The Fall of Bataan

          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