Mr. J. C. Pardue

Funeral services and burial with full military honors will be held on Friday, June 29, for J. C. Pardue, 94, a retired accountant and survivor of the infamous World War II Bataan Death March and Japanese prison camps. Mr. Pardue went to be with his Lord on Monday, June 25, passing away at his home with family by his side. The funeral will be conducted by Rev. Warren Eckhardt in the chapel of North Monroe Baptist Church at 2:00 pm, and burial will follow at the Mulhearn Memorial Park Cemetery. 

He is survived by his wife of sixty-six years, Demaris Whitard Pardue: two daughters, Janis Pardue Hill and husband Charles A. Hill, Jr. and Gayle Pardue Williams and husband Mark L. Williams; four grandchildren, Charles A. (Trey) Hill III, Amy H. Bourgeous and husband Bartley P. Bourgeous, Zachary M. Williams, and Adeline E. Williams; one great grandson, Jack C. Hill; and two great granddaughters, Harper K. Bourgeois and Emma J. Bourgeois; two brothers, Leo Pardue and wife Bertha, and Kenyon Pardue; five sisters, Ernestine Westbrook, Iris Smith, Joye Baker, Carrie Springfield, and Cora Crain and husband Benoit; one brother-in-law, Charles R. Whitard and wife Kadie; and a myriad of nieces, nephews, and their children and grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Jordan Liliston (Jurd) Pardue and wife Alma Abscent Pardue; infant sister, Pauline Pardue, and infant brother, Lloyd Pardue; brothers, Quentin Pardue and wife Edwina, and John Dempsey Pardue and wife Mattie; sister, Kathlene Harrell and husband Wilson; father-in-law and mother-in-law, Frank S. and Janie L. Whitard; and brother-in-law, William F. Whitard and wife Carolyn; and brother-in-law, John Roland Baker..

J. C. Pardue was born October 25, 1917, in Downsville, LA and graduated valedictorian from Linville High School. In 1939, he joined the United States Army Air Corp, later named the United States Air Force, and served stateside until the bombing of Pearl Harbor. A member of the 17th Squadron of the 27th Bombardment Group, he was sent to the Philippines to defend the Bataan Peninsula. When Bataan fell in April of 1942, Mr. Pardue was one of the thousands of American and Philippine soldiers who were captured and made to march the 55 mile highway to the northern part of Luzon, the largest of the islands. That march, one of the atrocities of twentieth century warfare, became known as the Bataan Death March because of the merciless treatment by the Japanese and the approximately 16,000 American and Filipino soldiers who died or were executed along the way. At the end of the march, he spent three years in the POW camps O’Donnell and Cabanatuan I and in the steel mills in Japan. When the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, he was a slave laborer in the mill in Kyushu, Japan. 

He continued to serve his country until July of 1949 when he was honorably discharged at the rank of T/Sergeant, a highly decorated patriot with numerous medals, among them the Purple Heart. In spite of the medals, however, his greatest treasure was the Bible he carried with him throughout the Death March and the prison camps; and he loved to tell the story of how it was taken from him and nearly destroyed by artillery fire on a total of three separate occasions, yet it was always returned to him. He wrote extensively and eloquently on his days in the camps and shared his stories with many, including young people working on school projects.

After returning to civilian life, Mr. Pardue enrolled at Northeast State College, currently the University of Louisiana Monroe, and graduated with an accounting degree in 1954. He spent most of his career at Commercial Solvents Corporation in Sterlington, Louisiana. A strong and dedicated Christian and a Charter Member of North Monroe Baptist Church, he spent many hours in his later years reading and studying the Bible.

Mr. Pardue was also an active member of local and national XPOW organizations. According to Naline Salone, Former POW Coordinator at Barksdale Air Force, “Mr. Pardue’s assistance in the organization of the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Bataan Death March in 1992 was invaluable, and had it not been for his provision of information and materials, the celebration would never have occurred on the scale that it did. Because of his input, the commemoration made a significant contribution to the history of the armed force.” Continuing, she commented on how he wanted no credit or accolades, calling him “a man of great intelligence but an even greater humility.”

A member of that group now labeled “The Greatest Generation,” J. C. Pardue will be sorely missed by his family and friends, not because he is an American hero but because he lived a godly, kind, and courageous life. His family would like to thank the friends and caregivers who have offered prayers and support over the last few months, specifically, Home Care Resources and Agape Hospice; Nurse Practitioner Matilda Stephens; and nurses and nurse assistants, Tracie O’Neal, Charlotte Woodard, Vivien Hollis, Mylinda Smith, Tosha Williams, Carol Tolbird, Sandra Buckan, and Martha Mullens. Finally, and most importantly, the family extends great love and thanks to Patricia Sutton, without whom our daddy’s last days would have been infinitely more difficult, and to Naline Salone, on Barksdale Air Force Base, a great friend and source of strength and support through the years.

Pallbearers will be Charles A. Hill, Jr., Mark L. Williams, Charles A. (Trey) Hill III, Zachary Williams, Bartley Bourgeois, and Herbert Manley.

Visitation will be from 5:00PM until 7:00PM Thursday at Mulhearn Funeral Home Monroe.

In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to the North Monroe Baptist Church or a favorite charity.

Online Registry/Condolences: www.mulhearnfuneralhome.com





Visitation
5-7PM Thursday, June 28, 2012
Mulhearn Funeral Home
Sterlington Road, Monroe

Service
2PM Friday, June 29, 2012
North Monroe Baptist Church

Interment
Mulhearn Memorial Park Cemetery