Trial and Triumph

Ernie Plantz responded to his country’s call, accepted duty in the American Submarine Service, developed a place of worth and comradeship, and found himself a prisoner of the enemy for three and a half grueling years; 1297 days. This is his story. A farm boy from rural West Virginia, Plantz served on the USS Perch during the opening days of World War II and was stationed in the Philippines. Anchored in Manila Bay, Plantz and the Perch had a ring-side seat to the opening round of Japan’s attack on the United States. Perch, while battling a vastly superior enemy force, was severely damaged; unable to submerge she was scuttled, and her crew became prisoners of the Japanese. Taken to a P.O.W. camp in Makassar on the island of Sulawesi, Plantz and his shipmates experienced the trials of torture, privation, and disease but triumphed over this long night of brutal captivity.