The "Araw ng Kagitingan," also known as the "Day of Valor," is a public event held in the Philippines on April 9th each year to commemorate the significance of Filipino warriors during World War II. This unusual day honors the deaths of a thousand Filipinos. It, too, recalls the valor of those who fought for the country.
When the Japanese resumed their offensive on 3
April 1942, backed by heavy artillery, tanks, and air attack, the American
survivors on the Bataan Peninsula were so weakened by disease and starvation
that they were unable to offer any effective resistance. MacArthur ordered a
general counterattack against the Japanese from the comfort and safety of his
new headquarters in Australia, with no regard for the severely weakened
physical condition of his abandoned troops or their critical lack of military
supplies. Major General Edward King, the commanding officer on Luzon, ignored
this ridiculous order. On April 9, 1942, he surrendered his troops, relying on
the mercy of the Japanese. Before the surrender, he moved his female army
nurses to Corregidor in the hope that they would be evacuated from the
Philippines.
The Japanese did not follow European
custom, which honors troops who surrender after a valiant defense and treats
female captives with dignity and compassion. Infuriated by the long American
resistance on Bataan, as well as their own heavy losses, the Japanese turned
their rage on their sick and exhausted prisoners of war, subjecting them to the
atrocities of the Bataan Death March and the harsh conditions of Japanese
"hell camps."
President Roosevelt, well aware of the
futility of the American position in the Philippines, delegated authority to
the senior commander, Lieutenant General Wainwright, to continue the battle
against the Japanese or negotiate terms of surrender as he saw fit. General
Wainwright, at his headquarters on the fortified island of Corregidor, decided
to follow MacArthur's order from Australia and fight the hopeless battle to the
end. Wainwright was urged by his senior staff officers to follow MacArthur's
example and flee the Philippines by fast patrol boat at night, but he responded
calmly: "I have been with my men from the start, and if captured, I will
share their lot."
Nevertheless, the bravery of the soldiers will never be forgotten and
will be remembered today and more years to come.
Reference: https://www.pacificwar.org.au/Philippines/FallBataanCorreg.html
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q44807646 https://www.flickr.com/photos/150334035@N07/34884743144
