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Post by friscohare on Mar 22, 2012 7:54:43 GMT -5
Forgotten Soldiers commemorates Bataan Death March[/u][/url][/size] (INQUIRER.net, 03/22/12) MANILA, Philippines—In recognition of the 70th anniversary of the Bataan Death March, the White Sands Missile Range presents a new documentary movie, Forgotten Soldiers on Friday and Saturday. Forgotten Soldiers follows a little-known group of Filipino soldiers and American officers who served together in elite units known as Philippine Scouts. These regular U.S. Army soldiers, along with the Philippine Army and U.S. national guard units, fought the first major battle of the war after Pearl Harbor. They were then subjected to the horrors of the Bataan Death March. Half of the men died in combat and as prisoners of war. Six years ago, producer/director Donald A. Plata recognized that the pivotal events that took place in the Philippines at the beginning of World War II have slipped into history, and few Americans today have ever heard of the Philippine Scouts, or even the Battle of Bataan. Plata financed, filmed and developed Forgotten Soldiers to tell that story, and to give credit to the men of Bataan and Corregidor for their sacrifices and achievements. Forgotten Soldiers will be shown at 7 p.m., on Friday and Saturday evening at the Post Theater, White Sands Missile Range.
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Post by friscohare on Mar 25, 2012 12:04:56 GMT -5
Wow... It's been a busy news weekend! Events begin Friday to commemorate 70th anniversary of Bataan Death March [/u][/url][/size] (Las Cruces Sun, 03/22/12) LAS CRUCES — Sometime today, "Camp Baldonado" will have set up inside White Sands Missile Range. It will be a family reunion of sorts for the Baldonado family as they gather to celebrate the lives of Juan and Jose Baldonado, two New Mexico National Guard soldiers who were forced marched during the Bataan Death March. The stories that have become family lore will be re-told and they'll eat traditional meals that Juan and Jose fed to the families for years, after being reunited following the horrific experiences the two men endured during the death march. "It's a very special time for the family, one we've come to really look forward to every year," said Las Crucen J. Joe Martinez, a nephew of the Baldonado soldiers. "We'll set up camp there (on WSMR's main post), and a good time will be had by all." The camaraderie and family togetherness will be a stark contrast to the loneliness, fear and suffering the Baldonado brothers lived with at Bataan. But their lives, and the legacy they've left their family, will be celebrated and enjoyed through the 26th annual Bataan Memorial Death March. The event, which includes 26.2-mile and 14.2-mile marches, begins today when some of the 6,786 participants show up to complete registration and get themselves settled in at WSMR. But setup for the event ends today, and Steve Zagar, chief of the Family, Morale, Welfare and Recreation division at WSMR, said the Army test and evaluation facility almost 25 miles east of Las Cruces is ready for another record-setting event. "We have been deploying equipment since last week," Zagar said. "The last things, like Gatorade and fruit, will arrive Saturday." The logistics to stage the event can be kind of mind-boggling. Food for as many as 10,000 participants and volunteers will have to be prepared; almost a hundred 55-gallon tanks will be used to store water during the event; just less than 150 portable latrines will have to be set up, and 100 cases of bananas and 112 cases of oranges will be needed to provide respite for all of the marchers entered. And that doesn't include the 10,000 cups that will be used by participants during the event. The population at WSMR will swell this weekend as much as three times of what it typically is on any given work day. As many as 10,000 spectators could be at WSMR while the march is in progress. "We've been planning for it, we're ready for it," Zagar said. There are several changes that will affect visitors who attend the event. Those include new requirements to get through WSMR's gates, and a new starting point for the march. Rick Koehler, chief of garrison security at WSMR, said visitors need to be aware of the changes and plan accordingly. "I would expect people to arrive early," Koehler said. "The earlier, the better." To enter the post, visitors need to have their driver's license, identification card, or Bataan vehicle pass to show guards at the gate. If visitors do not have a Bataan pass, they will need to go to the Visitor's Center, adjacent to WSMR's main gate off of U.S. Highway 70, and present a valid driver's license, proof of insurance, and vehicle registration to get onto the post. The Visitor's Center will be open from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. Saturday, and 3 a.m. to 11 a.m. Sunday for visitors who do not have a Bataan pass and are not Department of Defense affiliated. "And, again, we remind everyone that every vehicle entering White Sands Missile Range is subject to search," Zagar said. Security Clerk Arthur Chavez said the process of getting a visitors pass for those not participating in the march should take no more than five minutes, and likely less for people entered in the march who need a vehicle pass to get onto WSMR. Monte Marlin, WSMR spokeswoman, emphasized that participants, spectators and visitors should be prepared. "We can't emphasize enough how important it is that everyone be prepared for long lines entering the post on Sunday," Marlin said. "We ask everyone to be patient as they're coming in." Participants and spectators will have to park their vehicles in the back parking lot of the Cox Range Control Center. Military police will direct participants and spectators into the specially designated parking area. Participants and visitors will then have to board one of five shuttle buses for an approximate a five-minute ride to the new starting point, at the WSMR Youth Center soccer field. Training Division Lt. Larry Houck said he doesn't anticipate the distance will add too much time to participants' schedule. "It'll take longer to load and unload than actually driving where they've got to go," Houck said. "Plan on that extra time." Each of the shuttle buses can hold 40 passengers. Shuttle buses will run from 1 a.m. to 6:30 a.m. Sunday. Houck said participants should be prepared for the changes, and plan a schedule that will get them to the starting line before 5:30 a.m. Sunday. That will give them enough time to measure their 35-pound ruck sacks, eat a light breakfast, and stretch before opening ceremonies begin at 6:35 a.m. "When you try something new, you plan as much as you can and hopefully it works out well," Houck said. Zagar said the new starting point was established because the number of participants has grown so much that it was no longer possible to start the event at WSMR's Frontier Club. Zagar added the same precautions taken by participants in the march should also be followed by spectators. "It's always going to be a good idea to dress in layers," he said. "At the start of the march, it will probably be fairly cool, and people should be aware of that. But as the day goes on, they can take of layers of clothing. "It's always going to be a good idea to take along some sunscreen, and it's important they continue to hydrate themselves throughout the day." White Sands Missile Ranger Reporter Adriana Salas contributed to this story. Steve Ramirez can be reached at (575) 541-5452. Also follow him on Twitter: @steveramirez6. Remember Bataan • Numerous events to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Bataan Death March begin today at White Sands Missile Range and in Las Cruces. • Almost 6,800 participants in the 26th annual Bataan Memorial Death March, on Sunday at WSMR, can pick up packets for the event from 9 a.m. until 9 p.m. today at the WSMR Community Center, Building 460, and from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday. • The early weather forecast for Sunday calls for sunny skies, with a daytime high of 84 degrees. Winds should mostly be light, but could gust to 20 mph. The low temperature, sometime shortly after dawn, is expected to be 53 degrees. • Other events today include a rehearsal of Saturday's re-dedication of the Bataan Memorial Monument, at 9 a.m., at Veterans Memorial Park, 2651 Roadrunner Parkway; a "Blues and BBQ" dinner at the WSMR Frontier Club, Building 1330, from 4:30 p.m. until 7:30 p.m.; and the movie "Forgotten Soldiers," at the Post Theater, Building 254, at 7 p.m. • There are 6,786 participants entered in this year's march. ____________________________________________ Death march soldiers to be honored[/u][/url][/size] Pueblo County High School sending contingent to New Mexico trek (The Pueblo Chieftain, 03/23/12) Pueblo County High School students Devon Schaffer and Joseph Trujillo have only heard about the Bataan Death March through history books and movies. On Sunday, the JROTC members will honor the thousands of soldiers who were forced to march the brutal 70-mile trek through the scorching Philippines jungle as part of the Bataan Death March memorial hike through the desert of New Mexico. "I know it was a great sacrifice they made in going through all they did in Bataan. It's an honor for me to be able to recognize those soldiers at this march," said Joseph, a senior. Joseph and Devon will join classmates Garrett Smith, Cody Martinez, Jack Lesser, Dillon Seipker and County JROTC instructor Sgt. Major Arnold Lewis in marching 26.2 miles at the 23rd annual Bataan Memorial Death March at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. The event honors the World War II soldiers who were surrendered and then forced to march for mile in severe conditions to a prisoner of war camps where they faced more brutal treatment. The memorial event commemorates and honors the heroic soldiers, many of whom died along the painful journey, with either a 26.2 mile or 14-mile march through the rugged terrain and sand of the southern New Mexico missile range. Read more...____________________________________________
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Post by friscohare on Mar 25, 2012 13:25:32 GMT -5
