Bernard Cyrette
Era: World War II
Military Branch: Army
Mr. Cyrette served in World War II.
He was from Grand Portage, Minnesota.
He was listed as “Missing in Action, interned or captured” by the U.S. government.
Source: Duluth News Tribune, date unknown after the fall of Corregidor (see article, copied below)
“Two Grand Portage Soldiers Said ‘Missing in Action’”
Francis S. Bushman, son of John, Bushman, and Bernard Cyrette, son of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Cyrette, both of Grand Portage, are the first Cook county war casualties listed as “missing in action, interned or captured.”
The government notified the families recently to this effect, and its general nature shows that not much—if anything—is known about their plight.
Both boys were fighting under Gen. Douglas MacArthur in the Philipine Islands. At various times, it was rumored that the boys were wounded or that they had won honors for bravery in action. These rumors may both have been correct, but it is not known definitely. At any rate, it can be assumed that the Grand Portage lads gave a good account of themselves.
When the Corrigidor fell, the confusion of battle, and the taking of an unknown number of prisoners by the Japs, made it impossible for the authorities of our own nation to get a true picture of what happened. Under treaty, the list of prisoners taken by both sides is supposed to be exchanged. This has not yet been done, evidently, so as far as Bushman and Cyrette are concerned, and hundreds of others, the Government can issue only such notice as “Missing in action, interned or captured.”
