Bataan Death March

The Bataan Death March (also known as The Death March of Bataan) took
place in the Philippines in 1942 and was later accounted as a Japanese war
crime. The 60 mi (97 km) march occurred after the three-month Battle of Bataan,
part of the Battle of the Philippines (1941–42), during World War II. In Japanese,
it is known as Batān Shi no Kōshin (バターン死の行進?), with the same meaning.
The "march", or forcible transfer of 75,000 American and Filipino prisoners of
war,[1] was characterized by wide-ranging physical abuse and murder, and
resulted in very high fatalities inflicted upon prisoners and civilians alike by
the armed forces of theEmpire of Japan.[2] Beheading, throat-cutting, and
shooting were common causes of death, in addition to death by bayonet, rape,
disembowelment, rifle-butt beating, and deliberate starvation or dehydration on
the week-long continual march in the tropical heat.[citation needed] Falling down or
inability to continue moving was tantamount to a death sentence, as was any
degree of protest.

Route of the death march. Section from San Fernando to Capas was by rail.

The treatment of the American prisoners was characterized by its

dehumanization, as the Imperial soldiery "felt they were dealing with subhumans
and animals."[3] Prisoners were attacked for assisting someone falling due to
weakness[citation needed], or for no reason whatsoever. Trucks were known to drive
over those who fell or succumbed to fatigue,[4] and "cleanup crews" put to death
those too weak to continue. Marchers were harassed with random bayonet stabs
and beatings.[5] Accounts of being forcibly marched for five to six days with no
food and a single sip of water are in postwar archives including filmed reports.
The exact death count is impossible to determine, but some historians have
placed the minimum death toll between 6,000 and 11,000 men; other postwar
Allied reports have tabulated that only 54,000 of the 72,000 prisoners reached
their destination — taken together, the figures document a rate of death from one
in four up to two in seven of those on the death march. The number of deaths
that took place in the internment camps from the delayed effects of the march is
considerably more.[6]
On May 30, 2009, at the 64th and final reunion of Bataan Death March survivors
in San Antonio, Texas, the Japanese ambassador to the United States
apologized to an assembly of survivors for Imperial Japan's treatment of Allied
prisoners of war, on behalf of the Japanese government.

News of the Bataan Death March sparked outrage in the US, as reflected in this poster.

At dawn on 9 April, and against the orders of Generals Douglas MacArthur and Jonathan

Wainwright[citation needed], Major General Edward P. King, Jr., commanding Luzon Force, Bataan, Philippine
Islands, surrendered more than 75,000 (67,000 Filipinos, 1,000 Chinese Filipinos, and 11,796 Americans)
starving and disease-ridden men. He inquired of Colonel Motoo Nakayama, the Japanese colonel to
whom he tendered his pistol in lieu of his lost sword, whether the Americans and Filipinos would be well
treated. The Japanese aide-de-camp replied: “We are not barbarians.” The majority of the prisoners of
war were immediately robbed of their keepsakes and belongings [8] and subsequently forced to endure a
61 mi (98 km) march in deep dust, over vehicle-broken macadam roads, and crammed into rail cars to
captivity at Camp O’Donnell. Thousands died en route from disease, starvation, dehydration, heat
prostration, untreated wounds, and wanton execution.

Those few who were lucky enough to travel to San Fernando on trucks still had to endure more than
25 mi (40 km) of marching. Prisoners were beaten randomly, and were often denied food and water.
Those who fell behind were usually executed or left to die. Witnesses say those who broke rank for a
drink of water were executed, some even decapitated. Subsequently, the sides of the roads became
littered with dead bodies and those begging for help.

On the Bataan Death March, approximately 54,000 of the 75,000 prisoners reached their destination.
The death toll of the march is difficult to assess as thousands of captives were able to escape from their
guards. All told, approximately 5,000–10,000 Filipino and 600–650 American prisoners of war died
before they could reach Camp O'Donnell. [9]

Harrodsburg, Kentucky was the city with the most members in the Death March, at 66. These men are
known as the Harrodsburg Tankers.