John Mims, Bataan Death March survivor, waves to the audience of the Bataan Memorial Monument rededication ceremony on Saturday at Veterans Park.Bataan survivors attend rededication of monument Saturday [/u][/url][/size] (Las Cruces Sun, 03/23/12) LAS CRUCES — A decade after its unveiling, the Bataan Death March Memorial Monument was rededicated Saturday morning in a ceremony honoring the thousands of American and Filipino soldiers who courageously endured unthinkable torture during World War II in pursuit of freedom. The ceremony, held at Veterans Memorial Park, 2651 Roadrunner Parkway, coincided with the 70th anniversary of the infamous Bataan Death March, which took place in April 1942. Tens of thousands of American and Filipino prisoners of war, many of whom were New Mexico National Guardsmen, were surrendered to Japanese military troops during the early stages of World War II and forced to march for days in brutal conditions through the Philippine jungles. Thousands died. Currently, 61 Bataan survivors are still alive, and 31 of them live in New Mexico. Three plaques bearing the names of the 1,800 members of the 200th Coast Artillery and 515th Coast Artillery, who were all soldiers with the New Mexico National Guard, were unveiled during the ceremony Saturday as part of the state's Centennial. The monument, titled "Heroes of Bataan," was originally dedicated on April 13, 2002, with dozens of Bataan March survivors, ex-prisoners-of-war and thousands of others in attendance. The bronze statue was created by Las Cruces sculptor Kelley S. Hestir. Of the several monuments throughout the United States and the Philippines honoring American and Filipino sacrifices in World War II, the Las Cruces memorial is the first to be mostly federally funded, explained J. Joe Martinez, who initiated efforts to have the monument built. Juan and PepeDuring an address to those who gathered Saturday morning to honor Bataan veterans, Martinez said he was only an infant in 1944 when two of his maternal uncles were presumed by the rest of the family to have died in the Philippines. Named after his missing uncles, Juan and Pepe Baldonado, of Tularosa, Martinez said his uncles were among the survivors of the Bataan Death March. "They were mentors to me then and they still are today," Martinez said. "It's not uncommon to see me sitting on that bench," located beside the statue that bears Juan and Pepe's likenesses. Hestir referred to photographs taken by Japanese soldiers of the Baldonado brothers while they were being held as prisoners as she sculpted the soldiers' faces for the bronze statue, Martinez said. While the memorial represents all marchers, many of whom were carried by their comrades, it is based on an actual event when Pepe, walking on bloodied, bare feet, during the Death March, carried his brother Juan. Reading from a diary Pepe kept during his capture, Martinez recited an entry dated April 13, 1942, four days after the surrender of Bataan. Pepe wrote that he was "getting weaker and weaker. Still we had nothing to eat." Martinez said Pepe wrote that many were shot randomly or stabbed with bayonets. It was on this day that Juan became sick and Pepe carried him as the march continued. Although it is this experience between Pepe and Juan that the statue is based on, Martinez said many who have come to visit the monument can see the faces of their own relatives in the bronze. "This memorial represents every soldier, everyone in the military. It represents all of you," Martinez said to the audience filled with soldiers in uniform, veterans and civilians. Unofficial anthemAlthough U.S. Maj. Gen. Edward King surrendered to Japanese forces, Lt. Gen. Ed Baca explained that in the months leading up to the surrender of Bataan, American and Filipino soldiers fought hard to slow Japanese troops. "They fought with everything they had, and not one of those men surrendered," he said. It was because of the courage of the Bataan veterans that America "went on to achieve victory in the Pacific." In anticipation of a performance of "God Bless America" by Voz Vaqueros, Baca asked the approximately 10 survivors of the Death March who were present for Saturday's rededication to stand to be recognized by the hundreds in attendance. "These men took this song as their unofficial anthem," Baca said. "That's what kept their spirits alive. And the last words (of those who didn't survive) were, in many cases, "God, bless America.'" Baca also recognized the spouses and family members of Bataan veterans, stating, "Freedom isn't free. Someone has to pay the price, someone has to sacrifice and someone has to shed tears, and certainly the family members of the Bataan veterans have." Las Cruces Mayor Ken Miyagishima also spoke of the bravery displayed by those New Mexico National Guardsmen who traveled to the Philippines prior to Pearl Harbor for a one-year training mission. "Those brave New Mexicans fought with all they had," Miyagishima said, noting the World War I equipment that the men used to fight Japanese troops for months before their capture. "I'm sometimes speechless in the presence of these heroes," he admitted. "(America's) successes came from the blood, sweat and tears of all of our veterans, and World War II propelled us to become the superpower we are today." The 11,000 Americans and 65,000 Filipinos forced to take part in the Death March and endure years of senseless torture, starvation, dehydration and disease formed a brotherhood during this shared experience, explained Victoria Tan, president of the Filipino American Association of Las Cruces. Tan, whose uncle lost his life in Bataan, said that the anniversary of those events brings up many emotions for her, as it does for the many relatives and friends of both Bataan survivors and victims. Overdue recognitionU.S. Rep. Steve Pearce, R-N.M., shared childhood memories of a schoolmate's father, a Bataan veteran who appeared quiet and distant to the young Pearce. He has since realized that, because of his experience as a prisoner of war, his friend's father "... lived with a lifetime of pain." Unfortunately, the sacrifices Bataan veterans made have largely "been forgotten until recently," Pearce said. With the Las Cruces community setting a positive example in ensuring that future generations continue to learn of the Bataan Death March, Pearce said he hopes other cities throughout the nation take notice and follow its model. "America is not a place, it's an ideal. These men in Bataan and Corregidor believed in the ideal," he said. "We won't let the actions and sacrifices of these men go unnoticed." Seeking long-overdue recognition of these men's courage and sacrifices, the state's congressmen and senators have joined in an effort to award Congressional Gold Medals to the Bataan Death March veterans, Pearce said. Col. Timothy Hale, secretary of the state Department of Veterans' Services, stated that when it comes to service to the country, New Mexico veterans are a "shining example to the rest of the nation." With almost 180,000 veterans residing in the state, almost 9 percent of New Mexico's population is comprised of men and women who "answered that call to serve," he explained. Hale compared this figure with the "less than half of a percent of Americans who have worn the uniform." Hale also read a declaration from Gov. Susana Martinez, pronouncing April 9, 2012, as Bataan Remembrance Day throughout New Mexico. Legacy of BataanMaj. Gen. Kenny Montoya, commander of the New Mexico National Guard, spoke of the legacy Bataan veterans left behind and its impact on future generations who join the National Guard. In the last decade, Montoya said he's attended more than 100 funerals for Bataan survivors. "I look into the wife's, daughter's or granddaughter's eyes and make sure they know that their Bataan hero's legacy will always live on," he said. "The New Mexico National Guard will always remember you and what you did for this country." About 6,700 people, including active members and veterans of all branches of the Armed Forces who have fought in Korea, Vietnam, the Persian Gulf, Iraq and Afghanistan — many wounded and amputee veterans — will continue to honor the legacy of those heroes today during the 23rd annual Bataan Memorial Death March, said Brig. Gen. John G. Ferrari, commander of White Sands Missile Range. The challenging march through the desert terrain of White Sands Missile Range will take participants on a 26.2-mile journey, symbolizing the 65-mile, five-day trek Bataan defenders were forced to make in tropical heat without food or water. About 1,200 volunteers from the community will assist marchers, Ferrari said. The event also symbolizes a "passing of the torch from generation to generation to generation," he noted. Young marchers from the New Mexico State University Army ROTC represent "the next generation" who will keep the Bataan heroes' legacy alive for decades to come. Following Saturday's ceremony, the film, "Bataan: The Making of a Memory," which documents the sculpting of the monument, was shown at the New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum. ____________________________________________ Before taking off on his own journey, Staff Sgt. Robert Lemy, of Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas, takes a moment to shake hands with Sgt. Buren Johnston, a survivor of the Bataan Death MarchBataan Memorial Death March commemorates 1942 trek to prison camps[/u][/url][/size] (Pasadena Star-News, 03/23/12) LAS CRUCES - The lives, and deaths, of 1,800 New Mexico National Guard members who endured the Bataan Death March in April 1942, are being commemorated Sunday. This year marks the 70th anniversary of the fall of Bataan, when American and Filipino military forces surrendered after battling for days to keep Bataan from the control of the Japanese military. Those among the New Mexicans who survived Bataan lived the rest of their lives with nightmares of all the horrific experiences they endured. But their spirit has been immortalized among the three larger-than-life bronze statues and the footprints in cement of actual Bataan veterans that are included in the Bataan Memorial Monument. Unveiled 10 years ago, a re-dedication of the Bataan Memorial Monument was staged Saturday at Veterans Memorial Park, 2651 Roadrunner Parkway, in Las Cruces. "We're doing this to help educate the children, and the new residents who have come to live here the past 10 years, who may not know the history of Bataan," said Las Crucen Joe Martinez, a nephew of two of the three soldiers who have been immortalized on the monument. The public ceremony was among the first of numerous activities scheduled to commemorate the anniversary of the Bataan Death March. Many of those events were free to the public, including the movie "Forgotten Soldiers," the re-dedication ceremony, two history seminars sponsored by New Mexico State University's Army ROTC unit, and a meet-and-greet Saturday with 17 Bataan survivors still living. The weekend of activities and memories culminates with today's 26th annual Bataan Memorial Death March at White Sands Missile Range. This year's march will again have a record number of participants, as many as 6,800. "It's a great time, a special time," said Loretta Ontiveros, a Las Cruces secretary who has participated in the commemorative march twice in the past 12 years. "Being out there with so many people, and learning about the significance of Bataan, it can really get to you. I know, because it got to me when I walked in (the march) two years ago." Those entered in today's march will participate in either a 26.2-mile or 14.2-mile march. While people participate in Bataan Memorial Death March for various reasons, the underlying theme of staging the event is to honors the special group of World War II heroes. The brave soldiers - most of them from New Mexico - were responsible for the defense of the islands of Luzon, Corregidor and the harbor defense forts of the Philippines. The conditions they encountered and the aftermath of the battle were unique. They fought in a malaria-infested region, surviving on half or quarter rations with little or no medical help. They fought with outdated equipment and virtually no air power. On April 9, 1942, tens of thousands of American and Filipino soldiers were surrendered to Japanese forces. The Americans were Army, Army Air Corps, Navy and Marines. Among those seized were members of the New Mexico National Guard's 200th Coast Artillery. They were marched for days in the scorching heat through the Philippine jungles. Thousands died. Those who survived faced the hardships of years in prisoner of war camps. Others were wounded or killed when unmarked enemy ships transporting prisoners of war to Japan, called "hell ships," were sunk by U.S. air and naval forces. The Army ROTC Department at NMSU began sponsoring the memorial march in 1989. In 1992, WSMR and the New Mexico National Guard joined in the sponsorship of the event and it was moved to WSMR, where it has remained. Only once in the history of the event has it been canceled. In 2003 the march was canceled because a large number of American military personnel were sent to serve in Operation Iraqi Freedom. The massive deployment caused the cancellation because the military units that usually supported the march were away at war, and organizers said the event could not be safely and efficiently conducted. Steve Ramirez can be reached at (575) 541-5452. Also follow him on Twitter: @steveramirez6. 70 years of tradition This year commemorates the 70th anniversary of the fall of Bataan and the infamous Bataan Death March. As many as 1,800 New Mexico National Guard soldiers served at Bataan, during World War II. American and Filipino soldiers were surrendered at Bataan and were force marched to prison camps, or "hell ships." The 26 annual Bataan Memorial Death March will be conducted today at White Sands Missile Range. Thousands from throughout the U.S. and several countries, will participate in this year's march ____________________________________________
