John M. Pimperal, 82, a Chicago native who spent more than three years as a Japanese prisoner of war during World War II, died Sunday, July 8, in his Waterville, Maine, home. Mr. Pimperal was serving in the 192nd Tank Battalion Company B in the Philippines when Japan invaded. Mr. Pimperal was taken prisoner and forced into slave labor for more than three years, said his brother, Bill Pimperal Sand. Mr. Pimperal contracted beriberi from malnutrition, and his body was scarred from beatings. After two years in captivity, his talent with a trumpet was what finally provided his family with the news he was alive, his brother said. Before the war, Mr. Pimperal had performed in church and Chicago neighborhood orchestras. The Japanese allowed the prisoners to form an orchestra and broadcast their performance, his brother said. Mr. Pimperal asked anyone listening to contact his aunt. An amateur radio operator in California recorded the program and reached his aunt, who spread the news. Mr. Pimperal was liberated in September 1945, weighing just 115 pounds, his brother said. He spent months in a hospital recovering his health, but it would take a little longer to fully regain the ebullient spirit that later made him a successful door-to-door salesman. Mr. Pimperal sold housewares, including pots and pans, for many years. About 15 years ago he retired and began selling roses on a roadside, said family friend Marilyn Carroll. He enjoyed bowling and swimming, listening to Elvis Presley records, and collecting coins, records and antiques, Carroll said. He volunteered regularly at a local Veterans Administration Hospital. Mr. Pimperal is also survived by his wife of 45 years, Albertine; and daughters Virginia Sand-Roy and Beverly Trask. A memorial service will be at held at 11 a.m. Friday in Veterans Memorial Cemetery Chapel in Augusta, Maine.