The Death March

Prisoners on the march from Bataan to the prison camp, May 1942. (National Archives). Also
appears [1].
War crimes trial
After the surrender of Japan in 1945, an Allied commission convicted Masaharu
Homma of war crimes, including the atrocities of the death march out of Bataan,
and the following atrocities at Camp O'Donnell and Cabanatuan. The general,
who had been absorbed in his efforts to capture Corregidor after the fall of
Bataan, claimed in his defense that he remained ignorant of the high death toll of
the death march until two months after the event. He was executed on April 3,
1946 outside Manila. For unknown reasons, the Allies did not attempt to
prosecute Masanobu Tsuji for war crimes.

Commemorations
[edit]The Philippines
Every year on April 9, the captured soldiers are honored on Araw ng
Kagitingan ("Day of Valour"), also known as the "Bataan Day", which is anational
holiday in the Philippines. During the 1980–1990s, the Boy Scouts of America
[Philippine troop] would reenact this march every two years along a portion of the
initial route in Bataan taken by the soldiers. The march was about 10 km (6.2 mi)
in length.
[edit]Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
The Sacrifices of the Fall of Bataan and Corregidor are commemorated at the
National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific at Punchbowl, Honolulu, Hawaii every
year. On April 9, 2009, Philippines Secretary of National Defense, Hon. Gilberto
C. Teodoro gave the "Araw ng Kagitingan Address" (Day of Valor Address) and
led in a wreath laying ceremony, attended by US Senators Daniel Inouye and
Daniel Akaka, Filipino World War II veterans, Hawaii government officials,
members of the Consular Corps, the U.S. Pacific Command and the Filipino-
American community in Honolulu. The Philippine Consul General in Honolulu,
Hon. Ariel Y. Abadilla, organized the ceremony.
[edit]New Mexico, USA
The Bataan Death March is commemorated every year in March since 1993 at
the White Sands Missile Range, east of Las Cruces, New Mexico, with a trail
marathon known as the Bataan Memorial Death March. The full marathon and
15 mi (24 km) run covers paved road and sandy trails, and is regarded by
Marathon Guide as one of the top 30 marathons in the U.S.[10][11]
Around 4,000 marchers participate in both the marathon and the 15.4 mi (24.8
km) run (only the marathon is timed), with members of military units of the U.S.
and foreign armed forces participating. Many civilians also participate, usually
running in the full marathon, which is timed with awards (but not certified by USA
Track and Field). Several of the few remaining Bataan prisoners usually await the
competitors to congratulate them on completing the grueling march.[12]
There are two categories, for both civilian and military divisions, known as "light"
and "heavy." In the light category, runners may wear standard distance-running
apparel. Marchers in the heavy division must carry a minimum of 35 lb (16 kg) in
rucksacks or backpacks; military entrants in the heavy category must wear
their Army Combat Uniform (ACUs) or other service equivalent uniform.[13]
[edit]Minnesota, USA
Company A, 194th Armored Regiment, was deployed to the Philippines in
autumn, 1941. To commemorate the military and civilian prisoners who were
forced to march from Bataan to Camp O’Donnell, an annual Bataan Memorial
March is organized by the 194th Armor Regiment of the Minnesota Army
National Guard and held at Brainerd, MN. The march is open to anyone with both
10- and 20-mile distances. The march has different categories, consisting of
teams, individuals, light pack, or a heavy pack. A closing ceremony is held to
award the finishers and pay tribute to the survivors and their many comrades
who perished on the death march.
[edit]Maywood, Illinois, USA

