Edwin E. Ross

Funeral services for Edwin E. Ross will be held on Friday, April 17, 2026, at 10 a.m. from McClain-Hays Chapel with Rev. Joey Ratcliff officiating. Interment will follow in Cedarlawn Cemetery. Visitation will begin at 2 p.m. on Thursday, April 16, 2026, at McClain-Hays Funeral Home.

Mr. Ross, a lifelong resident of Philadelphia, Mississippi, was born and raised in the community he called home. Alongside his siblings, he helped tend the family farm during his youth. He graduated from Philadelphia High School and went on to serve in the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), a government program providing opportunities for young men. On June 21, 1940, he proudly enlisted in the United States Army.

According to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, U.S. Army Tech 5 Edwin E. Ross was captured and died as a prisoner of war. In the fall of 1942, Mr. Ross was a member of the 17th Bombardment Squadron, 27th Bombardment Group, when Japanese forces invaded the Philippine Islands in December. Intense fighting continued until the surrender of the Bataan peninsula on April 9, 1942, and of Corregidor Island on May 6, 1942.

Thousands of U.S. and Filipino service members were captured and interned at POW camps. Mr. Ross was among those reported captured when U.S. forces on Bataan surrendered to the Japanese. He was held at the Cabanatuan POW camp.

According to prison camp and other historical records, Edwin E. Ross died on July 27, 1942, and was buried along with other deceased prisoners in the local Cabanatuan Camp Cemetery.

In March of 2018, as part of the Cabanatuan Project, his remains were disinterred and eventually sent home after analysis and testing.

At the time of Mr. Ross’s death, he was survived by his parents, Ervin and Clara Reynolds Ross; sister, Lorene Ross Sharp; brothers, Frank Ross, Fred Ross, and Jack Ross(who later lost his life while serving in the Navy during WWII) and a nephew, Bill Ross(who also died later in the Vietnam War). All of whom have passed away.

Survivors include his nieces, Bobbye Marrufo, Jaynell Brown, and Melinda Baker; and a host of great nieces, nephews, cousins, and extended family.