Elmer H. Blonien was born on May 17th, 1915 to Mrs. Catherine Blonien and Mr. John Blonien. When he was fourteen years of age his family moved into Wood County, residing in Rudolph. At the age of twenty-nine, he was initiated into the United States Army where he was appointed to A Company, 192nd Tank Battalion. He was a Private in the medical detachment.


Into the fall of 1941, his division was sent overseas to the Philippine Islands. Blonien and other men in his department spent the next couple of weeks getting combat equipment ready for action. Then on the morning of December 8th, 1941, their captain informed them of the bombing of Pearl Harbor by the Japanese. They were directed to prepare their stations for attacks. The next morning Mr. Blonien lived through the bombing of Clark Field. Yet, several months following that attack, he spent fighting the Japanese and became a prisoner of war. During his imprisonment he was severely beaten with critical injuries. Camp doctors decided that the only way to save his life was to perform surgery.


Elmer H. Blonien died shortly after surgery on October 20th, 1942 due to a ruptured spleen. He was buried in the camp cemetery. He was the 2nd Wood County soldier known to have perished while a prisoner and to this day his final resting place is unknown. UPDATE: Elmber Blonien's remains were identified in 2025 and he will be buried in the Rudolph Cemetery in 2026.


Written By, Tianna Vanderhei