Plaque in Maywood, Illinois

For 65 years, this small western suburb of Chicago has marked the second
Sunday in September as "Maywood Bataan Day." This is the anniversary of the
first Maywood Bataan Day, held on the second weekend of September, 1942.
The residents were then calling attention to the nearly 100 Maywood National
Guard troops who were taken prisoner when American forces surrendered at
Bataan on April 9, 1942. These men endured the death march, prison camps,
prison ships and eventual slave labour in Japan itself. The men were part of
Company B, 192nd Tank Battalion. The original Maywood Bataan Day drew
more than 100,000 spectators, dozens of marching bands, and celebrities
including the Mayor Ed Kelley of Chicago and movie and radio stars. Today's
celebration is much smaller, but still draws several hundred. The memorial is
supported by the village of Maywood, Illinois and a non-profit group, the
Maywood Bataan Day Organization. [14]
[edit]American
Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor
veterans association
Veterans of the death march held regularly scheduled conventions after World
War II. The last convention, attended by 73 survivors from the march, was held
on May 29, 2009, in San Antonio, Texas. At the convention, Japanese
ambassador to the U.S. Ichiro Fujisaki apologized to the assembled attendees
for "having caused tremendous damage and suffering to many people, including
prisoners of war, those who have undergone tragic experiences."[15]

[edit]Memorials

[edit]The Philippines
 In Capas, Tarlac, there is the Capas National Shrine built in the grounds
surrounding Camp O'Donnell.
 There is also a shrine in Bataan on Mount Samat named Dambana ng
Kagitingan ("Shrine of Valour") commemorating the battle and the march.
The shrine has a colonnade that houses an altar, esplanade, and a museum.
There is also a Memorial Cross built towering 92 m (302 ft) in height.

Battling Bastards of Bataan Memorial at Camp O'Donnell

 The Battling Bastards of Bataan Memorial commemorating all the

Americans that died on the death march and at Camp O'Donnell during the
war. Located at Camp O'Donnell, Capas, Tarlac, Philippines.
[edit]United States
 The Bataan Bridge in Carlsbad, New Mexico commemorates the victims of
the march.
 The Bataan–Corregidor Memorial Bridge in Chicago, Illinois, where State
Street crosses the Chicago River, commemorates the defenders of Bataan
and Corregidor as well as those on the march.
 The Bataan Memorial Highway in Indiana, SR 38 from Richmond,
Indiana to Lafayette, Indiana.
 Highway-70, through Southern New Mexico was renamed the Bataan
Memorial Highway.
 Statue of American and Filipino Bataan survivors resides at Veterans
Memorial Park, in Las Cruces, New Mexico
 The "A Tribute To Courage" Memorial in Kissimmee, Florida, at the corner
of Lakeshore Boulevard and Monument Avenue. It depicts a scene from the
Bataan Death March: two soldiers, one American and the other Filipino, are
 propping each other up while a Filipino woman is offering water to them. It
symbolizes the unique friendship between the U.S. and the Philippines—the
two countries fought together during World War II, and the heroism and
comradeship between the Americans and Filipinos. It was sculpted by Sandra
Storm and is made of bronze. A brick walkway encircles the monument and
there are commemorative plaques depicting the history of the Bataan Death
March and the Memorial. American and Filipino flags fly side by side. It is the
only statue in the U.S. dedicated to the heroes and survivors of the fall of
Bataan and Corregidor and the Bataan Death March [2].
 Bataan Elementary School in Port Clinton, Ohio commemorates the 32
men from the Port Clinton area who were victims of the march. [3]
 Bataan Memorial Trainway in El Paso, Texas honors the prisoners-of-war
who died in the enemy camp [4]
 Bataan Death March Memorial Park in Spokane, Washington
 Bataan Memorial Building—Santa Fe, New Mexico. The building is named
in memorial for the many New Mexico veterans serving in the 200th Coast
Artillery (Regiment) during World War II. The building served as the State
Capitol Building from 1900 to 1966.
 Bataan Memorial Park in Albuquerque, New Mexico memorializes the
veterans of the 200th Coast Artillery (United States) and 515th CA regiments.
The park was dedicated in 1943, a monument was added in 1960, and major
additions were completed in 2002. Rows of granite slabs are etched with the
history of the units and the names of those who served. Each year survivors
meet to remember their ordeal.
 Bataan Street in NW Washington, DC (between Massachusetts and Rhode
Island Avenues.)
 Bataan Death March - Page 1
The Bataan Death March was a war crime
involving the forcible transfer of prisoners of
war, with wide-ranging abuse and high fatalities,
by Japanese forces in the Philippines, in 1942,
after the three-month Battle of Bataan, which
was part of the Battle of the Philippines (1941-
42), during World War II. In Japanese, it is
known as Batan Shi no Koshin, with the same
meaning.
The Fall of Bataan
On April 9, 1942, approximately 75,000 Filipino
and United States soldiers, commanded by
Major General Edward "Ned" P. King, Jr., were
formally surrendered to a Japanese army of
50,000 men under Lt. General Masaharu
Homma. This required Japan to accept
emaciated captives who vastly outnumbered
them. The Japanese, having expected the
fighting to continue longer, had only expected
25,000 prisoners of war and did not have the
facilities to properly care for them.
Logistics planning to move the prisoners of war
from Mariveles to Camp O'Donnell, a prison
camp in the province of Tarlac, was handed
down to transportation officer Major General
Yoshitake Kawane ten days prior to the final
Japanese assault. The first phase of the
operation, which was to bring all of the prisoners
to Balanga, consisted of a nineteen mile march
that was expected to take one day. Upon
reaching Balanga, Kawane was then to take
personal command of executing the second
phase, which consisted of transporting the men
to the prison camp. 200 trucks were to be
utilized to take the prisoners 33 miles north to
the rail center at San Fernando, where freight
trains, which would move them another 30 miles
to the village of Capas, awaited them. Upon
reaching Capas, the prisoners were then to
march an additional 8 miles on foot to Camp
O'Donnell. Field hospitals were to be established
at Balanga and San Fernando while various aid
stations and resting places were to be set up
every few miles.

