Edwin Rue – Harrodsburg Tanker

Edwin Wilson 'Skip' Rue

Major

Maj. Edwin Wilson 'Skip' Rue (Harrodsburg Tankers, Survivor, WW II) 1910–2004 BIRTH 31 MAY 1910 • Harrodsburg, Mercer, Kentucky, USA DEATH 28 NOV 2004 • dies at UK Med Center, Lexington, Fayette, Kentucky; buried in Spring Hill Cemetery, Harrodsburg, Mercer County, Kentucky, USA; MEMORIAL ID, 12172891 (He had a wife and 2 daughters.)

He was former owner and operator of the Rue Hardware Store on Main Street in Harrodsburg and a former salesman for C. Worth in Lexington.

Edwin W. "Skip" Rue BIRTH, 31 May 1910 DEATH, 28 Nov 2004 (aged 94) BURIAL, Spring Hill Cemetery, Harrodsburg, Mercer County, Kentucky, USA MEMORIAL ID, 12172891 Edwin W. "Skip" Rue, age 94, Tremont Avenue, Lexington, KY, husband of Frances True Brown Rue, died Sunday, November 28, 2004 at the University of Kentucky Medical Center. Born May 31, 1910, he was the son of the late Insco W. Rue Sr. and Charlotte Forbes Rue. He was one of the last seven surviving members of the Kentucky National Guard Unit from Harrodsburg in the Bataan Death March during World War II having received the rank of Major. He survived the Bataan Death March and three and one-half years as a Prisoner of War of the Japanese after which he received the Bronze Star. He was former owner and operator of the Rue Hardware Store on Main Street in Harrodsburg and a former salesman for C. Worth in Lexington. Survivors in addition to his wife include two daughters: Linda (Jacob Poons) Rue Allen, New York, NY and Joan (Marc Schlackman) Rue, Lexington; two brothers, Leslie Rue, Harrodsburg and Rev. Clarence Rue, Amarillo, TX.; one sister, Aileen Doehler, Littleton, CO; and two granddaughters, Sara Rue Livingston, Los Angeles, CA. and Leah Emily Schlackman, Lexington. He was preceded in death by three brothers, Frank, Insco II, and Arch Rue; five sisters, Lorraine Rue, Lois Reed, Zoe Anna Overstreet, Eula Lee Ison, and Elsie McMurtry, and one grandson, Edwin Brown Allen. Funeral services will be conducted 2:00 pm Wednesday, December 1st at the Ransdell Funeral Chapel by Dr. Don Chase. Burial will be in the Spring Hill Cemetery with Military Honors. Visitation will be from 12:00 noon Wednesday until the hour of service at the chapel. The family will receive friends at his residence at 850 Tremont Avenue in Lexington on Tuesday from 4:00 pm until 6:00 pm. Memorial contributions are suggested to the Disabled American Veterans. Notes: Edwin served with the 192nd Tank Battalion. The 192nd and 194th Tank Battalions defended the Philippines against the Imperial Japanese Invasion in what was America's first tank engagement of World War II. Overwhelmed, the 192nd and 194th covered the retreat to the Bataan Peninsula. They defended the air field, the beaches, and provided support to the Infantry. On 8 Apr 1942, the tank units received codeword "Crash", which was an order to destroy their remaining Stuart tanks. On 9 Apr 1942, American and Filipino forces on Bataan were compelled to surrender. The infamous Bataan Death March followed.:

Edwin Wilson Rue Edwin W. “Skip” Rue joined the 38th Tank Company in 1934 as a Private along with his brother Arch. Skip became an officer at Fort Knox. He began the Death March at Balanga in the south of Bataan. He was put onto a train at San Fernando to Capas for the walk to Camp O'Donnell arriving some five days after beginning the journey. He was transferred to Cabanatuan. Sent to Japan on the Nagato Maru. Held at Zentsuji in Japan and worked as a stevedore in the rail yards of the Port of Takamasu. In June 1945, was sent to Rokushi Camp. After he was liberated, he was promoted to Major and returned to Harrodsburg and ran his own business and eventually moving to Lexington. He died on November 28, 2004.