Former Sioux City Man Is Prisoner of Japs in China
Sergeant John Mercurio, a former Sioux Cityan with more than 20 years service in the Marine Corps, now is a prisoner of the Japanese in China, according to an official report received by his wife in Los Angeles, California.
Sergeant Mercurio is a brother of Frank Mercurio, a Journal-Tribune street circulator.
Sergeant Mercurio was stationed in China when American troops were ordered out and was reported missing in action soon after the fall of Corregidor. He is about 42 years old and has been in service since he was 16. His last visit to Sioux City was about two years ago.
Source: The Sioux City Journal, April 15, 1943
Former Sioux Cityan Killed
M. Sgt. John Mercurio Was Jap Prisoner on Sunken Ship
M. Sgt. John Mercurio, former Sioux Cityan, was killed December 31, 1944, according to information received Wednesday by his brother, Frank Mercurio, 2005 Nebraska Street. According to the notification from the navy department, he was on a Jap ship which was removing American prisoners from the Philippines when the ship was sunk by an American submarine.
Sgt. Mercurio was an Army and Marine Corps veteran, with four years of service in the army and about 20 years in the marines. His first marine enlistment began in Sioux City in July 1941. He was in Shanghai, China, when President Roosevelt ordered American forces out of the country.
According to information reaching his brother, Sgt. Mercurio was captured by the Japs at Bataan or Corregidor. The official notification of his death was the first word that members of his family have received since he was reported a prisoner of war in the Philippines.
The sergeant made Sioux City his home for several periods between enlistments and was widely known here.
Source: The Sioux City Journal, July 25, 1945
