Cuba City Man Posthumously Receives Purple Heart

Relatives of a Cuba City man who died in a Japanese prisoner of war camp are hoping his legacy lives on after he was bestowed a much-anticipated honor. Elbert Henry Knox worked as a civilian contractor on Wake Island, which was captured by Japanese forces in 1941 during World War II. He was posthumously given a Purple Heart and POW Medal at a Sept. 10 ceremony. Knox’s great-nephew, Mike Shaffer, of Tyler, Texas, and formerly of Cuba City, received the medals on behalf of Knox. Knox was born in Cuba City on Dec. 30, 1900. While he previously served in the U.S. Army from 1919 to 1920, he was on Wake Island in 1941 as a civilian contractor, one of over 1,100 working to build a U.S. Navy base there due to the Pacific island’s strategic location. According to a report, on Dec. 8, 1941, mere hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Japanese forces attacked Wake Island too. Japanese forces captured the island 15 days later and started taking prisoners, including Knox. He died of malnutrition and exposure on Jan. 15, 1944  at the age of 43.