PRISONERS ON MARCH FROM BATAAN TO

THE PRISON CAMP, MAY 1942 - NATIONAL
ARCHIVES

THE DEATH MARCH

Although General Homma and Kawane had
expected only 25,000 prisoners of war, they
were greeted by more than 75,000 (11,796
Americans and 66,000 Filipinos) starving and
malaria-stricken captives at Bataan. During the
battle, only 27,000 of these men were listed as
"combat effective". Even then, three fourths of
this number were still affected by malaria. As a
result, the Japanese army met great difficulties in
transporting these prisoners from the beginning.
Equally, distributing food was almost impossible
so many were fed nothing. 4,000 sick or
wounded captives had to stay behind to be
treated by the Japanese at Bataan. A shortage of
manpower and supplies on the part of the
Japanese, who were now laying siege to
Corregidor, raised confusion and irritation
amongst the guards as many prisoners escaped.
At most, only 4 Japanese soldiers could
accompany each group of 300 prisoners. The
march to Balanga, which was to take only one
day, lasted as long as three days for some
soldiers.

Bataan Death March - Page 2

After reaching Balanga, it became obvious to
General Kawane that his trucks could not carry
more than half of the prisoners to the rail center
at San Fernando. Since most of the other
vehicles the Japanese had brought to the
Philippines were either in repair or being used
for the Battle of Corregidor, those who could not
get a ride were forced to continue marching for
more than 30 miles on completely unshaded
roads that were sometimes made of asphalt. The
thick dust swirling in the air would make it
difficult for the prisoners to see and breathe
while those who were walking barefoot had their
feet burned on the molten asphalt. Men who
refused to abandon their belongings were the
first to fall. The last nine miles of the march
from the town of Lubao to San Fernando were
among the hardest the men would ever walk.
Those who were able to reach San Fernando
alive were then locked into makeshift prisons
where they were finally able to receive some
level of proper and adequate medical care, food,
and rest. Soon after this, however, the prisoners
were jammed into freight trains that took them to
Capas. Vomiting was frequent during the ride as
some were even crammed or suffocated to death.
After the three hour trip, which included very
few stops, the prisoners then marched the 8 mile
road to Camp O'Donnell.
Through the duration of nine days, a majority of
the disease and grief stricken American and
Filipino prisoners were forced to march as much
as two-thirds of the 90 miles that separated
Bataan from Camp O'Donnell. Those few who
were lucky enough to travel to San Fernando on
trucks still had to endure more than 25 miles of
marching. Prisoners were beaten randomly and
were often denied the food and water they were
promised. Those who fell behind were usually
executed or left to die; the sides of the roads
became littered with dead bodies and those
begging for help. A number of prisoners were
further diminished by malaria, heat, dehydration,
and dysentery. It should be noted, however, that
many of the soldiers who accompanied the
prisoners of war were not only Japanese, but
Korean. Since they were not trusted by the
Japanese to fight on the battlefield, most
Koreans in the Japanese army were forbidden to
participate in combat roles and delegated to such
service duties as guarding prisoners. As one
prisoner noted, "The Korean guards were the
most abusive... the Koreans were anxious to get
blood on their bayonets; and then they thought
they were veterans."
After the Bataan Death March, approximately
54,000 of the 72,000 prisoners reached their
destination. The death toll of the march is
difficult to assess as thousands of captives were
able to escape from their guards. In some
instances, prisoners were even released by their
Japanese counterparts. Out of fear that the
prisoners would be mistreated, Colonel Takeo
Imai made the humanitarian decision of
releasing more than 1,000 of his prisoners into
the jungle. These acts of kindness, however,
were especially rare. All told, approximately
600-650 American and 5,000-10,000 Filipino
prisoners of war died before they could reach
Camp O'Donnell.
Camps O'Donnell and Cabanatuan

