Bataan Memorial Death March Honors World War II Soldiers

Special to American Forces Press Service ^ | Army Staff Sgt. Anna Doo

[Dubya]

LAS CRUCES, N.M., April 2, 2009 – The resounding boom of cannon fire broke the sound of thousands of participants talking as they waited in anticipation March 29 for the start of the 2009 Bataan Memorial Death March.

This year, the 26.2-mile event at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., included more than 5,300 participants from 50 states and eight countries, including the Philippines, Germany, Canada and the United Kingdom.

While individuals marched for their own reasons, they all came together for the same purpose: to honor the soldiers, who were part of the Bataan Death March during World War II.

The Bataan Death March occurred in 1942 after the Japanese attacked the Bataan peninsula in the Philippines, where American and Filipino soldiers were stationed. After three months of fighting the Japanese with insufficient weapons and dwindling supplies, the American and Filipino soldiers were ordered to surrender April 9, 1942.

The Japanese forced the soldiers to march more than 60 miles with nearly no food or water. The prisoners were subjected to heinous acts of torture and many were killed or perished while marching. Some of the soldiers who survived the march spent the next three years in Japanese prisoner of war camps until freed in 1945.

The opening ceremony for the march included a roll call of the New Mexico National Guard survivors, who were members of the 200th and 515th Coast Artillery units.

One by one, the names of those living and deceased were called out as a reminder of what’s called America’s “Greatest Generation.”

Some of the Bataan survivors lined up along the starting line and shook hands with the racers as a show of gratitude to those who were marching in their honor.

Young and old marched side by side on the rugged terrain with runners, military personnel carrying rucksacks weighing at least 35 pounds, and wounded warriors marching on prosthetic limbs.

Each participant was determined to finish the march and could be heard inspiring others no matter how much their body ached and feet hurt.

Tabitha Baker recalled the moment she crossed the finish line. “The proudest moment was … seeing the survivors waiting there to commemorate the participants for completing the march. As I shook the survivor’s hand I said, ‘It is an honor to meet you.’ He looked at me, held my hand and answered, ‘No, it is an honor to meet you.’

“It is amazing to see these men … have so much pride and admiration for the soldiers of today.”

As each year passes, there are fewer living Bataan veterans, but the responsibility to keep the memory alive will never perish.

(Army Staff Sgt. Anna Doo serves with the New Mexico National Guard.)

[Dubya]

Team Juggernaut, comprising five Wisconsin Army National Guard soldiers, crossed the finish line in first place in the National Guard Heavy category of the 2009 Bataan Memorial Death March at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., March 29, 2009.
Photo courtesy of Wisconsin National Guard

[Dubya]

BATAAN DEATH MARCH

[EyeGuy]

The Russian Communists and Nazis had nothing on the Japanese for pure unadulterated savagery and cruelty.

[WesternPacific]

I visited the Bataan Memorial in the Philippines a few of years ago. Very nice memorial. The view from the Cross is amazing.

[Dubya]

[Dubya]

You are right.

[Dubya]

Thanks for sharing that.

[Thunder90]

PING!!!

[Mr. Mojo]

[Dubya]

April 19, 2009 will be the 67th anniversary of the Bataan Death March. It is a black story of extreme cruelty.

The Bataan Death March claimed the lives of at least 600 Americans and 5,000 to 10,000 Filipinos; some historians estimate the numbers are even higher.

[Dubya]

The Bataan Death March continues with Americans improvising litters to carry comrades who have collapsed along the road from a total lack of food and water. Over 5,000 Americans died on the march which began April 10 and lasted six days for some and up to twelve days for others.

[katiekins1]

Thank you very much.

[Dubya]

Thanks for the picture.

[Dubya]

Your very welcome.

[Carling]

When I was in 5th grade, a man came to speak to our class. He was a survivor of the Bataan Death March, and he had drawings depicting what he and those with him went through on that march.

I am 37 years old now and am college educated with an MBA, and that STILL is the most vivid and memorable learning experience in a classroom that I have had in my entire life.

[max americana]

My sister-in-law’s grandfather was one of the lucky ones to escape from Corregidor. He later joined up the rebels and rescued many downed American airmen that were bound to be executed by the Japs.
Until this day, their family still have a samurai sword that he picked up from a dead Jap officer that they ambushed in the city of Bulacan. No, they’re not giving it back.

[Dubya]

Thanks for sharing that with us.

[Dubya]

Thats something you will probably never forget.

[LeavingNewYork]

I believe that was an Austrailian officer about to be executed. The photo was smuggled out and passed to the ANZACS.

[Dubya]

Allied POWs with hands tied behind their backs pause during the Bataan Death March. About 76,000 prisoners including 12,000 Americans were forced on the 60 mile march under a blazing sun without food or water toward a new POW camp in the Philippines. April 1942.

I for got the caption on the first picture of this I posted.