The Bataan Death March

On 10 April 1942, the day after the surrender of the main Philippine island of Luzon to the Japanese, the 75,000 Filipino and American troops captured on the Bataan Peninsula begin a forced march to a prison camp near Cabanatuan. Our forces had held out much longer than anyone had expected and, as a result, they were weak, sick, hungry, and wounded–something the Japanese had not ever considered. During this infamous trek, known as the “Bataan Death March,” the prisoners were forced to march 85 miles in six days, with only one meal of rice during the entire journey. By the end of the march, which was punctuated with atrocities committed by the Japanese guards, hundreds of Americans and many more Filipinos had died. We need to remember and honor those brave defenders of our nation who suffered so very much.