Leland Dwane Chandler, a Galesburg resident and World War II prisoner of war who survived 3½ years of Japanese captivity and defied doctors who said he wouldn’t live past 50, died Friday, June 12, 2026, at the Hawthorne Inn in Galesburg. He was 103.
In 2023, WGIL sat down with Chandler as he celebrated his 100th birthday and 75th wedding anniversary to his wife, Ruth. He spoke openly about fear, forgiveness, and living through history.
Captured in the Philippines
Chandler enlisted in the United States Army at 18, near the beginning of World War II. He was stationed at Corregidor in the Philippines when Japanese forces captured him, along with approximately 400 others. The group was put to work in the Yodogawa Steel Mill in Japan, laboring in 12-hour shifts under brutal conditions.
“People won’t believe how mean they were,” Chandler told WGIL in 2023.
He described witnessing executions and surviving on small rice balls while sick prisoners were forced to work or go without food. When he was finally liberated, Chandler — who had weighed around 190 pounds when captured — was down to 85 pounds. Of the roughly 400 Americans put to work in the steel mill, only about 53 survived.
Recovery and a life rebuilt
Chandler spent nearly seven months recovering at the former Mayo General Hospital in Galesburg. Doctors told him he would not live past 50.
He proved them wrong on every count.
Chandler married Ruth Elizabeth Bodeen, whom he met while working at a gas station after his recovery. They enjoyed 75 years of marriage until Ruth’s passing in December 2023. He went on to serve 31 years in civil service as a firefighter at Chanute Air Force Base, retiring after 13 years as fire chief. During that time, he and his family spent two years in Turkey, where he inspected fire operations at overseas military bases.
‘You will get out of this prison camp’
In his 2023 interview with WGIL, Chandler described a moment during his captivity that he said kept him going. Lying on his straw mat one night, he said a voice told him: “You will get out of this prison camp. You will live.”
“I figured then that the good Lord was guiding me through that whole front,” he said.
The long road to forgiveness
Forgiveness took longer. For years after the war, Chandler said he wanted nothing to do with the Japanese. But after regularly attending church with Ruth and listening to his minister preach on forgiveness, something changed. It took about three years after the war ended.
“I stood up in church and I said, ‘I forgive the Japanese people. It’s over with and done and that’s it,'” Chandler said.
He later participated in a Japanese-American friendship program, returning to Japan with fellow former prisoners of war.
A life of continued service
Chandler participated in one of the early Honor Flights and continued working to support fundraising for subsequent flights.
When asked in 2023 what advice he would give to a young person trying to figure out their life, Chandler kept it simple: know what you want, and give it careful thought before you commit.
Services
Private family graveside services with military honors will be held at Rock Island National Cemetery.
Read the full obituary for Leland Chandler at wgil.com.
Leland Chandler spoke with WGIL in 2023 on the occasion of his 100th birthday. Listen to the full interview here.
