Bataan Death March

(April 9, 1942)

Ø   Major Gen. Edward P. King, Jr. – commanding Luzon force, surrendered more than 75,000 starving and disease-ridden POWs (67,000 Filipinos, 1,000 Chinese Filipinos, 11,796 Americans)

Ø  The Death March from Bataan to San Fernando is a 60-mile (97 kms) march to death.

Ø  From San Fernando, the POWs were crammed into rail cars to captivity to Camp O’Donnell.

Ø  Approximately 54,000 of the 75,000 prisoners reach their destination. 

Ø  Around 5,000 to 10,000 Filipino and 600 – 650 American POWs died before they could reach Camp O’Donnell.

Ø  Cruelties:

o   Prisoners were beaten randomly, denied of food and water.

o   Those who fell behind were usually executed or left to die.

o   According to witnesses, those who broke rank for a drink of water were executed, some decapitated.

References:

Text and pictures from en.wikipedia.org