"I'm probably the only G.I. in the U.S. Army who sunk a warship single handedly." (Video Interview, 17:57)

John L. Stensby, Sr.

John Stensby, 2002 War: World War, 1939-1945 Branch: Army Unit: 60th Coast Artillery Service Location: Fort Mills, and Corregedor (Philippines); Pacific Theater Rank: Chief Warrant Officer 3 POW: Yes Place of Birth: Hales Corners, WI

John Stensby held out as long as he could from Japanese capture on the Philippines, then made an art form of sabotage whenever his captors tried to use him for slave labor. His incompetent welding job on a Japanese warship created a launch that was an extreme embarrassment for the Japanese Navy. He had to steel himself when buddy after buddy dropped by the wayside, in prison camps, on the hell ships that took POWs off to Japan and Manchuria, and in factories and mines.