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Post by friscohare on Mar 25, 2012 13:30:45 GMT -5
Top row from left to right: Katie Lewis Von Ende, Bill Taylor, David Stalnaker, Cheryl Fallstead, Hooper Skardon and Army medic Spc. Fumiki Roger Nuss. Bottom row, Bud Russo, Col. Ben Skardon, and Liz Lewis Stewart celebrate the last mile of Skardon's 2011 march by posing for a picture next to the mile marker. Skardon, now 93, began marching at 89 and said he has no intention to stop marching anytime soon.Bataan survivor participates for fourth time at 93 [/u][/url][/size] (Alamogordo Daily News, 03/24/12) WHITE SANDS MISSILE RANGE -- For the fourth year in a row, 93-year-old Bataan survivor, retired Col. Ben Skardon, is marching at the annual Bataan Memorial Death March held at White Sands Missile Range. "I started when I was 89 years old," Skardon said with a chuckle. Skardon was one of the now-diminishing number of American and Filipino soldiers who endured a nine-day, 80-mile march after having been surrendered to the Japanese during World War II in 1942. Marchers would be bayoneted if they fell too far behind, stopped to relieve themselves or try to take a swig of water from the nearest springs. "The Bataan Death March was just the beginning; it got worse from there," Skardon said during a speech he gave at the WSMR's Post Theater the day before the march. Of the more than 70,000 that were forced to march, 54,000 made it to the camp sites alive. Two years after the initial enslavement and camp torture, the prisoners were loaded onto ships, 1,000 at a time, in a space only suitable for a fourth of that number. Some ships were torpedoed by the U.S. military due to the ships being unmarked. Survivors from the first attack received treatment and were loaded onto a second ship, which was once again attacked by U.S. Navy divers. A third ship finally took the prisoners to their destination of Mojii, Japan. Skardon recalls the account as the "47 days of horrendous inhumanity." Skardon said he weighed 90 pounds at that time. "I learned how easy it is to die when you lose the will to live," Skardon said. Skardon was 24 years old at the time and attributes his survival to two fellow soldiers and Clemson graduates, Henry Leitner and Otis Morgan Ð who cared for him when he fell ill Ð a Clemson University ring and a condensed can of Eagle Brand milk. Before they were forced to march, Skardon said he hid away the can of condensed milk and his Clemson ring in a piece of cloth. He said he would take sips of the milk during the march and drink it between his teeth. When he became ill, the soldiers who took care of him advised him to exchange his gold ring for food. The ring was exchanged for a chicken and a can of ham. The soldiers cooked and hand-fed him the soup and he soon regained his strength. "I don't have any ax to grind whatsoever. It's really an emotional thing É it's a tribute," Skardon said. During the march his nephew, Hooper Skardon, will carry both a can of condensed milk and a Clemson University ring, a replacement. Hooper said it was a struggle to get the condensed can of milk through the South Carolina airport security. "We had to go all the way to the top security at the airport. They wouldn't let us go until they advised me to say we needed it for medicinal purposes," Hooper said. Skardon retired from Clemson University in 1983 as an English professor. He still visits the university regularly to give his speech about how his school ring saved his life, during a ring award ceremony the school holds. Skardon marches with seven loyal followers who affectionately call themselves, "Ben's Brigade." The group is made up of an array of characters from across the U.S. Within the group are two of Skardon's former students at Clemson University, and two sisters, whose father, a Bataan survivor, passed away in 1984. Neither sister has a relation to Skardon, but felt it was a good way to honor and remember their father. "I was invited to come march and I insisted on doing it. I wouldn't have missed it," said Bill Taylor, a former student who traveled from Nashville, Tenn., for the event. Skardon said a year ago he was accompanied by his daughter, who was not able to complete his march, which usually varies from 8 to 9 1/2 miles, so he said he had have to bayonet her off the course. Throughout the trek, Skardon would joke that members of his brigade were bayoneted when they would stop for water or use the restroom. In each mile marker, the group celebrated with a picture. Skardon attacked the first mile marker with extreme joy. For him the first mile marker marked the start of his march. Through each water point the volunteers would celebrate his victory and run to shake his hand. Skardon was hesitant to even stop for water, saying he would only stop if the water had alcohol in it. Skardon said he had not known about the event until he was contacted by Gerry Schurtz, the Las Cruces state adjutant for the American Ex-Prisoners of War. Skardon said he initially participated in the event to see what it was all about. "My coming to WSMR is now my pilgrimage to the most focused, solemn experience I've ever been a part of," Skardon said. At 89, Skardon marched the event for the first time. The South Carolina native said he wasn't sure if he would be able to return next year, let alone continue the tradition for an additional four years. Skardon will be turning 94 in May. Hooper jokes that he purchased a $100 bottle of wine with a note on it saying it is reserved for Skardon's 95th birthday. Several survivors have passed away in the recent months, including Evangelisto "Evans" Garcia from Do a Ana County, who passed away in January. His family was at the Post Theater the Saturday before the march to award a scholarship in Garcia's honor. "We had the privilege to be raised by heroes. All the way to the end, dad kept up the good fight," said Margaret Garcia, during the scholarship award ceremony. "He finished the race. It wasn't a sprint, it was a marathon. You'll cry, you'll want to quit, you'll wonder what happened to your friend back there, but you'll finish the race because these men set that bar high. Keep the bar high and finish the race." ____________________________________________ Sgt. Maj. Ronnie Curry salutes the colors during opening ceremonies of the 2009 Bataan Memorial Death March.Thousands of people converge on WSMR for 23rd annual Bataan march [/u][/url][/size] (Alamogordo News, 03/25/12) The lives, and deaths, of 1,800 New Mexico National Guard members who endured the Bataan Death March in April 1942 are being commemorated today. This year marks the 70th anniversary of the fall of Bataan, when American and Filipino military forces surrendered after battling for days to keep Bataan from the control of the Japanese military. Those among the New Mexicans who survived Bataan lived the rest of their lives with nightmares of all the horrific experiences they endured. But their spirit has been immortalized among the three larger-than-life bronze statues and the footprints in cement of actual Bataan veterans that are included in the Bataan Memorial Monument. Unveiled 10 years ago, a re-dedication of the Bataan Memorial Monument was staged last Saturday at Veterans Memorial Park, 2651 Roadrunner Parkway, in Las Cruces. "We're doing this to help educate the children, and the new residents who have come to live here the past 10 years, who may not know the history of Bataan," said Las Crucen Joe Martinez, a nephew of two of the three soldiers who have been immortalized on the monument. The public ceremony was among the first of numerous activities scheduled to commemorate the anniversary of the Bataan Death March. Many of those events were free to the public, including the movie "Forgotten Soldiers," the re-dedication ceremony, two history seminars sponsored by New Mexico State University's Army ROTC unit, and a meet-and-greet Saturday with 17 Bataan survivors still living. The weekend of activities and memories culminates with today's 26th annual Bataan Memorial Death March at White Sands Missile Range. This year's march will again have a record number of participants, as many as 6,800. "It's a great time, a special time," said Loretta Ontiveros, a Las Cruces secretary who has participated in the commemorative march twice in the past 12 years. "Being out there with so many people, and learning about the significance of Bataan, it can really get to you. I know, because it got to me when I walked in (the march) two years ago." Those entered in today's march will participate in either a 26.2-mile or 14.2-mile march. While people participate in Bataan Memorial Death March for various reasons, the underlying theme of staging the event is to honor the special group of World War II heroes. The brave soldiers -- most of them from New Mexico -- were responsible for the defense of the islands of Luzon, Corregidor and the harbor defense forts of the Philippines. The conditions they encountered and the aftermath of the battle were unique. They fought in a malaria-infested region, surviving on half or quarter rations with little or no medical help. They fought with outdated equipment and virtually no air power. On April 9, 1942, tens of thousands of American and Filipino soldiers surrendered to Japanese forces. The Americans were Army, Army Air Corps, Navy and Marines. Among those seized were members of the New Mexico National Guard's 200th Coast Artillery. They were marched for days in the scorching heat through the Philippine jungles. Thousands died. Those who survived faced the hardships of years in prisoner of war camps. Others were wounded or killed when unmarked enemy ships transporting prisoners of war to Japan, called "hell ships," were sunk by U.S. air and naval forces. The Army ROTC Department at NMSU began sponsoring the memorial march in 1989. In 1992, WSMR and the New Mexico National Guard joined in the sponsorship of the event and it was moved to WSMR, where it has remained. Only once in the history of the event has it been canceled. In 2003, the march was canceled because a large number of American military personnel were sent to serve in Operation Iraqi Freedom. The massive deployment caused the cancellation because the military units that usually supported the march were away at war, and organizers said the event could not be safely and efficiently conducted. ____________________________________________
