Social Sciences
Today, April 9th, is Araw ng Kagitingan in the Philippines. It is a national day of observance to commemorate the fall of Bataan during World War II
On April 9, 1942, Gen. Edward P. King surrendered the Luzon Force in Bataan to the 14th Imperial Army under the command of Lt. Gen. Masaharu Homma. The surrendered men were ordered to gather in Mariveles, Bataan.
The Filipino and American soldiers were then forced to form columns of 100 to 400 men. These columns, guarded by Japanese soldiers, were forced to march 65 miles to the train station in San Fernando, Pampanga.
The Death March lasted for seven 15-hour days (for some it was 14 days) in the tropical sun with no food, water, medicine, or rest. The Japanese guards berated, beat, beheaded, bayoneted, buried alive, raped, and shot both Americans and Filipinos at will.
When they reached the town of San Fernando, the POWs were herded into 40?x8? French-made boxcars (photo above), packed so tightly they could hardly move. Men gasped for air in the rising heat and died standing up. Those who survived the four-hour ride had to stumble another six miles to reach their destination, Camp O?Donnell. Hundreds died en route, thousands in the camp itself.
This forced march was later memorialized as The Bataan Death March. It still symbolizes for Filipinos and Americans the greatest example of patriotic sacrifice, heroism and man's inhumanity to man. It remains one of the greatest war crimes in modern memory.
- Negotiating Reconciliation With Japan
Bataan Death March By Ben SteeleNegotiating Reconciliation with JapanAmerican POWs of Japan Friday, May 1, 2015 2:30 PM ? 2:00 PM Bernstein-Offit Building, Room 5001717 Massachusetts Ave. NWWashington, DC 20036 Featuring:Lester Tenney | Former POW...
- 70 Years Of Liberation From Imperial Japan
click to orderOn January 30, 1945, three days after Soviet troops liberated their first Nazi death camp, Auschwitz-Birkenau, American Rangers and Filipino guerrillas rescued American and Allied POWs from the first of many Japanese concentration camps...
- National Former Pow Recognition Day
In 2009, President Barak Obama proclaimed April 9th to be National Former POW Day. This is an especially historic day for American and Filipino POWs of Japan. On April 9, 1942, after four months of brutal fighting against a superior...
- Japan's Deniers Use Anti-semitism
In the October 2012 issue of the popular Japanese monthly magazine, Seiron, is an unattributed commentary on the Bataan Death March. The author dismisses the brutality of the March by asserting that the Americans were racist cowards and prevaricators...
- Japanese Companies Should Apologize Former Pow Says
Dr. Lester Tenney, past president of the American Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor and APP member was a prisoner of Imperial Japan from 1942 to 1945. He is a survivor of the Battle of the Philippines, the infamous Bataan Death March, Camp O'Donnell,...
Social Sciences
Remembering Bataan
Today, April 9th, is Araw ng Kagitingan in the Philippines. It is a national day of observance to commemorate the fall of Bataan during World War II
On April 9, 1942, Gen. Edward P. King surrendered the Luzon Force in Bataan to the 14th Imperial Army under the command of Lt. Gen. Masaharu Homma. The surrendered men were ordered to gather in Mariveles, Bataan.
The Filipino and American soldiers were then forced to form columns of 100 to 400 men. These columns, guarded by Japanese soldiers, were forced to march 65 miles to the train station in San Fernando, Pampanga.
The Death March lasted for seven 15-hour days (for some it was 14 days) in the tropical sun with no food, water, medicine, or rest. The Japanese guards berated, beat, beheaded, bayoneted, buried alive, raped, and shot both Americans and Filipinos at will.
When they reached the town of San Fernando, the POWs were herded into 40?x8? French-made boxcars (photo above), packed so tightly they could hardly move. Men gasped for air in the rising heat and died standing up. Those who survived the four-hour ride had to stumble another six miles to reach their destination, Camp O?Donnell. Hundreds died en route, thousands in the camp itself.
This forced march was later memorialized as The Bataan Death March. It still symbolizes for Filipinos and Americans the greatest example of patriotic sacrifice, heroism and man's inhumanity to man. It remains one of the greatest war crimes in modern memory.
- Negotiating Reconciliation With Japan
Bataan Death March By Ben SteeleNegotiating Reconciliation with JapanAmerican POWs of Japan Friday, May 1, 2015 2:30 PM ? 2:00 PM Bernstein-Offit Building, Room 5001717 Massachusetts Ave. NWWashington, DC 20036 Featuring:Lester Tenney | Former POW...
- 70 Years Of Liberation From Imperial Japan
click to orderOn January 30, 1945, three days after Soviet troops liberated their first Nazi death camp, Auschwitz-Birkenau, American Rangers and Filipino guerrillas rescued American and Allied POWs from the first of many Japanese concentration camps...
- National Former Pow Recognition Day
In 2009, President Barak Obama proclaimed April 9th to be National Former POW Day. This is an especially historic day for American and Filipino POWs of Japan. On April 9, 1942, after four months of brutal fighting against a superior...
- Japan's Deniers Use Anti-semitism
In the October 2012 issue of the popular Japanese monthly magazine, Seiron, is an unattributed commentary on the Bataan Death March. The author dismisses the brutality of the March by asserting that the Americans were racist cowards and prevaricators...
- Japanese Companies Should Apologize Former Pow Says
Dr. Lester Tenney, past president of the American Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor and APP member was a prisoner of Imperial Japan from 1942 to 1945. He is a survivor of the Battle of the Philippines, the infamous Bataan Death March, Camp O'Donnell,...