Stone Gardens: Pope County gravesite holds mortal remains of soldier who survived WWII Japanese POW prison

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In the tranquil rows of Pope County’s Appleton Cemetery, the headstone of Staff Sgt,. Charles Lee Mathis stands as a testament to a World War II Marine’s courage, survival, and deep ties to Arkansas.

A defender of Wake Island and a prisoner of war, Mathis, who died on February 23, 1977, at age 56, earned military honors that reflect his extraordinary sacrifice. His story, featured in the “Stone Garden” series, weaves his wartime valor into the fabric of his home state.

Born on September 5, 1920, in Griffin, Union County, Arkansas, Charles Lee Mathis grew up in a farming family, son of Connie Lee and Beulah Mattie Goodall Mathis. The 1940 Census shows him at 19, living with his parents and brother William Randall, with one year of high school and no steady job--a common reality in Depression-era rural Arkansas.

Seeking better prospects, Mathis moved to California, working for the Wingland Lumber Company while staying with his aunt, Fannie Hunter. His lumber experience in logging and milling built skills he applied as a civilian contractor and Marine.

By 1941, Mathis was on Wake Island, a U.S. outpost 2,300 miles west of Honolulu, employed by Contractors Pacific Naval Air Bases (CPNAB) and enlisted as a Private First Class with the 1st Marine Defense Battalion. His dual role placed him at the forefront of the island’s defenses when Japan attacked on December 8, 1941, hours after Pearl Harbor.

Thirty-six Mitsubishi bombers destroyed half of Wake’s fighters and decimated aviation personnel. Mathis stood with the defenders, who achieved a rare early victory on December 11 by repelling a Japanese landing and sinking two destroyers.

On December 23, a larger Japanese force overran Wake, capturing Mathis and 1,621 others. His captivity was brutal: bound with wire, denied food and water for two days, and threatened with execution. Shipped to China on the Nitta Maru, he endured a torturous voyage marked by beatings and the execution of five prisoners.

At Shanghai’s Woosung camp, and later Kiangwan in 1942, Mathis faced overcrowded barracks, meager rice-and-soup rations, and forced labor on Japanese military projects. Diseases like dysentery and beriberi killed many--45 died at Woosung in 1942 alone.

Mathis persevered through small acts of resistance and rare relief, such as a Christmas 1942 meal arranged by an American civilian. In May 1945, he endured a grueling train transfer to Fengtai, near Peking, before liberation in September 1945. Processed in Guam, he returned to Arkansas.

Mathis settled in Pope County, near his burial site, working in Arkansas’s timber and construction trades, leveraging his pre-war skills. The physical and psychological toll of captivity--malnutrition, disease, and trauma--shaped his later years.

His service was recognized with significant military honors. As a Wake Island defender, Mathis received the Purple Heart for wounds and hardships endured during captivity.

A 1981 congressional ruling granted civilian contractors on Wake Island full veteran status, elevating Mathis’s rank to Staff Sergeant, as noted on his headstone, and awarding him the Presidential Unit Citation for the 1st Marine Defense Battalion’s heroic defense.

He also received the Prisoner of War Medal, established in 1985, honoring his endurance through captivity.

Mathis’s headstone in Appleton Cemetery, near those of his parents, Connie (d. 1958) and Beulah (d. 1984), and brother William (d. 2005), proudly notes his Marine service and honors.

From Union County to the Pacific and back to Pope County, his journey reflects the cost of war and the strength of home. His Purple Heart, Presidential Unit Citation, and Prisoner of War Medal stand as enduring symbols of his sacrifice, etched into the legacy of an Arkansas hero.

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