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Post by friscohare on Mar 25, 2012 13:34:02 GMT -5
Love of country prompted Filipinos to defend motherland despite overwhelming odds[/u][/url][/size] (ZamboTimes, 03/25/12) MANILA — When the clarion call to arms was sounded on Dec. 8, 1941, shortly after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in Hawaii and various airfield and military installation in the Philippines, Filipino youths wasted no time in volunteering in the fight against the Japanese invaders, so great was their love for the motherland. This was recounted no less by retired Sandiganbayan Associate Justice Manuel Pamaran during a symposium entitled "Images of Valor and Victory" which was held at Armed Forces of the Philippines headquarters in Camp Emilio Aguinaldo. This in anticipation of the 70th year of the Battle of Bataan, and Corregidor where thousands of Filipino youths died in a valiant effort to stop the Japanese invaders from taking the homeland. "We were headed for school then we heard the news that the Pearl Harbor, where the US Pacific Fleet was based, had been bombed by Japanese aircraft. We were discussing on whether we will still proceed to school when a bystander told us that Japanese aircraft were already bombing Nichols Field in Pasay," he recounted. "Although, I was just 13 years old at the time. My friends and I, at that point decided we will fight against the invaders in any possible way we can, despite lacking arms and facing superior enemy forces," Pamaran further narrated. Their decision to go in action against the enemy was soon to be tested as a local resistance group, the Hunters ROTC headed by then Major Eleuterio "Terry" Adevoso, recruited Pamaran and his friends and utilized them as spies and survey troops against the Japanese invaders. "We were tasked to monitor the movement of the various Japanese troops deployed in Manila and the nearby provinces. Due to our age then and perhaps, small size, Japanese troopers paid scant attention to us when we are doing our work, which involved passing of intelligence reports to the guerillas who would then use it to conduct spoiling raids against the enemy," he recounted. The former Hunters ROTC scout also estimates that their efforts were instrumental in ensuring that no guerilla force was ever outflanked or ambushed by Japanese soldiers while doing their resistance work. He added that he and his companions never felt that their efforts were too dangerous or deadly as their service was meant to free the country against the boot of the Japanese conqueror. "All of us felt that it was the right thing to do as we all loved our country," the former justice emphasized. Pamaran said that his service with the Hunters ROTC lasted until the end of World War II in 1945. He added that his time as a guerilla fighter definitely gave him the courage and strength which made him a better person today. The former justice's observation was also reflected in the experience of retired Col. Cesar P. Pobre, who was only 18 years old, when he volunteered to join the United State Army's 29th Chemical Mortar Battalion, which was then engaged in driving the Japanese invader from Nueva Ecija early 1945. "My friend and I decided to join this unit as all of us wanted to lend a hand in defeating the Japanese invader which held sway in our land for almost three years. Our love for country motivated us in participating that dangerous task," he recounted. Pobre also remembers that mortars and shells they were using against the Japanese literally dwarfed them as it was too long and heavy for them to carry. But despite this slight inconvenience, he and his companions patiently conducted their tasks, firing on Japanese pockets of resistance until the latter has been sufficiently suppressed to allow Filipino and American forces to overrun their positions with minimal costs to the Allied troops. Pobre recounts the time when the Japanese soldiers managed to fire first at his unit. "We were at the open fields at the time when the Japanese unit supposed to engage us got the jump on us. I think they fired an artillery piece which they hid in the bush. I remember the projectile hitting my companion whose name was 'Tinoy' squarely. His body disintegrated and we had to pick up his remains all over the place and placed them in a blanket before giving him a decent burial," he narrated. Despite this harrowing experience, Pobre soldiered on and helped in the liberation of Nueva Ecija from the Japanese jackboot. Philippine Historical Association president Dr. Celestina P. Boncan said the sacrifice of these veterans showed the Filipinos' willingness to fight for freedom despite overwhelming odds. She also hopes that the youngsters of today would emulate the example of these heroic men and thus trigger the change in making the Philippines a better place.
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Post by friscohare on Mar 26, 2012 0:01:43 GMT -5
Bataan Death March survivor Ben Skardon, 94, takes a cup of water from Adrian Ferrer, 4, near mile 2 on the Bataan Memorial Death March at WSMR Sunday.Sixteen ex-POWs attend Bataan Memorial Death March[/u][/url][/size] WHITE SANDS MISSILE RANGE — They are the survivors of the survivors. There are now less than 100 living veterans of Bataan and Corregidor, with perhaps 31 still alive in New Mexico. In the last few years, some of New Mexico's most honored Bataan veterans have passed away, men like Tom Foy, Evans Garcia, Lee Roach, and Charlie James. Most of the survivors can't adequately put into words exactly what the annual march in their honor means to them. But one thing they know: they and their fellow ex-POWs will be remembered. "It's great to see everybody show such an interest in what we went through," Oscar Leonard said. Leonard and fellow veterans Bill Eldridge and John Mims tirelessly shook hands with thousands of marchers as they began the day. Others joined them at the finish line to greet exhausted marchers. Sixteen veterans made it to the event Sunday. For the fifth year, Col. Ben Skardon of South Carolina walked the first eight miles, accompanied every step by his "Ben's Brigade," about two dozen friends and family clad in his beloved Clemson orange. "I know I get great rewards being out here and doing this," Skardon explained with about a mile to go. "I just remember the names of all the men I knew, of my friends Henry Leitner and Otis Morgan. I couldn't miss this. It's an honor and a privilege." Leitner and Morgan, fellow Clemson graduates, saved his life numerous times as a POW, but both died before tasting freedom. Skardon didn't want to stop walking, but at every mile, he'd stop with his group for pictures. At every water point, everyone wanted to say hello and pose for a picture. Four-year old Adrian Ferrer was able to get Skardon to do something his team often could not: drink a cup of water. Sgt. 1st Class Cesar Ferrer of the 2nd Engineer Battalion 40 MAC at WSMR and his wife Jennifer watched their son interact with an American hero. "It's emotional, amazing," Jennifer said. Some vets came from very far away just for the march. As in years past, Mims drove himself and his wife from North Carolina for an event he wouldn't miss. Mims is the first to stand and salute, and lives to teach people about Bataan. "Nothing compared to what we went through," he said. "I try to make it here for the ones who can't make it anymore. I'm not getting any younger, and I get afraid people are going to forget. But I'm not afraid to get out and talk about it. I know I'll be remembered." He's all too aware he's one of the last. "It makes my heart bleed. That's why I say somebody's got to do it," Mims said before the closing ceremonies Sunday. Leonard Robinson came all the way from Casper, Wyo. for his first ever march, after the United Veterans Council decided to fund his trip. Robinson was drafted into New Mexico's 200th Coast Artillery after it was federalized in 1941. He was clearly moved by the sheer size of the commemoration. "It's very impressive. That's something, to have that many marching for you, all the young people," Robinson said. But he acknowledged being sad other Bataan guys couldn't make it, and that there are so few of his peers left. "It's just one of those things you have no control over," Robinson said. Other Bataan vets were not healthy enough to be so engaged, but seemed determined to be there anyway. Accompanying all of them were family members intent on caring for them — wives, daughters, sons, grandchildren. The last known Bataan March survivor from Las Cruces, Julio Barela now lives at the veterans' hospital in Truth or Consequences. His daughter Anita Dawson made sure he and his roommate, fellow Bataan veteran Milton "Pete" Pearce made it to the march Sunday. Dawson, the commander of the Las Cruces chapter of the New Mexico Guardians of Bataan, watched over her dad as he shook hands with marchers as they crossed the finish line. "It's an honor for him to see all these people who participate, all the children. He gets great joy that they are doing it in their names and for the sake of Bataan," Dawson said. Regardless of the obvious — that no one can really fill the shoes of the Bataan veterans — Dawson said once her dad and the other men are gone, it will fall on their descendents and those who have taken up Bataan to carry on the legacy. "There will definitely be something lost forever. That's why we'll just have to work really hard. I think everyone is strong enough to continue," Dawson said. "It's up to us as descendents to keep up the legacy for them." The last New Mexico Bataan veterans group disbanded in 2010, and officially passed the torch to the descendents group. Alan Overmier, whose dad Bill Overmier once again made it to the march from Albuquerque, said the march should always be a uniquely powerful vehicle to convey the lessons and legacy of Bataan. "We'll have to fill their shoes; there's nobody else to do it. It's sad but it's inevitable. It's a part of life. What they've started here is a fantastic tradition. (The marchers) love looking at these guys, they love being around them. We'll just have to continue to do this with all our heart." Also maintaining that legacy is the American Defenders of Bataan-Corregidor Descendents Group, which holds its national conference in Albuquerque May 2-6. Christopher Schurtz is a freelance writer and can be reached at cschurtz@zianet.com. He is the grandson of Bataan veteran Paul W. Schurtz. --- Ex-POWs present at the 23rd Bataan Memorial March Sam Juan Antonio Julio Barela Harold Bergbower Valdemar de Herrera William Eldridge Glenn Frazier Oscar Leonard John Mims Bill Overmier Milton "Pete" Pearce Dianicio Perez Leonard Robinson Ben Skardon Eugene Schmitz Henry "Grady" Stanley Richard Trask
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Post by VeeVee on Mar 26, 2012 21:38:44 GMT -5
I wonder how the screening of Forgotten Soldiers went...
