John Spc Kovach, Jr.

Specialist John Kovach, Jr, 20, was born in Gypsum, Ohio on October 7, 1922 to the late Margaret (Pelyhe) and John Kovach, Sr. John enlisted in the Ohio National Guard’s Tank Company headquartered in Port Clinton. In September 1940, the tank company was federalized and designated C Company, 192nd Tank Battalion. John and the battalion engaged in the Battle of Bataan from Jan. 7, 1942, to Apr. 9, 1942. At the battle’s end, those left were forced into the Bataan Death March which started in the tip of Bataan. On Nov. 19, 1942, Kovach died of dysentery and was buried at Cabanatuan Camp Cemetery. Following the war, only the remains of two prisoners of war could be positively identified. Kovach’s remains were reburied at the American Military Cemetery, Manila, Philippine Islands, along with the remains of 13 other POWs. In August 2014, the Army exhumed the remains of the men for DNA testing. On April 7, 2017, the remains of SPC John Kovach, Jr. were positively identified. John is survived by two sisters, Mary Ocheske and Ethel Smith both of Toledo and many nieces and nephews. John’s parents and sister, Elizabeth Druyor preceded him in death. SPC John Kovach, Jr. will be transported to Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, Saturday, July 8, 2017 arriving at 12:58 PM. Gerner-Wolf-Walker Funeral Home, escorted by the Port Clinton Police Department, will be transferring SPC Kovach to the funeral home in Port Clinton. Upon arrival in Port Clinton, around 3:30 PM, Saturday, Operation Bright and Loud will start at the Ohio 2/Ohio 163 interchange at Perry Street to the funeral home on Washington Street. SPC Kovach will lie in repose at the Bataan Memorial Elementary School, 525 West 6th Street, Port Clinton Monday, July 10, 2017 from 9:00 AM until a brief service honoring SPC John Kovach and the men of 192 Tank Battalion at 10:00 AM. Procession and graveside services will follow in Riverview Cemetery, Port Clinton conducted by Rev. Patrick J. Rohen, Chaplin, Captain, US Army retired, followed by full Military Honors conducted by The Ohio National Guard.