John Joseph Neiger Jr. was born on June 25, 1911, in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois. He was the son of Adele C. and John J. Neiger. He was married to Sallie Van Deventer Morfit. He attended both the University of Illinois and the University of Iowa before earning a congressional appointment to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Class of 1935. After graduating from West Point, he received his first assignment with the 6th Infantry at Jefferson Barracks. In August 1938, he was assigned to the Infantry School at Fort Benning, Georgia, and was selected for the Advanced Communications Course.

In June 1940, John departed for his first overseas assignment in the Philippine Islands, where he took command of Company I, 45th Infantry Regiment. When war broke out in the Philippines following the attack on Pearl Harbor, John was serving as aide-de-camp to Major General George M. Parker, commander of the South Luzon Force, Bataan Defense Force, and later the II Philippine Corps. Though officially Parker’s aide, Neiger also served as a liaison officer, communications expert, and problem-solver wherever his skills were needed, due to the severe shortage of trained personnel.

Neiger survived the Bataan Death March and imprisonment in several Japanese POW camps, including Camp O’Donnell, Cabanatuan, and Bilibid, enduring years of hardship. On December 13, 1944, he was among the POWs, Japanese soldiers, and civilians loaded onto the Oryoku Maru, a Japanese “hell ship” bound from Manila to Subic Bay. On December 15, 1944, after earlier damage from a U.S. air raid, the unmarked vessel was sunk by aircraft from the USS Hornet in Subic Bay. John Neiger was killed, likely during the bombing that morning.

Maj Neiger's name is memorialized in the Tablets of the Missing in the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial, Manila, Capital District, National Capital Region, Philippines. He also has a cenotaph in the Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Arlington County, Virginia, USA.

Silver Star Citation:
(Citation Needed) – SYNOPSIS: The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918, takes pride in presenting the Silver Star (Posthumously) to Major (Infantry) John Neiger (ASN: 0-19926), United States Army, for gallantry in action while serving with Headquarters, II Philippine Corps, in defense of the Philippine Islands in 1942. The gallant actions and dedicated devotion to duty demonstrated by Major Neiger, without regard for his own life, were in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself and the United States Army.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com, alumni.westpointaog.org, weremember.abmc.gov, valor.militarytimes.com