In the Bataan "Death March" from April 9 to April 17, 1942, after the U.S. surrender, the Japanese forced American and Filipino prisoners of war to march about 100 kilometers in intense heat with little water or food, killing about 5,000 to 11,000 before they reached the Japanese camps It is estimated that between 5,000 and 11,000 people died by the time they reached the Japanese camps.
When people fell and could go no further, the Japanese chose to bayonet or shoot them. Prisoners of war who could not catch up were bayoneted. Those who fell out of line or out of formation were beaten with clubs or rifle butts. Some American POWs who could not catch up were run over by Japanese military vehicles. The bodies of American soldiers who had been run over by tanks were strewn about. The Japanese left the corpses in the middle of the road.
The march began on April 12, 1942. We started walking and it was about 80 miles from the starting point to the finish line. It doesn't seem far, but we were in terrible shape and about 130 kilometers was a hell of a long way to walk. It took six days to reach San Fernando, where the march ended and we boarded the train. We started our march from Mariveles and walked about 130 km to San Fernando, the railroad terminal. We walked all day, and at night the Japanese took us to a field and made us sleep. I lost the will to lie down.
We left at sunrise and walked all day until night. We kept walking and just kept walking. During the day there was no food or water. At the end of the day, they were taken to a field or wherever the Japanese wanted to take them and put them to sleep. The next morning it was the same thing all over again. In the morning, they would get up and start walking. This went on for six days. When they fell below a certain walking speed, the Japanese soldiers began shouting. They walked at a shuffling pace, not a fast pace. For the last two days, they walked in formation. They had been starving for a long time and were really exhausted. They looked like a bunch of stragglers, and for four days they were given nothing to eat and no water.
After the army surrendered, during the Bataan "Death March" from April 9 to April 17, 1942, the Japanese forced American and Filipino prisoners of war to march about 100 kilometers in intense heat with little food or water, killing an estimated 5,000 to 11,000 before they reached the Japanese camps. By the time they reached the Japanese camps, it is estimated that between 5,000 and 11,000 people had died.
When people fell and could go no further, the Japanese chose to bayonet or shoot them. Prisoners of war who could not catch up were bayoneted. Those who fell out of line or out of formation were beaten with clubs or rifle butts. Some American POWs who could not catch up were run over by Japanese military vehicles. The bodies of American soldiers who had been run over by tanks were strewn about. The Japanese left the corpses in the middle of the road.
The march began on April 12, 1942. We started walking and it was about 80 miles from the starting point to the finish line. It doesn't seem far, but we were in terrible shape and about 130 kilometers was a hell of a long way to walk. It took six days to reach San Fernando, where the march ended and we boarded the train. We started our march from Mariveles and walked about 130 km to San Fernando, the railroad terminal. We walked all day, and at night the Japanese took us to a field and made us sleep. I lost the will to lie down.
We left at sunrise and walked all day until night. We kept walking and just kept walking. During the day there was no food or water. At the end of the day, they were taken to a field or wherever the Japanese wanted to take them and put them to sleep. The next morning it was the same thing all over again. In the morning, they would get up and start walking. This went on for six days. When they fell below a certain walking speed, the Japanese soldiers began shouting. They walked at a shuffling pace, not a fast pace. For the last two days, they walked in formation. They had been starving for a long time and were really exhausted. We looked like a bunch of stragglers, and for four days we were given nothing to eat, not even water.
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