Bataan Death March

Bataan Death March

The Bataan Death March is infamous for being one of the greatest inhumanities of WWII.

In the spring of 1942, Lieutenant Colonel James Doolittle led a raid and had American carriers set off a squadron of B-25s to Tokyo and other Japanese cities. This attack troubled the Japanese because they felt their homes were no longer safe. This was done even though in all earnest America was not exactly ready to battle Japan, but military command demanded them to do something (English 122).

The Japanese took thousands of prisoners and both American and Philippine captives were forced to march to prison camps. The Japanese treated the P.O.W.'s so poorly that U.S. war posters depicted them as inhuman monsters. Filipino's and GI's had to carry wounded and sick comrades in litters, and were beaten during this 6-12 day "death march" in scorching heat. Some ten thousand died on the way, fifteen thousand soon died after reaching the camp from disease, wounds and exhaustion.

On the part of survivors from the "death march" it became known as one of the greatest displays of heroism and human will power. Considering all of the prisoners that were taken by the Japanese, there were so many allied fighters all throughout Bataan that it had taken days and days before the word of surrender reached them all. The death march began at the Mariveles where Japanese forces accumulated around seventy-six thousand prisoners. Then went along to Camp O'Donnell and later moved to Camp Cabanatuan.

The Japanese supply line was barely sufficient to support their own troops, so the prisoners were forced to walk this treacherous terrain to the prisoner of war camp at Camp O'Donnell with no food or water.

The Bataan Death March was anywhere from 65-90 miles long. Prisoners were suffering from a variety of different things. They were exhausted,