Roll of Honor

Midshipmen entering the gates of Columbia University, circa 1943.


John Van Wie Bergamini, Jr.

  • School: Columbia College
  • Class Year: 1942
  • War: World War II
  • Date of Death: July 28, 1944

John (Jack) Von Wie Bergamini, Jr. was killed by a Japanese sniper on Guam, July 28, 1944. He had joined the Marines shortly after graduating from Columbia in order to rescue his family, American missionaries, who were being held in a Japan internment camp. 

John Van Wie Bergamini, Jr.

Tributes

My Uncle Jack Bergamini enlisted in the Marines following his graduation from Columbia University in 1942. His goal was to help liberate his parents and younger brother and sister who were in a Japanese concentration camp in Baguio, the Philippines. My grandfather, John Van Wie Bergamini Sr., was an architect (who also attended Columbia U.) who worked for the American Episcopal Mission in China, Japan, the Philippines, and Africa, designing churches, schools, hospitals and various other buildings, including St. Luke's Hospital in Tokyo (1936).

- Rebecca Brumder

Is any of our information incorrect? You can submit corrections, additional photos, and/or tributes to uarchives@columbia.edu.