Before the March
"Your worries are over. Japan treats her prisoners well. You may even see my country in cherry-blossom time, and that is a beautiful sight."
-General Masaharu Homma, April 9, 1942
General Masaharu Homma had a problem: he had to get the Allied POWs (prisoners of war) to the prison called Camp O'Donnell in Mariveles, more than eighty miles north of Bataan.
He ordered his advisors to find ways to get the prisoners to Camp O'Donnell in the most humane way possible. The solution that they came up with was to march those eighty miles, no more than ten miles everyday, with enough food and medicine for everyone, and transportation for the sick and wounded. The concept of this plan was to make sure that the prisoners were treated as well as they would be by their own comrades, but this plan had many flaws, one of them causing the death of many.
General Homma had believed that only 40,000 soldiers surrendered, but his total was way off; an estimated 75,000-100,000 had actually surrendered. This miscalculation became the death of many soldiers.
He also thought that his men would treat them kindly and decently. Instead, they would kill the stragglers, instead of helping them; starve them, instead of feeding them. The prisoners would pay the price for Homma's mistakes.
-General Masaharu Homma, April 9, 1942
General Masaharu Homma had a problem: he had to get the Allied POWs (prisoners of war) to the prison called Camp O'Donnell in Mariveles, more than eighty miles north of Bataan.
He ordered his advisors to find ways to get the prisoners to Camp O'Donnell in the most humane way possible. The solution that they came up with was to march those eighty miles, no more than ten miles everyday, with enough food and medicine for everyone, and transportation for the sick and wounded. The concept of this plan was to make sure that the prisoners were treated as well as they would be by their own comrades, but this plan had many flaws, one of them causing the death of many.
General Homma had believed that only 40,000 soldiers surrendered, but his total was way off; an estimated 75,000-100,000 had actually surrendered. This miscalculation became the death of many soldiers.
He also thought that his men would treat them kindly and decently. Instead, they would kill the stragglers, instead of helping them; starve them, instead of feeding them. The prisoners would pay the price for Homma's mistakes.
The March
"Let me lie down, my legs are heavy."
"They'll kill you. You want that?"
-Sergeant Arthur Houghtby and Sergeant Thomas "Abie" Abraham during the Death March
After the surrender, the march officially started for around 75,000 soldiers (during the march, some other POWs were picked along the way from other Allied forces that surrendered, including some holdouts from the Battle of Bataan). The Japanese soldiers stripped the Americans and Filipino soldiers of their possessions, such as watches, money, and other items of value. At times, they would find items taken from Japanese soldiers. Those who had such things were punished severely, sometimes with death. The soldiers would endure much worse in the days to come.
The POWs marched endlessly, only stopping for brief periods so that the Japanese soldiers could rest. When ever the Japanese soldiers would allow them to drink, they would drink from puddles and small ponds that carabao, water buffaloes, went through, leaving them dirty and disease ridden. Sergeant Thomas "Abie" Abraham, an American soldier who was marching, recalls an instance in which the Japanese stopped near an artesian well full of fresh water.The POWs were not allowed to drink from it. They stared at it as they drank the filthy water allowed for them to drink from. Any who dared to do consume water from that well were killed instantly.
Throughout the march, Allied soldiers faltered. Sergeant Arthur Houghtby was one who started to struggle to march, but he kept up with his fellow prisoners' assistance. He and Sgt. Abraham witnessed the first death of the march, a man who started to drag behind the main group. A soldier caught him and beheaded him. Another execution only days later was just as horrific. A Japanese officer found a man, exhausted from the march, unable to go on. The officer took his sword a split his head open almost to his neck. Many other prisoners shared his fate as they too tired from this march.
For the next six days, the soldiers marched endlessly to San Fernando. The aptly named Japanese "buzzard" squads killed off stragglers who could not keep up with the main group. Other POWs were killed for the pleasure of it.
