People

Paul N. Banker, the only son of Dr. Newton and Jessie Banker, died March 15, 1945, when hit in a Japanese strafing run. Lieutenant Banker is interred in the American Cemetery in Manila, Republic of Philippines.

Paul served in an Army Signal Air Warning Battalion at Biak Island near the western end of New Guinea. 11,000 Japanese troops had held the island. The U. S. Army landed on Biak on May 27, 1944, with 12,000 soldiers. The Japanese commander decided to allow the Americans to come ashore unopposed so they could fall into a trap he had prepared.

The capture of Biak Island cost the Americans nearly 3,000 casualties, with 474 killed and 2,428 wounded. The Japanese fought to annihilation with 6,100 dead and just 450 captured.

Paul Banker was born on August 2, 1918. He attended Bratenahl School, Shaw High School, and graduated from Case Institute of Technology (Case Western Reserve University) with a metallurgy degree.

Paul enlisted in the U. S. Army 107th Mechanized Cavalry in March 1941, before the United States officially entered World War II. After Pearl Harbor, he was sent to a radio technical school in San Francisco. Later, he enrolled in Officers’ Training School at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, and received a second lieutenant commission. He then was sent to Harvard University to study electronics.