PRISONERS WITH HANDS TIED BEHIND BACK -

NATIONAL ARCHIVES

On June 6, 1942 the Filipino soldiers were

granted amnesty by the Japanese military and
released while the American prisoners were
moved from Camp O'Donnell to Cabanatuan.
Many of the survivors were later sent to prison
camps in Japan, Korea, and Manchuria in
prisoner transports known as "Hell Ships." The
500 POWs who still resided at the Cabanatuan
Prison Camp were freed in January 1945 in The
Great Raid.
War Crimes Trial
News of this atrocity sparked outrage in the US, as shown by this
propaganda poster. The newspaper clipping shown refers to the Bataan
Death March.After the surrender of Japan in 1945, an Allied commission
 convicted General Homma of war crimes, including the atrocities of the
death march out of Bataan, and the atrocities at Camp O'Donnell and
Cabanatuan that followed. The general, who had been so absorbed in his
efforts to capture Corregidor after the fall of Bataan, remained ignorant
of the high death toll until two months after the event. His neglect would
cost him his life as General Homma was executed on April 3, 1946
outside Manila.

Paghina ng Depensang Amerikano

Noong 11 Marso 1942, sa utos ni Pangulong Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., nilisan ni
Heneral Douglas MacArthur, kasama ang ilang tropang Amerikano,
ang Corregidor patungong Australia. Sa pag-alis ng heneral, itinalaga
si Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright IV bilang kahalili nito sa Corregidor, at si
Heneral Edward P. King naman ang siyang naatasang mamuno sa
pakikipagdigmaan sa Bataan. Unti-unting naramdaman ng kawal ng mga
Amerikano ang paghina ng kanilang hukbo laban sa mga atake ng bansang
Hapon. Maliban dito, naging madalang na rin ang pagdating ng mga rasyong
pagkain, gamot at sandata mula Estados Unidos, at patuloy na dumarami ang
nagkakasakit at napipinsala. Dahil dito, wala ng ibang alternatibo kundi ang
pagsuko sa mga Hapon.
Ang pagbagsak ng Bataan noong Abril 1942 ay naging mabigat na dahilan
upang humina ang depensa at tuluyang magapi ang Corregidor isang buwan ang
makalipas. Ang pagsukong ginawa ng mga Amerikano sa Bataan ay siyang
naging hudyat sa pagtatapos ng digmaan dito. Ngunit kasabay ng nasabing
pagsuko at pagbandera ng puting watawat ay ang anim na araw na
pagpapahirap sa mga sundalong Filipino at Amerikano sa tinaguriang Death
March.