The number of losses suffered by the American and Filipino prisoners vary wildly as so much of the statistics are that are related to this event. An estimated 5,000 American soldiers and 5,000-11,000 Filipino soldiers hand civilian volunteers had perished during the march. The causes of these deaths vary form starvation, dehydration and malnutrition to murder, execution and torture. An unknown number of Filipino civilians were also killed during the march for attempting to assist the POWs with gifts of food, fresh water and medicines. For some, escape had become their obsession. From feigning their own death, or just running out of line, they tried to escape. Although some POWs escaped, many of those who tried, failed.
After their 6-8 day march to San Fernando, the Japanese soldiers loaded the prisoners onto freight trains in which the cars were filled to their full capacity and then some more. The air was limited, the cars were bacteria infested, and the temperatures inside were enough to kill off many of the prisoners. Men were suffocated, to the point of death sometimes, and their sicknesses made worse by the conditions within the freight cars. Some 21,000 American and Filipino soldiers died during the Bataan Death March.
After the prisoners had gotten off the train, the prisoners were marched once more to their new home, Camp O'Donnell.
"They'll kill you. You want that?"
-Sergeant Arthur Houghtby and Sergeant Thomas "Abie" Abraham during the Death March
After the surrender, the march officially started for around 75,000 soldiers (during the march, some other POWs were picked along the way from other Allied forces that surrendered, including some holdouts from the Battle of Bataan). The Japanese soldiers stripped the Americans and Filipino soldiers of their possessions, such as watches, money, and other items of value. At times, they would find items taken from Japanese soldiers. Those who had such things were punished severely, sometimes with death. The soldiers would endure much worse in the days to come.
The POWs marched endlessly, only stopping for brief periods so that the Japanese soldiers could rest. When ever the Japanese soldiers would allow them to drink, they would drink from puddles and small ponds that carabao, water buffaloes, went through, leaving them dirty and disease ridden. Sergeant Thomas "Abie" Abraham, an American soldier who was marching, recalls an instance in which the Japanese stopped near an artesian well full of fresh water.The POWs were not allowed to drink from it. They stared at it as they drank the filthy water allowed for them to drink from. Any who dared to do consume water from that well were killed instantly.
Throughout the march, Allied soldiers faltered. Sergeant Arthur Houghtby was one who started to struggle to march, but he kept up with his fellow prisoners' assistance. He and Sgt. Abraham witnessed the first death of the march, a man who started to drag behind the main group. A soldier caught him and beheaded him. Another execution only days later was just as horrific. A Japanese officer found a man, exhausted from the march, unable to go on. The officer took his sword a split his head open almost to his neck. Many other prisoners shared his fate as they too tired from this march.
For the next six days, the soldiers marched endlessly to San Fernando. The aptly named Japanese "buzzard" squads killed off stragglers who could not keep up with the main group. Other POWs were killed for the pleasure of it.
The number of losses suffered by the American and Filipino prisoners vary wildly as so much of the statistics are that are related to this event. An estimated 5,000 American soldiers and 5,000-11,000 Filipino soldiers hand civilian volunteers had perished during the march. The causes of these deaths vary form starvation, dehydration and malnutrition to murder, execution and torture. An unknown number of Filipino civilians were also killed during the march for attempting to assist the POWs with gifts of food, fresh water and medicines. For some, escape had become their obsession. From feigning their own death, or just running out of line, they tried to escape. Although some POWs escaped, many of those who tried, failed.
After their 6-8 day march to San Fernando, the Japanese soldiers loaded the prisoners onto freight trains in which the cars were filled to their full capacity and then some more. The air was limited, the cars were bacteria infested, and the temperatures inside were enough to kill off many of the prisoners. Men were suffocated, to the point of death sometimes, and their sicknesses made worse by the conditions within the freight cars. Some 21,000 American and Filipino soldiers died during the Bataan Death March.
After the prisoners had gotten off the train, the prisoners were marched once more to their new home, Camp O'Donnell.