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Post by friscohare on Mar 28, 2012 22:30:45 GMT -5
United States Air Force Airmen begin their march Sunday at Scott Air Force Base.Bataan Death March event honors survivors: 'What these people went through was unspeakable'[/u][/url][/size] (BND.com, 03/26/12) Metro-east residents who knew Bataan Death March survivors say they were glad to see the military help keep alive the memory of their friends and relatives with a march Sunday at Scott Air Force Base. Active duty military members honored survivors of the 1942 ordeal by marching Sunday twice around the flight line at the Air Force base, a distance of 12.6 miles. "I grew up in Pocahontas and remember a guy by the name of Dino Zucca who was on that march," said Rich Clayton, of Highland. "He joined the Army in 1939 and was there when the Japanese captured Corregidor. When he came back, he was crippled pretty bad." Clayton said Zucca didn't talk too much about it. But, occasionally, he would share his Bataan experiences as he sat in the pool hall he owned. "I remember he walked with jerks in his step and he always seemed to be very nervous," Clayton said. "He never seemed to fully recover and he only lived maybe 15 years after he came back. But I have always thought of him as my hero." Belleville resident Ardell Miller worked at his dad's store, Bell City Battery, after returning from World War II, where he served in Burma as an engineer. He worked building pipelines through the jungle in awful conditions. But he felt humbled in the presence of a Bataan survivor whose name he doesn't know. "I remember he came into the store in 1946 to visit my father," Miller said. "He really looked like death warmed over. He looked like he was going to die, all skin and bones." It wasn't long after that the veteran did pass away. O'Fallon resident Jeannie Bevington said her uncle Russell "Lucky" Carillo was a Bataan Death March survivor. Carillo joined the Army with his parents' consent in 1940 at the age of 16. He was popular with his fellow prisoners during his 3 1/2 years of captivity in the Philippines because he was good at stealing food from the Japanese to share with them. According to Bevington, Carillo said he usually subsided on a meal of grasshoppers, bats, snakes and sea weed. But sometimes their Japanese captors would entice them to box each other with the winner receiving a prize of some rice. Bevington said Carillo earned his nickname "lucky" when he was about to be beheaded by a Japanese soldier. He knew a few words of Japanese and warned the soldier in his own tongue "You will pay for this in the end." The soldier decided to let him live. Carillo died in a car crash a few years after the war and when the story made the papers hundreds of veterans sent flowers to his funeral. The story also prompted a flood of calls to his family from the family of other men involved in the death march. Their relatives wanted to know if Carillo ever mentioned what happened to their family member. The Bataan Death March, as it later became known, started on April 9, 1942, after the fall of American and Filipino defenses on the southern end of the Bataan Peninsula. Accounts vary widely as to how many Allied soldiers were involved and how many died during the march. But, according to Encyclopedia Brittanica, between 90,000 and 100,000 troops were forced to make the march and about 10 percent died along the way. Japanese captors forced the Allied soldiers, weak and starving after three months of siege, to walk 55 miles to San Fernando, where they were put on waiting trains to Capas. The men then walked another eight miles from there to Camp O'Donnell. The captured soldiers, who walked from sunrise to sunset, were given very little food or water along the way despite the fact that there were wells, springs and ponds along the route. Soldiers who stepped out of line to try to get a drink, often after being tempted to do so for hours at a time by their guards, were bayoneted, beheaded or shot before they could get a sip. At night, the soldiers slept in fields and were given little food while their captors cooked meals across the road so the Americans and Filipinos could see them eating and smell the food. About 2,200 Americans and 27,000 Filipinos are believed to have died at Camp O'Donnell, before it was liberated by Allied forces in January 1945. This camp was a U.S. Army base before the fall of the Philippines. Miller said events like the Scott Air Force Base march -- and other similar events put on by the military around the country -- are important to keep the memory of veterans alive. "I bet if you asked 100 people on the square what the Bataan Death March was that maybe a couple of them would know," Miller said. "And that's a real shame. What these people went through was unspeakable. They need to be remembered."
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Post by friscohare on Mar 28, 2012 22:34:04 GMT -5
Bataan Wreath Laying Ceremony is April 9 at Brainerd Armory[/u][/url][/size] (Brainerd Dispatch, 03/26/12) Bataan Memorial Wreath Laying Ceremony is April 9 at Brainerd Armory. Walt Straka of Brainerd, a Bataan Death March survivor and former POW, will be among those marking the 70th anniversary of the fall of Bataan at a Bataan Memorial Wreath Laying Ceremony at 10 a.m. April 9 at the Brainerd Armory. Straka is a former member of Company A, 194th Tank Battalion, that was federalized and called to duty for World War II. He is believed to be the lone Brainerd area survivor of Brainerd’s 34th Tank Co., which was federalized and redesignated the 194th Tank Battalion. Straka and his fellow soldiers fought and held defense positions on the Bataan peninsula of the Philippines until U.S. forces were ordered to surrender on April 9, 1942. A state of Minnesota proclamation noted that nearly 10,000 U.S. and Filipino troops died during the 60-mile march to Camp O’Donnell. Of the original 82 officers and men of the 34th Tank Co. who left Brainerd, 64 accompanied the 194th overseas. Three were killed in action and 29 died as POWs. Only 32 survived to return to Brainerd at the end of World War II. The armory is located in the Brainerd Industrial Park at 115 Wright St. Refreshments will be provided after the ceremony inside the Brainerd Armory.
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Post by friscohare on Apr 1, 2012 16:25:50 GMT -5
A Commemoration of the 70th Anniversary of the Fall of Bataan [/u][/url][/size] (Asian Journal, 03/30/12) Cal State University, East Bay’s Theatre and Dance Department, the Philippine American Student Alliance (PASA) and Artis Mundi of Berkeley present a Commemoration of the 70th Anniversary of the Fall of Bataan on Tuesday, April 10 from 4:00 to 6:00 PM at the University Theatre located at 25800 Carlos Bee Blvd. on East Loop Road, Hayward, CA. Admission is free. The fall of the Bataan peninsula on April 9, 1942 marked the largest single surrender in American military history. Some 63,000 Filipino and 12,000 American soldiers, mostly sick and emaciated, were forced to march under searing heat with barely any provisions for food, water or medicine in order to reach their prison camps some 60 miles away. Approximately 15,000 soldiers died along the way in what became infamously known as the Bataan Death March. Bataan’s significance cannot be overemphasized. In January 1942, a month after Pearl Harbor, the Filipino and American troops were already subsisting on half rations. And yet, these troops managed to valiantly hold on until April 9, 1942. Singapore fell in February 1942 and Indonesia a month after. Bataan delayed the momentum of the Japanese invasion of the Pacific, sparing Australia from onslaught and preventing the complete takeover of the Pacific by the Axis forces. If not for Bataan, people in Asia Pacific and other parts of the world may not be living in freedom today. The event will be introduced by Ann Fajilan, a faculty member of the Theatre and Dance Department and Artis Mundi’s founder, Cecilia Gaerlan, author of the World War II novel, In Her Mother’s Image. It will feature speakers from the Philippine Scouts Heritage Society, Battling Bastards of Bataan, Bay Area Civilian Ex-Prisoners of War and the US Armed Forces of the Far East. The members of the Philippine American Student Alliance will do a presentation of Hollywood’s depiction of Filipino soldiers during WW II followed by a preview of the Bataan documentary Forgotten Soldiers written by Chris Schaefer, produced and directed by Donald Plata and narrated by Lou Diamond Phillips. There will also be taped interviews of Bataan Death March survivors that were conducted by the students. The culmination of the program will be the appearance of Bataan Death March/World War II survivors.
