Tarkington was sent to Panay to command the 61st Field Artillery Regiment, a component of the 61st Infantry Division under Colonel Bradford G.

Their artillery—eight 3-inch gun M1918 and four QF 2.95-inch mountain guns—went to the bottom of Manila Bay when the SS Corregidor sunk upon hitting a naval mine.

Full infantry training was in effect when a sudden order came to transfer his regiment to Mindanao.

On May 6, 1942, the elite Kawamura Detachment of the 5th Division of the Imperial Japanese Army landed on beaches south of Macajalar Bay.

[7] Tarkington's regiment fought hard in Tankulan as the Japanese made an intrusion during the night.

Tarkington assembled his regiment to Camp Kasisang, Bukidnon, along with other units for formal surrender.

Tarkington and other Americans officers in Mindanao were brought to Cagayan to board a ship Luzon.

[8] Tarkington and his colleagues remained imprisoned until the end of the war,[9][10] liberated during the Soviet invasion of Manchuria.

[23] Tarkington wrote an unpublished account of his experiences during World War II, There Were Others, which can be found online.