During World War II, after months of fighting against the invading Japanese, the depleted Philippine-US armies, was forced to surrender to the Japanese Forces. Overwhelmed by the large number of prisoners, the Japanese decided to move them by foot from Bataan to another base located 140 kilometers (90 miles) away in San Fernando. Popularly known as “Death March of Bataan”, the prisoners of war consisted of 68,000 Filipinos and 11,796 Americans. Many prisoners eventually died due to starvation, disease, dehydration and exhaustion. Others were also murdered along the way.
Today, 9th of April, we celebrate Araw ng Kagitingan (“Day of Valor”) as a national public holiday, also known as “Bataan Day”. This horrible passé during the war is a reminder of the heroism and strong will to sacrifice to the point of death, by the Philippine and American soldiers for the sake of freedom for our country.
Collection by: LIFE Photograph
Colored by: Bilog Bilugan
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