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Post by friscohare on Apr 1, 2012 16:26:22 GMT -5
Bataan Death March a ‘living thing’ for local veteran[/u][/url][/size] (Granby News, 03/30/12) SIMSBURY — A voice from history will speak at the Simsbury Public Library Monday, April 9 to recall a dark time in the Pacific during World War II. Seventy years ago, on April 9, 1942, American and Phillipine forces surrendered to the Japanese Imperial Army to end the brutal three-month Battle of Bataan. “Bataan has fallen,” reported the Voice of Freedom radio broadcast service that day. “The Philippine-American troops on this war-ravaged and bloodstained peninsula have laid down their arms. With heads bloody but unbowed, they have yielded to the superior force and numbers of the enemy.” One of those American soldiers was Dan Crowley, a teenager from Bridgeport who enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps in October 1940, more than a year before the Japanese sneak attack on Pearl Harbor brought U.S. forces into World War II. One day after the Bataan surrender, the notorious Bataan Death March began, with more than 66,000 Philippino soldiers and 12,000 U.S. soldiers forced to march about 65 miles inland to prison camp, according to the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force. “The men, already desperately weakened by hunger and disease, suffered unspeakably during the march,” according to the museum’s website. “Regardless of their condition, prisoners of war who could not continue or keep up with the pace were summarily executed.” Now 89 years old, Crowley, a Simsbury resident for more than 50 years, will lead the library’s free event, which includes Connecticut singer and songwriter Courtney Drummey performing the National Anthem, a color guard, music, and remarks from elected officials and local clergy. These days, Crowley’s keeps his white hair closely cropped in military style, and his grip is startling when he shakes hands. His blue eyes still flash with anger when he describes the brutality dealt by Japanese guards to American and Phillipino soldiers during the death march and afterward, when the captives were forced into slave labor for years. “The Battle of Bataan went on and on,” Crowley recalled. “There were a lot of crashed P-40s (fighter aircraft) around, and our armorers gathered the .50-caliber wing guns, built frameworks for them out of plumbing or whatever they could find, and set them up for hand cocking.” The American and Phillipino forces were severely out-manned and out-gunned, and although reinforcements were promised repeatedly, they never showed. “We finally realized there was no help coming, no hope,” Crowley said. Frank Hewlett, a journalist working with U.S. forces in the battle, wrote a poem about their plight: “We’re the Battling Bastards of Bataan, No Mama, No Papa, No Uncle Sam, No aunts, no uncles, no cousins, no nieces, No pills, no planes, no artillery pieces, And nobody gives a d**n!” For Crowley and thousands of other prisoners, the Bataan Death March, covering about 65 miles in about six days, was only the beginning of years of brutal treatment from the Japanese. Crowley’s slave labor began on a farm, growing potatoes for the Japanese. “If you stole a potato and ate it, you were beaten to death,” he said. Crowley also worked with other prisoners to build an airfield at Palawan, in the Philippines. “We built the airfield with our hands, using picks, shovels and axes,” he said. “We cut down trees, dug up coral for the landing strip. We were naked except for loin cloths.” He was held a prisoner of war for 42 months. “Death was a daily thing,” he said. “You thought you were going to die every day. A huge number just gave up and died.” Crowley eventually boarded a ship for mainland Japan where he was forced to work in a copper mine for his captors. The prisoner transport ships became known as hell ships, for their filthy, inhumane conditions, which led to thousands of deaths before they made port. “You couldn’t sit down or stand up,” on the ship, he said. “You had to crouch. And some of the journeys lasted six weeks, because the ships were trying to elude Allied bombers.” Crowley was not liberated until September 1945, after atomic bombs destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki, bringing Imperial Japan to its knees. Crowley said he is coordinating the April 6 event at the library to try to explain what happened. “You can never forget what those bastards did to your friends,” he said. “They attempted to destroy us mentally. My anger kept me going. I told myself some day the bastards are going to pay.” After Crowley returned to the United States, he said veterans who were held prisoners of war by the Japanese were stigmatized. “Corporations here in the states thought we were nuts,” he said. “The majority of us re-joined the Army or worked for the postal service.” Crowley became an insurance agent, married, and he and his wife Marie raised a son and daughter in Simsbury. Marie Crowley died in February after 67 years of marriage. Dan Crowley has enjoyed a good life in Simsbury, but he will never foget the years stolen from him by the Japanese. “It’s a living thing with me,” he said. “It’s not ancient history at all.”
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Post by friscohare on Apr 1, 2012 16:28:21 GMT -5
Daughter of Bataan POW learns lesson from father [/u][/url][/size] (Alamogordo Daily News, 03/31/12) HOLLOMAN AIR FORCE BASE If there was one lesson Margaret Garcia, daughter of former U.S. Army Cpl. Evans Garcia, a prisoner of war during World War II, learned from her father, it was forgiveness. "My dad taught me a lot of lessons," she said. "But that's one that will stick with me forever, because if he was able to do it, I should too." Margaret's father, Evans, who was stationed in the Philippines in 1941, was captured by Japanese soldiers after the Battle of Bataan. "He was an artillery aircraft gunner and laid wire for the radio communications team," Margaret said. "My earliest memory of my dad talking about the war was when I was about 6 or 7 years old. My dad would be at home and some of his buddies we come over to visit, and he would start telling war stories. My brother and I would look at each other and go, 'Ah, here comes another war story,' because he spoke freely to all of his friends, but I really didn't understand what it was all about until much later." Growing up with a father who went through what he did made Margaret a little different from the rest of her peers, she said. "None of my friends or neighbors had a father who went through what my dad did," Margaret said. "I remember there would be parades downtown, and dad would always get dressed up to represent Bataan." Margaret said she started to realize how much of a walking piece of history her father was as she got older. "I was in my 30s when my dad sat down with me to talk about what he went through," she said. "Even though we lived apart, I kept in touch with him, and started asking a lot more questions about it. I started taking notes, recording his voice, and gathering story after story." Her father's influence also rubbed off on Margaret's son. "He really listened and learned all he could from my dad," Margaret said. "He joined the Navy when he graduated high school, as a result of his grandpa and understanding how important it was to serve his country." Another thing Margaret and her son learned from Evans was how strong Evans' will to survive was. "When he saw his fellow soldiers surrendering he knew that if the Japanese found anything of value on him, he could be killed, so he immediately threw all of his stuff down," Margaret said. "When the Japanese started rounding people up, he saw a couple of Japanese officers in trucks. He went and jumped onto the back of the truck, but was struck and fell to the ground." While Evans was on the ground, Margaret said, he crawled out of the Japanese soldier's sight and under the truck. "So he grabbed onto the bottom of the truck and rode the death march," Margaret said. "When he got to the end of the march, the Japanese were surprised that they found this prisoner underneath. When he rolled out from underneath the truck he said, 'I'll help I'll help.' So they moved him to the other end of the march to help the new prisoners that came in. Even though he didn't march, he still risked his life getting under the truck and riding all those miles." After enduring three and a half years as a POW, Margaret still can't believe her father was capable of forgiving his captors. "He would tell me, 'I forgive them,'" Margaret said. "It was extraordinary to hear him say that. He had forgiveness in his heart, and he was able to take that and apply it to this situation, where he saw his own friends slaughtered. I'm amazed he kept his dignity and never gave up. For me, that's so honorable, and I'm sort of speechless to really say what I think about his actions." One thing everyone should learn from Evans and other POWs is history, Margaret said. "We really need to understand what our military has been through," she said. "Without understanding history, we're not going to learn from past mistakes. These men had great courage under incredible odds, and they cared for one another. They were closer than brothers. We have to live what they taught us." Even though her father passed away last year at the age of 97, Margaret will never forget what he went through. "I know that whenever I think I'm having a tough day, I remember dad," she said. "I remember what he's been through, and it makes life a little easier."
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Post by friscohare on Apr 2, 2012 7:21:08 GMT -5
Philippine Scouts to re-unite at Clark Field[/u][/url][/size] (FilAmNation, 04/02/12) Survivors of the Battles of Bataan and Corregidor, and the Bataan Death March, will gather at Hotel Stotsenburg, April 7 – 10, on the 70th anniversary of the fall of Bataan and the beginning of the Bataan Death March, for the annual meeting and reunion of the Philippine Scouts Heritage Society,. These soldiersPSHS picture strip fought the first battles of World War II, and the United States Army awarded its first three Congressional Medals of Honor of the war to Philippine Scouts: Sgt. Jose Calugas, Lt. Alexander Nininger and Lt. Willibald Bianchi, for their heroic actions on Bataan. Ultimately, all 80,000 Filipino and American soldiers in the Philippines became Prisoners of War, and more than half of them died in Japanese custody. The Philippine Scouts were a unique organization within the U.S. Army, consisting of highly-trained Filipino soldiers, and American and Filipino officers, who formed the backbone of General Douglas MacArthur’s United States Army Forces in the Far East (USAFFE). USAFFE included the Army of the Philippine Commonwealth, the U.S. Army’s Philippine Scouts and U.S. National Guard units brought from the States shortly before hostilities began, and was ordered to hold back the Japanese advance. Despite being surrounded on Bataan Peninsula and Corregidor Island, and starved out by the Japanese Army and Navy, these men managed to fight on for more than four months while every other country and island in Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific succumbed to the Japanese. They bought America time to repair Pearl Harbor and throw a cordon of defense around Australia at the beginning of World War II. Today, only about 100 of the original 12,000 Philippine Scouts are still with us, scattered around the Philippine Islands and the United States. This meeting at Fort Stotsenburg, Clark Field, will be the first time they have officially gathered together in the Philippines since the end of World War II. At their annual reunions, those who can make it are joined by families and admirers for two days of discussions, business meetings, and celebration. As their numbers grow smaller, the Philippine Scouts Heritage Society seeks to preserve their memory and raise public awareness of the heroic role these men played in the early stages of World War II, and their gallant defense of the Philippines. The Fort McKinley Chapter of the Society hosts their 2012 reunion at Hotel Stotsenburg in Clark Field, Pampanga, Saturday, April 7 through Tuesday, April 10.
