Roces, Marcos B. (0499853)

Record status: unconfirmed. Class-roster match confidence is medium-high. Correct the infobox if you have a source, and note it on talk.

Marcos B. Roces
Personal details
Nativity	United States
Religion	Catholic
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch	United States Army
Arm / service	Infantry
ASN	0499853
Rank	First Lieutenant
Camp Ritchie	Class 13 (30 October – 23 December 1943)
Section	A

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Marcos B. Roces (ASN 0499853) was a Ritchie Boy (from United States; Catholic) who trained at Camp Ritchie in class 13.

Biography

From the Philippines Magazine, dated January 1944, is a blurb on Ritchie Boy Marcos B. Roces, of the U. Second Armored Corps, is now at his new post at Military Intelligence Training Center, Camp Ritchie, Md. While on furlough recently in Washington he married Mary Lou Stagner. Roces attended the Infantry School at Ft. Commissioned in the Army of the U. after his graduation in September, 1942, he reported to the Intelligence Division of the First Filipino Infantry. He served with the First Filipino Regiment in California until July, 1943, when he was transferred to the Second Armored Corps at Fort Ord. Doing some further digging, I found the below. Coming from a large family of rich Spanish landowners, he was sent to Schwyz in Switzerland in 1933 to finish his schooling, and then to St. Joseph's College in London for a high school certificate. Two years later, in 1937, he moved to South Bend, Indiana, to enroll at the Catholic University of Notre Dame. He was attracted to a diplomatic career and so enrolled at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. in the School of Foreign Service. By that rime, in April of 1942, Bataan had fallen to the enemy; and Marquitos felt he had to be of service to his country. He joined the U.S. Army, and was sent to the Fort Benning Infantry School. He graduated as a 2nd Lieutenant in October of that year, and was assigned to the 1st Filipino Infantry Regiment at Fort Ord, California, where he served as intelligence assistant under Col. Jaime Velazquez. From June to October 1943, he was sent to a special training school in Presidio Monterey, where he was pro-moted to 1st Lieutenant. Knowing his value as an intelligence officer, his superiors sent him to the Camp Ritchie Military Intelligence School for several months. In May 1944 when he was assigned to the G-2 Section of the 5th US Army in Europe. He would have preferred to see action in the Philippines, but he was sent instead to southern France. He participated in the Rome-Arno campaign in Italy and in the north Appenines mountain range. In 1944 he was promoted to captain and sent to Leyte the following year. By that time the war in the Philippines was almost over. So he organized the 0-2 section of the re-constituted Philippine Army. He was honorably dis-charged at Fort Dix, New Jersey. Upon his return to Manila in 1946, the family chose him to become the manager of Cine Ideal, where he work-ed for the next 32 years.

Research notes

• 12/16/1917-

Technical record

Field	Imported value
Class_ASN	499883
Class_Name	Roces, Marcos B.
match_method	asn_near_name_exact
row_source	both

Sources

• Camp Ritchie class roster (classes 1–31), merged research file
• NARA World War II Army enlistment records (where a NARA ASN is present)
• 1940 U.S. Census (where a census match is present)
• Ritchie Boys of WWII Facebook page, post dated 2023-02-23 (1 post)