Tragedy of Bataan

 

 Dec. 8, 1941, the United States entered World War II as Congress declared war against Imperial Japan, a day after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The Japanese shows the most intense phase of their conquest. In January 1942, forces of the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy invaded Luzon along with several islands in the Philippine Archipelago

The battle of Bataan is one of the most historical and intense that happens in Philippine history. It is the first land battle between the Americans and Japanese during the World War II. Many of us have no interest in their history but why battle of Bataan is very important to the Philippine history and especially to us Filipinos? The battle of Bataan is one of the most devastating military defeats of the American war history. There are almost 76,000 Filipino and American troops in Bataan and it is also the largest army to surrender in a war under the command of the Americans.

The commander-in-chief of all U.S. and Filipino forces in the islands, General Douglas MacArthur, consolidated all of his Luzon-based units on the Bataan Peninsula to fight against the Japanese army. By this time, the Japanese controlled nearly all of Southeast Asia. The Bataan Peninsula and the island of Corregidor were the only remaining Allied strongholds in the region. Many of the soldiers faced different challenges in their lives. Despite the lack of supplies, the Filipino and American military managed to fight and hold the Japanese army for three months. With the three months of holding the Japanese army, the Filipino and American managed in a fighting retreat southward. It is hard to imagine that these events happened in our fellow Filipinos. The battle of Bataan started in January 7, 1942 and ended in April 9, 1942. So why did the grounds of Bataan surrendered? American commandment made a decision on April 8, 1942 to immediately grant independence so that Philippines could declare a status of neutrality and on April 9, 1942 declared as The Day of Valor or in tagalog- “Araw ng Kagitingan”. The day of Valor also known as the Bataan day and Bataan and Corregidor day. After the April 9, 1942 U.S. surrender of the Bataan Peninsula on the main Philippine island of Luzon to the Japanese during World War II (1939-45), the approximately 75,000 Filipino and American troops on Bataan were forced to make an arduous 65-mile march to prison camps. During the Bataan Death March, approximately 10,000 men died. Of these men, 1,000 were American and 9,000 were Filipino.

  

             The sacrifices that our soldiers did will never be forgotten and always be remembered. The experiences they have that lead to trauma. The wounds that they have suffered during the wars and the enslavement will be remembered forever and it will be honoured because without them, we cannot experience the joy of life today. They are the real heroes who fought for their own land and for us.

REFERENCES:

Image 1- Retrieved on May 1, 2021 from https://bataancampaign.wordpress.com/2015/11/12/veterans-day-wednesday-11-november-2015/

Image 2- Retrieved on May 1,2021 from https://journalstar.com/news/state-and-regional/nebraska/bataan-death-march-survivor-finds-forgiveness-after-freedom/article_c738ad0e-48d9-11df-8f49-001cc4c002e0.html

Image 3- Retrieved on May 1, 2021 from https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/538391330429835027/