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Post by friscohare on Apr 4, 2012 21:57:20 GMT -5
C of O students travel to Philippines with Bataan Death March Survivors[/u][/url][/size] (KY3, 04/02/12) POINT LOOKOUT, Mo - A dozen students from College of the Ozarks will board a plane Tuesday; on a mission to better appreciate the sacrifice of our local heroes. The trip will take them and area veterans to the Philippines to mark the 70th anniversary of the Bataan death march. The students going on this trip will also be blogging about their experience seeing it all first hand with men who survived it. "Going and experiencing through these men's eyes, what they had to go through, the sacrifices that they made for me so that I could have the freedoms I have today," says College of the Ozarks Junior John Mathews. "We pair students and WWII veterans; and we take them back to the places where the veterans served during the war," says College of the Ozarks Vice President Fred Mullinax, "The tremendous sacrifice that has been made not just on their behalf but on all our behalves by these individuals; and these were men, many of them, about the same age as the students." "It was so inspiring to be with these men who were willing to lay down their lives for the freedom of others," says senior Culea Abraham. Become a KY3 Insider! Sign up for our news and recipe newsletters! She will be going on her second trip with a veteran. "We went to Tunisia, Africa; we went to Italy, we spent time in Rome, Florence, Venice," says Abraham. She recalls her experience with a veteran. "His name was Charlie Mann; he was an amazing man; I still talk to him all the time, he's so great," says Abraham. She hopes she and her peers get as much out of this trip. "You get this new found respect for patriotism and for the people that are in the military," says Abraham. "My generation has a lost sense of patriotism and for me, I want to pull out of this trip a new sense of patriotism," adds Mathews. Tuesday's trip will be the 10th time C of O students have traveled with veterans to the countries they fought in. The students will be blogging about their experience while on the trip. Click here to view the blog from their last trip to Pearl Harbor in December; you can meet the students and the veterans they traveled with. There will also be groups of C of O students traveling with veterans to Poland in June with some concentration camp survivors and soldiers who liberated the camps; and to the Guatal Canal later this year; both on the 70th anniversaries of those campaigns.
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Post by friscohare on Apr 4, 2012 21:58:23 GMT -5
Claro Daulo Sr., 94, attends a ceremony in honor of Filipino war veterans to kick off Philippine Veterans Week at the Philippine Army grounds in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City yesterday.Army chief leads Veterans' Week rites at Libingan ng mga Bayani [/u][/url][/size] (Philippine Star, 04/05/12) MANILA, Philippines - Army commander Lt. Gen. Emmanuel Bautista led the sunrise and wreath-laying ceremonies yesterday at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Libingan ng mga Bayani in Fort Bonifacio to start off the celebration of the Araw ng Kagitingan and Philippine Veterans’ Week. The sunrise ceremony allowed veterans to honor their dead comrades with flowers at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Military and defense officials, war veterans and their families participated in the activity that began at 6 a.m. Speaking at the ceremony, Bautista said Filipinos can look back to the heroism of their forbearers. “Today’s and the following days’ activities make us witnesses to history and inspire us as well as our children with the change of history that the nation obtained from the priceless sacrifice of our veterans,” he said. “Some of these veterans have passed on and yet their patriotism and heroic legacy live on.” Members of the Veterans Federation of the Philippines, Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts of the Philippines made a floral offering to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Armed Forces Civil Relations Service chief Maj. Gen. Rolando Tenefrancia said retirees and veterans have dedicated years of their lives and strength in noble and selfless service to the country and to the Filipino people. “As such, we should not only treat them with honor and respect but also support them in their retirement and old age,” he said. Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin led the wreath-laying ceremony culminating with a flower drop during which red rose petals were scattered from a hovering helicopter. Speaking at the ceremony, Gazmin said Filipinos enjoy the blessings of liberty today because of the bravery of soldiers who had fought invaders. “We thank them once more for their deep love of the lofty ideals of freedom and democracy,” he said. “We therefore join on this very special day to pay homage to both our living and fallen heroes – the defenders of Bataan and Corregidor without doubt.” Gazmin’s father, Capt. Segundo Gazmin Sr. survived the Bataan death march. He died two years ago. Gazmin said the government is looking for ways to settle the multi-billion-peso pension backlog for the military retirees. “When President Aquino assumed the presidency, he declared that the government must pay the veterans what is due them,” he said. “We are sourcing out funds in order to pay and settle these financial obligations to our veterans.” Gazmin said the Philippine Veterans Affairs Office (PVAO), headed by retired Lt. Gen. Ernesto Carolina, is doing everything to provide efficient service to veterans and their families. ______________________________________________ Today in history (April 3) - from the files of The Associated Press[/u][/url][/size] (The Independent, Massillon, OH, 04/03/12) On April 3, 1942, during World War II, Japanese forces began their final assault on Bataan against American and Filipino troops who surrendered six days later; the capitulation was followed by the notorious Bataan Death March.
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Post by friscohare on Apr 4, 2012 21:59:27 GMT -5
AFP-CRS hails WWII veterans for valiant sacrifices[/u][/url][/size] (ZamboTimes, 04/05/12) MANILA — As the nation prepares to celebrate "Araw ng Kagitingan" on April 9, the Armed Forces -Civil Relations Service (AFP-CRS) thanked World War II veterans who fought bravely to liberate the Filipinos from incarceration and foreign rule. Maj. Gen. Rolando B. Tenefrancia, AFP-CRS chief, said the sacrifices by the latter should be treated with honor and respect. Tenefrancia said: “Our retirees/veterans have dedicated years of their lives and their strength in noble and selfless service to the country and to the Filipino people. "As such, we should not only treat them with honor and respect but also support them in their retirement and old age, continuously giving them the benefits that they deserve, which is the least that we can do to recognize the invaluable service that they have brought to the nation.” Tenefrancia also stressed that the AFP-CRS fully supports the veterans as the latter are responsible for liberating the Filipino people from the hands of foreign rulers. "They have fought bravely and endured so many sufferings to defend the motherland and reclaim once again freedom that has been deprived from the Filipinos during the Japanese occupation in the 1940s," he pointed out. He added this is not only a time to remember past heroes. “We should also recognize the efforts and sacrifices of present day heroes, our current soldiers, men and women in uniform, who dedicate everyday of their lives, in serving the country and the Filipino people, defending freedom and democracy, promoting peace and national development.”
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Post by friscohare on Apr 4, 2012 22:14:42 GMT -5
Vietnam veteran Ed Fancher rings a bell twice for each of the now-deceased POWs who attended the monthly breakfasts at Bunny's Restaurant before their deaths.‘Never forgotten:’ Bataan survivor, others honor those lost[/u][/url][/size] (Suffolk News-Herald, 04/04/12) Keeping alive a tradition possibly a half-century old, about 50 individuals connected in some way to a group of World War II prison camp survivors almost all now deceased, gathered at Bunny’s Restaurant in Suffolk Wednesday morning. The folks, mostly descendants of 13 prisoners of war honored at the breakfast, witnessed a moving ritual — two rings of the “Ship’s Bell” for each of the 12 now deceased. Donna House, known as the group’s “mother hen,” said no one knows for sure when the monthly meeting ritual began — or when they moved it to Bunny’s, for that matter — but it could have been 50 years ago. The lone remaining member of the 13 survivors honored Wednesday was Ike Hylton, a Bataan Death March survivor now in assisted living in Charleston, House said. Group numbers had been “pretty stable” until the last few years, she said, when the ranks have started to thin. “It seemed like they all started going, one right after the other,” she said. She said the last death was that of Marion “Turk” Turner, a little over a year ago. Turk’s widow, Nell Turner, said he never missed a breakfast and also attended national survivor events. “This was his greatest desire (however), to go here,” she said. As Nell Turner told it, the Japanese took Turk prisoner after the USS Perch submarine was hit with a depth charge and scuttled on March 3, 1942. “The captain gave orders to abandon ship, and they destroyed all the pertinent information (aboard) … (and) took to the sea,” Nell Turner said. After the Japanese picked them up, Turk and his crewmates were taken to the island of Celebes — modern-day Sulawesi — and imprisoned for more than three years, she said. “The conditions were horrible,” Nell Turner said. “They had to help build railroads and cut grass with their fingers. Everything was done by hand.” North Suffolk businessman William Blair said he assumed organizing the breakfasts about 12 years ago to help keep alive both the memory of the POWs and awareness of their sacrifices. “(It’s) to make sure that that part of history is never forgotten,” he said. His wife, Sarah Blair, remarked that the breakfasts were vitally important to the POWs when they were alive. “It was good for them to be able to come here and talk about their experiences in Japanese prisoner-of-war camps,” she said. “They sat down at one end of the table, and the other people sat at the other end, and they would try to top each others’ stories.” Father Oscar Paraiso of the Philippines delivered grace at Wednesday’s breakfast, five days before April 9’s 70th anniversary of the Bataan Death March in which prisoners from his country joined American POWs — 76,000 in all — on a deadly 80-mile forced march. Nell Turner’s late husband had recalled to her the moment he knew the war was over. “Natives came by and said, ‘Big boom! Big boom!’ and they knew that was the atom bomb,” she said. Captain Erik M. Ross, commander of the USS Bataan, was Wednesday’s guest of honor.
