WHAT IS THE BATAAN DEATH MARCH?
The Battle of Bataan
The Bataan Death March
Approximately 75,000 Filipino and American troops on Bataan were forced to make a 65- mile trek to prison camps after the u.S. surrender of the Bataan Peninsula to the Japanese on April 9, 1942. They had to march in intense heat and underwent harsh treatment by the Japanese guards, where thousands perished. This became known as the Bataan Death March. "The men were divided into groups of approximately 100...typically took each group around five days to complete (the March)" (website Two). It is unknown the exact casualties, but it is estimated that thousands of troops died because of the brutality of the Japanese, who beat and starved the soldiers, and bayoneted anyone too weak to walk. Trucks were known to drive over some of those who fell or succumbed to fatigue, and "cleanup crews" put to death those too weak to continue. "Survivors were taken by rail from San Fernando to prisoner-of-war camps, where thousands more died from disease, mistreatment and starvation" (Website Two).
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Survivors
Even after arriving at Camp O'Donnell, the survivors of the march continued to die of about 30–50 per day. Most of the dead were buried in mass graves that the Japanese dug with bulldozers on the outside of the barbed wire surrounding the camp. "After the war, an American military tribunal tried Lieutenant General Homma Masaharu, commander of the Japanese invasion forces in the Philippines. He was held responsible for the death march, a war crime, and was executed by firing squad on April 3, 1946" (Website Three). Dozens of memorials dedicated to the prisoners who died during the Bataan Death March exist across the United States and in the Philippines. "A wide variety of commemorative events are held to honor the victims, including holidays, athletic events such as ultra marathons, and memorial ceremonies held at military cemeteries" (Website Three).
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"They were beaten, and they were starved as they marched. Those who fell were bayoneted. Some of those who fell were beheaded by Japanese officers who were practicing with their samurai swords from horseback. The Japanese culture at that time reflected the view that any warrior who surrendered had no honor; thus was not to be treated like a human being. Thus they were not committing crimes against human beings.[...] The Japanese soldiers at that time [...] felt they were dealing with subhumans and animals." -Dana Rohrabacher |
Sources and Other Information
Wikipedia
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History
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Wikipedia
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