,” said Garza.

THE KEY TO PERSEVERANCE

The journey to the Philippines to learn more about her father’s past answered many questions. But with more understanding came questions that will need more time to reflect on.

“Going there was more personal for me. I don’t know how he survived. He was the oldest sibling in his family. I read in some of his war time letters my mother saved, where he was very committed to his brothers and sisters and he frequently asked if they were behaving and doing well in school. I think this commitment helped him survive during his captivity,” said Garza. “He was a very religious man and I think that mattered, too.”

For any service member or Department of Defense civilian who must juggle the training requirements for more than 800 students a year to make sure their linguist skills meet stringent requirements of their profession, a trip to another foreign country might just be answer to many questions about service to the nation.

• Date Taken: 05.15.2017
• Date Posted: 05.17.2017 04:00
• Story ID: 234104
• Location: GARMISCH-PARTENKIRCHEN, BY, DE