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| By: MARVIN ELLIS, Staff Writer | April 20, 2002 |
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Posted on 04/22/2002 7:14:58 AM PDT by rw4site
| TYLER MAN RETRACES BATAAN DEATH MARCH |
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| What a difference 60 years can make - from a struggle to stay alive during the infamous World War II Bataan Death March in 1942 to a five-mile re-enactment walk along some of the same route this month by an 81-year-old Tyler man.
Oliver C. "Red" Allen and his wife Mildred just returned from their second trip to the Philippines this month - this time to observe the 60th anniversary of the Bataan Death March that began April 9, 1942, resulting in the death of 7,000-10,000 servicemen. WWII started in the Pacific Theater for Americans and British Dec. 7, 1941, when the Japanese organized sneak attacks to hit Pearl Harbor, the Philippines, Malaysia and Hong Kong. The Japanese were already fighting the Koreans, Chinese and Manchurians since the 1930s. The Bataan Death March has been described by survivors and historians as a 55-mile forced march with little food or water for American and Filipino servicemen. Stragglers and those too weak to walk were shot, bayoneted or beheaded. Thousands more later died from malnutrition and disease. Allen said Friday: "This year's gathering was completely different than in 1942. I was barely 21 years old then and I was struggling to stay alive during the death march ... this time I was struggling to make the last five miles." "It was a hell hole then," he said. Allen cited many factors for surviving the death march, "but I have thought about that ordeal a million times and if it hadn't been for the Good Lord watching over me, I don't think I would have survived." The Lamar County native and Paris Junior College graduate said at least eight different times during the death march he "was protected." The retired schoolteacher said of the 1942 ordeal, "I had some breaks ... I had a little more humane treatment from Japanese than many Americans." Allen said he was young and strong. "I stayed at the front of the lines, avoiding some of the atrocities I heard about later. Terrible things happened behind me ... our soldiers and the Filipino soldiers were shot, some were bayoneted and some were beheaded by the Japanese," he said. He said the Red Cross was able to get some food and water to some of the prisoners of war, "as well as some of our Filipino friends." Allen said after the forced march, they were placed in boxcars "but the Japanese guarding us left the doors opened to our boxcar so we were able to have fresh air while many others had doors shut, resulting in many suffocating to death. Also during the train trips, many Filipinos tossed us some food and water. "Then some of the good Japanese helped me out ... there are good people all over the world and I was lucky enough to have some Japanese who were more humane ... I had a good last few miles, with more water to drink and a little more to eat," he said. Another miracle happened to Allen when he was struck by malaria, a deadly disease without treatment. "I passed out in sick line, but a corpsman just appeared and gave me a dozen quinine pills ... why he picked me out I don't know, especially when there were many others sick with malaria," he said. He also had dysentery several times that weakened many Americans, lowering their resistance and allowing other illnesses to become more serious. He stood 5-9 when he joined the service and weighed 120 pounds, but was down to 90 pounds when he was freed in 1945. Allen and his wife made their first trip to the Philippines in 2002 to attend a dedication at the Camp O'Donnell prison camp. He was a sergeant with the 7th Material Squadron of the Army Air Force, celebrating his 21st birthday March 14, 1942. He was held prisoner at Cabanatuan then transferred to another prison camp in Manchuria, where he remained until the end of WWII. His actual time in service in the Philippines was from Oct. 24, 1941, to Oct. 4, 1942. The Tylerite has written a book that is scheduled to be published later this year. The title is "Abandoned On Bataan, A Life Story of World War II." Allen said he was from Madill (known as Springhill now), which is located just northeast of Paris. He graduated from Paris High School and Paris Junior College, hoping to join the Army Air Force as a pilot. His first attempt fell short as the Air Corps only took 10 candidates the first time he tried to enlist then the second time he was under weight after a bout with the mumps. "An enlistment officer talked me into joining in mechanical work and the way the world was going with wars in Europe and Asia, I wanted to do my part." His training was at March Field near Riverside, Calif., and he was assigned to the Army Air Corps 19th Bomb Crew Material. Allen said after the Japanese bombed and destroyed most of the planes at Clark Field in the Philippines on Dec. 8 (which was Dec. 7 in Hawaii and the United States), his commander gave them rifles and told them to head south to Bataan to help in the defense of the island and try to slow down the Japanese war plan. Allen said this delay helped the United States regroup and later win the war. He married Mildred Dougan of Blossom on June 22, 1947, and the pair taught in the public schools in Lamar County and Richardson, and retired from the Paris school system. They have two sons, Danny, owner and president of NuTech Inc. in Tyler, and Dr. Tim Allen, who holds medical and jurisprudence law degrees. He works for a Houston law firm. Allen lived shortly in Tyler in 1989 and moved back in 1991. Marvin Ellis covers hospitals and medical organizations. He can be reached at 903.596.6265. e-mail: medical@tylerpaper.com |
| ©Tyler Morning Telegraph 2002 |
'Rape of Nanking'
'Flags of our Fathers'
i also love to read about the Marines fighting the madmen of the pacific.
the 'Goettge Patrol' on Guadalcanal is another story that should be required reading.
it was an ambush and the brutes chopped the Marine bodies into pieces with their swords.
it's amazing how they still whine about the internment camps yet have completely forgotten about Bataan.
One more to read:
The Knights of Bushido: A Short History of Japanese War Crimes
(though, at 352 pages it's not actually very short)
one of the best battle books i've ever read was:
'with the old breed at peleliu & okinawa' by eugene sledge.
another good one that may be hard to find is: 'one returned' by robert twitchell.
he went back to tarawa in 1979 and i recommend it just for the fact of what they found there.
This guy's story would seem to contradict that.
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