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Post by maridhel V Turzar9 on Apr 5, 2012 3:02:10 GMT -5
yes snowpy, i will be there at pshs reunion..tomorrow we'll be going there with sir frank, sir tom, me my 2 sisters and grandfather...presentation will be at 2pm with sir frank are you coming? are you attending? are you going to introduce yourself to us? thanks much.. me, maridhel
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Post by friscohare on Apr 6, 2012 21:34:15 GMT -5
The 70th Anniversary of the Fall of Bataan[/u][/url][/size] (Hyphen Magazine, 04/06/12) April 9, 2012 marks the 70th anniversary of the Fall of Bataan, a little-known yet momentous event in WWII history. The surrender of the Bataan peninsula in the Philippines to the Japanese Imperial Army was the largest surrender in American and Filipino military history. After defeat, about 63,000 Filipino and 12,000 American soldiers -- mostly sick and emaciated -- were forced to march under searing heat with barely any provisions for food, water, or medicine in order to reach their prison camps some 60 miles away. Between 10,000 to 15,000 Filipino soldiers and about 800 American soldiers died along the way, in what became infamously known as the Bataan Death March. Although the Filipino and American troops were defeated at Bataan, the battle diminished the momentum of the Japanese invasion of US bases in the Pacific, sparing Australia and preventing the complete takeover of the Pacific by Axis forces. However, in 1946, barely a year after the end of the second world war, President Harry Truman rescinded the rights of the Filipino soldiers. To this day, these rights have not been fully restored. When I wrote my novel, In Her Mother’s Image, little did I know it would be the beginning of a personal crusade to create awareness around Bataan and its historical significance. My novel is historical fiction: the story of a family’s ordeal during World War II in the Philippines. The war is seen through the eyes of rambunctious eight-year-old Chiquita, whose carefree world is shattered by the invasion of the Imperial Japanese Army on December 8, 1941. Four months later on April 9, 1942, her beloved brother goes missing during the fall of Bataan. The sacrifices and emotional toll are relived thirty years later when Chiquita goes back to the land of her birth -- and to the emotional ravages of war. I was inspired to write In Her Mother’s Image by the many World War II stories I heard from my father, mother, and aunt while growing up in the Philippines. Although the story is fictional, the circumstances surrounding the story are based on real life. My father, Luis Gaerlan, Jr., was drafted in the 41st Infantry Regiment, 41st Division of the U.S. Armed Forces of the Far East in November, 1941. A month later on December 8, 1941, the Philippines was invaded by the Japanese Imperial Army, just nine hours after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. The 41st Division suffered heavy artillery shelling and aerial bombardment in Mt. Samat, the last stronghold of the Allied Forces in Bataan. Fortunately, my father survived the Bataan Death March, and later, the incarceration at Camp O’Donnell. When I started doing readings of my novel a year ago, I was stunned that not many people had heard of Bataan. I even encountered Filipino youth with relatives who fought during World War II that were unaware of it. As a Filipino American novelist, I believe it is vital that our community become more educated about the historical importance of Bataan. One upcoming opportunity is the student-led Bataan Day Commemoration at California State University East Bay. . Survivors from various veterans and Prisoners of War organizations (Philippine Scouts, U.S. Armed Forces of the Far East, Bay Area Civilians Ex-Prisoners Of War) will be participating. A preview of the Bataan documentary, Forgotten Soldiers will also be screened, along with taped interviews of Bataan Death March survivors that were conducted by the students. The 70th anniversary Bataan Day commemoration will be held on Tuesday, April 10 at the University Theater, Cal State East Bay in Hayward from 4 pm to 6 pm.
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Post by friscohare on Apr 6, 2012 21:35:27 GMT -5
Remembering The Battle Of Bataan[/u][/url][/size] Simsbury Resident, Survivor To Hold Ceremony For Event's 70th Anniversary (Hartford Courant.com, 04/06/12) For Dan Crowley, the immeasurable horror he suffered at the hands of his Japanese captors after the Battle of Bataan in the Philippines in World War II plays like a film reel every day inside his head. "You never forget," said Crowley, an Army veteran from Simsbury. Crowley, who will turn 90 in May, is one of the few Americans still alive and able to recall the battle which preceded the Bataan Death March, in which 90,000 to 100,000 American and Filipino prisoners of war were forced to walk more than 60 miles after being taken captive by the Japanese when the U.S. surrendered on April 9, 1942. Today Crowley, with his closely cropped white hair and rosy cheeks, sits in his Simsbury home surrounded by war memorabilia: history books, black-and-white photographs, a yellowing piece of paper declaring him a prisoner. He tells his tale with gusto, his blue eyes darkening at times as he recounts the torture, the beheadings, the Yangtze River running red with blood. On Monday, April 9, Crowley will tell his story again during a remembrance ceremony at the Simsbury Public Library. The event will mark the 70th anniversary of the death march. The Road To BataanIt was October 1940 — more than a year before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor — when an 18-year-old Crowley enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps with two friends. The Greenwich native and his friends traveled from Bridgeport to New Haven to Hartford before they found an Army office that was still accepting recruits. There were three spots left. But it wasn't until January 1941 that Crowley shipped out. He arrived in the Philippines in March 1941. By March 1942, Japan controlled all of the Western Pacific except the Philippines. According to the U.S. Army's website,Gen. Douglas MacArthur and his troops intended to hold their ground on the Bataan peninsula, on West Luzon Island, until theU.S. Navy could bring reinforcements and supplies. Once the reinforcements arrived, McArthur planned to attack from Bataan, defeat the Japanese Army, and push onward to the Japanese islands, victorious. But with the U.S. Navy stunned by the attack on Pearl Harbor, there were no ships capable of bringing the necessary reinforcements to Bataan, Crowley said. During the Battle of Bataan, the American and Filipino soldiers held out four months against the Imperial Japanese Army. On April 3, 1942, the Japanese army launched its final assault on Bataan. Major Gen. Edward King, who replaced McArthur, decided to surrender to the Japanese in the hopes of protecting his troops from further suffering. Instead, the half-starved, emaciated prisoners were forced to march 60 miles north in the blazing Philippine sun from Mariveles, on the tip of the peninsula that juts into Manila Bay, to San Fernando. But not Crowley. Escape To CorregidorAccording to Crowley, moments after the surrender, the U.S. troops were ordered by the Japanese to assemble in Mariveles, where the Japanese began shooting them. "They were firing indiscriminately at the men who had surrendered," Crowley said. "Myself and a handful of others said 'To hell with this.' We refused to surrender." Amid the chaos, Crowley and the other men were able to swim to an allied freighter anchored in the bay. The men hid in the water until nightfall, dodging the shower of ammunition coming from the Japanese planes overhead. Crowley said the men were welcomed onto the freighter — which was carrying four tons of bombs — and loaded into its lifeboats. Then it exploded – hit by a Japanese round. "We were showered from the air with burning debris," Crowley said. "The sky was black and red from the fire. It was quite a sight." The men, still clinging to the lifeboats, were able to escape to Corregidor Island off the Bataan coast, where they were immediately enlisted into the Marine Corps and fought the Japanese for another 30 days. On May 7, they surrendered again, and most of them were transferred to a Japanese slave camp at Cabanatuan, where they were joined by the men who had survived the death march. Crowley spent the remainder of World War II as a slave laborer for the Japanese, both in the Philippines and later in a copper mine in Japan. Crowley was freed in September 1945 after the U.S. dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. 'Burn It'Crowley, who had begun the war a healthy, 6-foot, 182-pound man, was a walking skeleton when he was finally released. During his captivity he suffered from malnutrition, pneumonia, malaria and dysentery. Crowley — who upon his arrival home became an insurance agent, married and had kids — said his anger is what propelled him forward, and his instincts are what allowed him to survive. But as he tells his story — punctuated with jokes and hearty laughs — he seems to keep the memory at arm's length. Dressed in a navy sweater and a belted pair of jeans, Crowley shuffles around a coffee table littered with the remnants of his days at war. Around him are bare white walls, boxes of clothes and knick-knacks. He is moving soon, to an apartment at the new Mill Commons development near downtown. When asked what he plans to do with his war memoriabilia, his answer is startling: "Burn it." The 70th Anniversary Remembrance of the Bataan Death March will be held Monday from 2 to 4 p.m. in Program Room 1 at the Simsbury Library, 725 Hopmeadow St. It will include remarks from state and local officials and clergy, refreshments, a demonstration by the Marine Corps color guard and a live performance of the National Anthem.
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