Being tortured and nearly starved to death while a prisoner of war never dampened Howard Elkins’ loyalty to his country.
Elkins, who died Nov. 17 at 83, continued to serve in the military after his 3 1/2 years as a prisoner of the Japanese in World War II.
There was always an American flag in his front yard, even if it was just a small one in a hanging flower basket, said his daughter, Bonnie Padilla of Commerce City.
And he saved anything “with red, white and blue on it,” even return-address labels, she said.
Elkins was taken prisoner in 1942. Days were spent working in the rice paddies, often without shoes or socks. Sometimes he was tortured with bamboo sticks being forced under his fingernails.
Other times, prisoners, including Elkins, would be lined up and alternate prisoners were shot in the chest, said his brother, James Elkins of Firestone.
His brother saw men whose were decapitated as they knelt on the ground, James Elkins said.
Howard Elkins weighed about 165 pounds when he went into the service and weighed just over 80 when he came home from the prison camp.
Family members didn’t know the details of Elkins’ capture or of his release. They knew only that the Russians liberated the camp, which was in Manchuria.
He didn’t talk about his experiences often, they said.
His brother was never the same after the war, said James Elkins.
“He was just kind of cranky. He didn’t talk at all about the war for years,” he said.
Nevertheless, after the war, Elkins re- enlisted and spent a total of 20 years in the military, serving in the U.S. and in West Germany during the Korean War.
He then went into security work in Denver.
Elkins was as loyal to his wife’s children as he was to his country. He married Annie Grosner on Sept. 9, 1956, and she had seven children.
“He loved all his kids and grandkids,” said daughter Carman Marrs of Lakewood. “The house was full of pictures of all of us. He often sent money to kids and grandkids and never missed a gift on birthdays.”
Annie Elkins died in 2000.
Howard H. Elkins was born April 24, 1922, in Arch Creek, W.Va. He left high school early and joined the Civilian Conservation Corps and then went into the Army.
In addition to his daughters and brother, he is survived by three other daughters: Janice Wingate of Houston, Mary Walkins of Woodstock, Ill., and Patricia Casados of Northglenn; one son, Jimmy Walkins of Aschaffenburg, Germany; 25 grandchildren, 45 great-grandchildren and nine great-great- grandchildren.
A son, Robert Walkins, preceded him in death.
Staff writer Virginia Culver can be reached at 303-820-1223 or vculver@denverpost.com.
