Bravo Bataan Heroes!

In April 1942—before your parents were even born—about 85,000 Filipino and American troops were captured by the Japanese in Bataan and were forced to march to a prison camp over 100 kilometers away. 

This was during World War II.

These prisoners of war (POW) were unlike the marching bands during parades, where the participants are happy, well dressed, and well-rehearsed, walking in perfect cadence.

The prisoners in the march were made to walk under the heat of the sun, with hardly any food or water. Along the way, they were beaten or clubbed violently. Many therefore got very sick.

Before they could reach their destination, thousands had died. That’s why the six-day march is known as the Bataan Death March. 

The Japanese of course denied treating the marchers badly. But I happen to have two uncles who were parts of this march.

During our family reunions, we would gather around them as they told us stories of how they bravely suffered under the hands of the Japanese guards. 

“I had diarrhea, but I wasn’t allowed to go the toilet, so I pooed in my pants,” one of them narrated. We all laughed at that, but really, this was not funny at all! 

The other showed us his scars from being whacked with gun nuzzles. But what really made us giggle no end was when he would take off and show us his removable eye. His real eye was hit by a bullet during the march as well. 

Why were there so many soldiers in Bataan?

These were different groups of loyal defenders in Luzon. But when the Japanese captured Manila, these soldiers were trapped by the enemy and forced to retreat to Bataan.

They had no choice but to be under their Japanese captors and had to do as they were told—march!

When my uncles were finally rescued from the prison camp, one was very fat and one was very thin. The fat one was suffering from a horrible disease called beri-beri, which caused his body to bloat and look obese. The thin one was suffering from ulcers and dysentery. 

Both of them had to be hospitalized for months before they got well. One of the questions we asked them was, “Were you afraid you might die?”

One said, “No. I knew that the Lord was with me and if he allowed me to die then I would be with Him in heaven.”

The other said, “I kept begging God to take me because I was suffering too much. But I lived!”

April 9 is a national holiday in our country. On this day every year, we pay tribute to the heroes whose march ended at San Fernando, Pampanga. Then they were transported in jampacked and oven-like vehicles to Capas, Tarlac, where they marched the final kilometers to Camp O’Donnell (POW camp).

We honor them all—whether they made it to the end or not—because they defended us from the enemy. In Capas, Tarlac today, you’ll find the Capas National Shrine (Paggunita Sa Capas), built by our government as a memorial to the Filipino and American soldiers in the Bataan Death March.

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