Posted on 08/14/2026 10:37:39 PM PDT by PghBaldy
A young man who once wondered if he would live past 1941 will be turning 105 years old Saturday.
James (Pat) Bollich grew up in Louisiana. He trained at Fort Polk and arrived in the Philippines in November, 1941, less than a month before the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor.
Jamie Bollich wrote, “U.S. and Filipino forces retreated to the Bataan Peninsula when the Japanese invaded the Philippines, but after four months their food and ammunition ran out and the 70,000 troops were forced to surrender.”
(Excerpt) Read more at lufkindailynews.com ...
The article says he is very hard of hearing and can hardly see. I’m thinking of the human trash that just threw paint on the World War II memorial the other day. I wonder if they would throw paint on Mr. Bollich?
I bet they would.
Wow.
Where would we find such men today?
My uncle was on the Bataan death march. He survived the march, only to die in the prison camp. My dad named me after him
In middle school, my best friend’s father was a death march survivor. He did driving tests for the DMV. Everyone loved him- happiest guy I ever knew.
I’m sure he credits the rigorous exercise he received in his youth as the secret to his longevity.
Yes, that helped. But the hand of Almighty God preserved him. May this life-saving and blessing Lord, touch your life today, in a unique way.
They say the clerks at the Starbucks never heard him whining about the bad day he was having.
“Where would we find such men today“
…Starbucks? JK
I’m so sorry to hear that.
Probably.
Leftist were willing to throw human feces on returning soldiers during the Viet Nam era.
Those vermin have no soul.
Years ago I had a friend/work colleague who was a survivor of the Bataan Death March and subsequent prison in Japan. Unlike most, he talked freely about his experiences. I vividly remember many of the incidents and details he told me. Too many and too horrible to enumerate here. Suffice to say the treatment of captives was as brutal as it gets historically. I will say though that upon liberation he and many others killed all the guards they could corral with their bare hands or any weapon they could find. Liberating troops looked the other way.
My dad was there for the invasion of Leyte island and was on the beach when Douglas MacArthur gave his I have returned speech.
I read years ago that the men after the March were found to have no cholesterol in their veins. Their bodies used it all.
One of my customers was a waistgunner on what happened to be the only B-17 to return from a disastrous bombing raid during the war, and he was shot up pretty bad. He always had the biggest smile on his face whenever I saw him. Always.
My uncle’s brother died in the Bataan death march. Their mother never recovered mentally/emotionally.Their father brought his son’s Philippina wife and son to the US and helped her start a seamstress business.
“..I’m thinking of the human trash that just threw paint on the World War II memorial the other day. I wonder if they would throw paint on Mr. Bollich?..”
There’s a certain element left in society that would gladly kill these godless, communists basstids given half a chance...just sayin’.
lots of places
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