Identity elements
Reference code
Name and location of repository
Level of description
Collection
Title
Willibald C. Bianchi Collection
Date(s)
- 1933-2001 (Creation)
Extent
0.42 linear feet [1 document case]
Name of creator
Biographical history
Willibald C. Bianchi was born March 12, 1915, in New Ulm, Minnesota to Joseph and Carrie Bianchi.
He enrolled at South Dakota State College in 1937. An active member of the R.O.T.C., Bianchi was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Army upon his graduation in 1940.
That fall, Bianchi entered Infantry School in Fort Benning, Georgia, where he was later promoted to First Lieutenant. In April 1941, Bianchi joined the 45th Infantry Regiment of Philippine Scouts. His unit was to provide military training to Filipinos.
Bianchi remained in the Philippines after the United States entered World War II. On February 3, 1942, he was injured during the Battle of Bataan. Despite being wounded multiple times, he continued to push back Japanese troops until an explosion disabled him. As a result of his actions, General Douglas MacArthur presented Bianchi with a Congressional Medal of Honor, making him the third recipient of the medal during World War II.
After recuperating, Bianchi returned to service and received a promotion to Captain. Along with 75,000 other American and Filipino soldiers, he was captured by the Japanese on April 9, 1942. The captives marched 65 miles across the Bataan Peninsula in the heat with no food or water, in what is known as the Bataan Death March. Bianchi worked to help his fellow prisoners survive the grueling conditions of the march and prison camps.
After more than two years of being held prisoner, Bianchi was detained in several prison camps. On January 9, 1945, he was being held on an unmarked prison ship, which was bombed by an American airplane. He died instantly.
His body was never recovered, and Bianchi is remembered on the Wall of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial in Manila, Philippines. His grave marker is located at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Honolulu, Hawaii.
In 1998, South Dakota State University honored Captain Willibald Bianchi by dedicating a plaque placed in the Student Union, creating a scholarship, and holding a ceremony.
Content and structure elements
Scope and content
The collection consists of collected materials relating to the life of Captain Willibald C. Bianchi. The materials were used by the Tom Beattie and the Willibald Bianchi Memorial and Scholarship Committee to create a memorial to Bianchi at South Dakota State University. Files contain information regarding the scholarship, ceremony, and plaque. These materials also include news clippings, remembrances, and a photocopy of the Congressional Medal of Honor certificate. Items of significance comprise photocopies of letters from Bianchi to his family while he was stationed in the Philippines and as a prisoner of war.
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use elements
Conditions governing access
Open. Items in this collection do not circulate and may be used in-house only. Researchers conducting extensive research are asked to make an advance appointment to access archival material. Please call or e-mail prior to visiting the collection and indicate as much detail as possible about a particular topic and intended use.
Physical access
Technical access
Conditions governing reproduction
South Dakota State University supports access to the materials, published and unpublished, in its collections. Nonetheless, access to some items may be restricted as a result of their fragile condition or by contractual agreements with donors.
Languages of the material
- English
Scripts of the material
Language and script notes
Finding aids
Acquisition and appraisal elements
Custodial history
Immediate source of acquisition
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information
Accruals
Related materials elements
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related archival materials
Related descriptions
Notes element
General note
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Specialized notes
Alternative identifier(s)
ID
ID
Description control element
Rules or conventions
Sources used
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
- Bianchi, Willibald C. (Subject)