Born in Nashville, Tennessee Maj Kircher graduated with a Bachelors of Science in Mines while he was at Oregon Agricultural College. He went missing while serving with the Army Corps of Engineers out of Luzon Philippines and was taken as a prisoner of war by the Japanese. We cannot find which camp he was taken to or when he became a hostage, but we do know Maj Kircher died while on a “Hell Ship” one of the Japanese prisoner transport ships that was sunk by American Forces. Hell Ships weren’t marked with POW on the side. He was survived by his mother and sister.
https://www.abmc.gov/node/360004
https://oregondigital.org/catalog/oregondigital:fx719t26t#page/16/mode/1...(pg 16)
https://oregondigital.org/catalog/oregondigital:fx71bm10v#page/3/mode/1u... (pgs 3, 21)
https://oregondigital.org/catalog/oregondigital:fx71b966v#page/5/mode/1u... (pg 5)
https://oregondigital.org/catalog/oregondigital:fx719v30m#page/637/mode/... (Pg 635)