IRIS BOZORTH

BOZORTH, Iris Johnson, joined her husband in heaven on February 14, 2012 after a brief illness at her residence in Powhatan County. She was married for 59 years to John Clyde Bozorth, who died in 2000. Iris was also preceded in death by her parents, Muriel Christian and John Pegram Johnson of Richmond; a sister, Muriel Christian Howell of Richmond; and a brother, John Pegram Johnson Jr. of Bethesda, Md. She is survived by her children, Mary H. Bozorth and J. Christian Bozorth of Richmond and Iris J. Bozorth of Petersburg, as well a nine first cousins. Iris was born in Richmond in 1915, lived on West Avenue and graduated from Saint Catherine's School in 1933, where she was known for seeing the funny side of everything. She was also a most considerate and loyal friend. After St. Catherine's, Iris attended King-Smith Studio School of Creative Arts in Washington, D.C. While at school she became friends with a classmate, who was from Bermuda. After graduation, Iris traveled by boat to Bermuda to visit with her friend, whose family owned Gosling Brothers, Ltd., a rum manufacturer. Iris met her future husband at a dance in Richmond. In May of 1940 her mother and she traveled to Manila, The Philippines, where she married Mr. Bozorth, for he was working there for The Liggett & Myers Tobacco Company, which was headquartered in Richmond. Iris was a member of America's greatest generation. The Bozorths were living in the port town of Legaspi, Southern Luzon, when the Japanese attacked the island one week after Pearl Harbor. The Bozorths quickly fled, but were captured in February, 1942 and were taken to a jail in Naga, where they remained until May, 1942. Soon a band of Filipino guerillas attacked the prison, killing the guards, and freeing the Bozorths. The Bozorths then went by boat to a different area and hiked up a mountain to hide from the Japanese. However, after a few weeks, Mr. Bozorth developed tropical ulcers, so Iris and he rode water buffaloes down the mountain, where they surrendered to a Japanese garrison in October, 1942. They were then taken to the Santo Tomas internment camp in Manila. The couple remained prisoners in the camp until General Douglas MacArthur's 37th Infantry Division of Sherman tanks were able to knock down the prison's front iron gates on February 3, 1945. Over 3,700 prisoners from many countries were freed. The prisoners ran out of food because the US Navy had cut off the Japanese supply lines, and there were no US Red Cross food packages. After four days, General Douglas MacArthur came into the camp, telling them that "God was with us today and that one can't take our freedom for granted." The General spoke with Iris, for

he wanted to see if she knew of any prisoners who were from his home town of Norfolk, Virginia. The retreating Japanese soldiers mortared the camp for two days, during which time Iris's cell block was completely destroyed, but Iris was not inside it. When Iris left the camp, all she had were the rags that she was wearing. The Bozorths then took a US Navy ship to San Francisco. When they arrived, they were greeted by Zach Toms, President of Liggett & Myers, who took them out to dinner and then got them a hotel room, before they returned to Richmond by train. Iris enjoyed doing volunteer work at St. Mary's Hospital

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This obituary was originally published in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.