Ang Martsa

Larawan ng Death March mula sa isang Hapon na POW

Kinilalang Death March, ang sapilitang pagmamartsa na ito ay nagdala ng

matinding pahirap at trahedya sa mga sundalong napabilang dito. Ang mga
sundalong Filipino at Amerikano na lumaban para sa depensa ng Bataan ay
itinuring na mga bilanggo ng digmaan, o mas kilala bilangprisoners of
war (POW). Sa pagsukong ginawa ni King kay Heneral Masaharu Homma,
ipinaalam niya sa huli na marami sa kanyang pangkat ang may karamdaman at
nagugugutom. Dahil dito, iminungkahi ni King kay Homma na siya na mismo ang
magdadala sa mga sundalo sa Himpilan ng O'Donnel gamit ang kanilang
sasakyang pangmilitar. Ngunit di ito inalintana ni Homma, bagkus ay
pinanindigan nito na maging ang mga may kapansanan ay kinakailangang
makilahok sa martsang magaganap patungo sa kampo na siyang magsisilbing
kulungan ng mga bilanggo.
Umabot ng anim na araw ang nasabing martsa. Sa kasagsagan ng init ng araw,
ang mga bilanggo ng digmaan ay walang tigil na pinaglalakad habang sila'y
tinututukan ng baril ng mga Hapon. Nilakad nila ang kahabaan
ng Mariveles, Bataan patungong San Fernando, Pampanga. Sa mga
pagkakataong sila ay “pinagpapahinga,” sila ay puwersahan ding pinapaupo sa
ilalaim ng matinding sikat ng araw ng walang anumang lilim. Ang sino mang
manghingi ng tubig na maiinom ay dagliang pinapatay.

Bitbit ng mga natitirang bilanggo ang mga kapwa nilang sundalo na nasawi sa kalagitnaan ng
martsa.

Sa unang yugto pa lamang ng martsa ay marami na ang nangamatay. Ang mga

nanghihina at nabubuwal sa pila ng martsa ay binabayoneta ng mga Hapon, o di
kaya'y pinagbabaril. Ang ilan sa kanila ay inaabuso at malabis na sinasaktan,
habang ang iba naman ay hinahayaan na lamang masagasaan ng mga
rumaragasang sasakyang-militar ng Hapon.
Gutom at uhaw, ang mga bilanggo ay lalong naghirap at ang kanilang buhay ay
higit na nameligro. Minsan din silang binigyan ng pagkain, ngunit tila hayop
silang pinakain ng mga panis na kanin. Nang sapitin nila ang Capas, Tarlac,
animo hayop na iginapos ng mga sundalong Hapon ang mga bilanggo. Sa gabi,
sila ay pinapatulog sa isang tila bodegang kwarto – masikip at madilim, at ang
mga bilanggo ay parang mga sardinas na nagsisiksikan dito. Sa kasikipan, hirap
na silang makagalaw, at halos mag-agawan sa hanging nilalanghap. Ang ilan sa
kanila ay hindi na inabutan ng bukas, habang ang iba'y nagising sa piling ng mga
nasawi na nilang kasamahan.
Mahigit kalahati na ang kanilang natatahak nang sila'y ibiyahe sa mga tren. Sa
loob ng masisikip at maiinit na kahon ay marami na naman sa kanila ang
namatay. Ang mga nakaligtas ay muling pinaglakad ng pitong milya hanggang
sapitin nila ang Himpilan ng O'Donnell. Humigit kumulang sampung libo sa mga
bilanggo ang namatay samantalang ang iba ay matagumpay namang nakatakas
at narating ang kagubatan. Halos 54,000 na lamang ang nakarating sa kanilang
piitan.

Paggunita
Tuwing sasapit ang 9 ng Abril ay ginugunita ng mga Filipino ang Bataan Death
March bilang Araw ng Kagitingan (o Araw ng Bataan), isang pista opisyal.
Kasama sa paggunita dito ay ang pag-aalay rin ng bulaklak sa mga bantayog na
itinayo bilang pagkilala sa mga sundalong namatay sa mapagpahirap na
pagmamartsa – sa Paggunita sa Capas (Capas National Shrine) saTarlac; at
sa Dambana ng Kagitingan sa Bataan. Ang mga nabanggit na bantayog ay nasa
pangangalaga ng pamahalaan ng Pilipinas.