I now live in the Philippines, but memory of the horrors of WW2 in all of the Pacific are only from books and films.
I was a new born baby in Tennessee, living in great comfort then.
From what I understand, the Bataan death march was a scene from Hell. God rest Mr. Downey
That anyone survived has to be a miracle, in its own right.
Which is why I am in awe of men like Downey.
My uncle Mike was wounded at Pearl Harbor, saw most of his platoon die; he was due to be discharged; healed in hospital, re-uped and was sent to Luzon to command a different group of heroes, died of his wounds, protecting his men. Gram always told the story about how he so loved MacArthur. Bless them all.