D. L. Craig Moody was born on 12. Mar. 1915 at Kinsley, Edwards County, Kansas. He was the son of
Robert E. Lee Moody and
Ida Kreg. D. L. Craig Moody married
Elaine Nelson on 21. Dec. 1940. D. L. Craig Moody died on 21. Nov. 1942 at Cabanatuan Japanese prisoner of war camp at age 27. The following article concerning him was contributed by his sister, Marjorie Wunsc.
“Staff Sergeant D. L. Craig Moody was born March 12, 1915 in Kinsley, Kansas. At the age of four, his family moved to their farm three miles north of New Albany, Kansas.
After the death of his father, Robert E. Lee Moody, in 1924, the family moved to Fredonia where D. L. attended the city school. He united with the First Methodist Church when a small boy. In 1926, the family moved to Wichita, Kansas. D. L. attended East High and later was employed with the Central Wallpaper and Paint Company.
D. L. joined the First Nazarene Church in Wichita where he was very active in the work with the young people, and was already to help his sister, Marjorie, in the Primary Department when needed. He was assistant Scout Master of Troop 51.
In 1937, D. L. enlisted with the U. S. Army, and was stationed at Fort Riley for three years. InDecember of 1940, he re-enlisted in the service of his country. June 29, 1941, he bid farewell to the members of his family, for the last time, as in July, 1941, Staff Sergeant D. L. Moody was transferred to Westover Field, Chicopee Falls, Mass., as a member of Company B, 803rd Engineers. On October 4, 1941, he sailed from San Francisco, for the Philippine Islands and was stationed at Fort Stotsenburg, Clark Field, Luzon, where on April 7, 1942, they were bombed by the Japs at the same time that Pearl Harbor was attacked.
Staff Sergeant Moody was married to Elaine Nelson of Wichita, Kansas on December 21, 1940, and to this union an infant son, Larry Douglas McArthur, was born February 2, 1942, who lived only a few days. Because of the serious invasion of the Japs in the Philippines, Sergeant Moody never lived to know that he was the father of a son, as interchange of mail was impossible.
In December of 1942, the U. S. Government received word that Staff Sergeant Moody was a prisoner of the Japs, and July 16, 1943, the Government reported he had died in a Japanese Interment Camp, but the truth was that Staff Sergeant Moody had departed this life on November 21, 1942 at the age of 27 years, 8 months and 9 days, in the Jap Prison Camp of Cabanatuan, where 2800 other Americans paid the supreme price.
Sergeant Toby, one of the 511 who were rescued by the Rangers, January 30, 1945, from this prison camp, while recovering from his dreadful experiences, in the Fitzsimmons General Hospital, Denver, told his wife and sister, Marjorie, that he cared for Sergeant Craig, as they called him, in the so called prison hospital and made special effort to secure food for him from the Japs, but he refused to eat knowing that he couldn’t live and the words of Sergeant Toby, ‘He died like a man for his country.’
Staff Sergeant Moody is survived by his mother, Ida L. Moody Jury, 721 Volutsia, two sisters, Marjorie Gilchrist, 1131 South Market, Felcie Hill, 1046 South Saint Francis, and one brother, R. Lee, all of Wichita and many other relatives and friends.”.