what was the bataan death march?
The Death March was the forced movement of American and Filipino prisoners of war by the Empire of Japan.
The mile was 60 miles out of Bataan to Camp O' Donnell with no food or water. They weren't allowed to rest or sleep unless the Japanese allowed it.
The Death March alone killed more than 7500 people. Not just cause of lack of water but also random killing by the Japanese.
(silverhornentertainment.com)
The mile was 60 miles out of Bataan to Camp O' Donnell with no food or water. They weren't allowed to rest or sleep unless the Japanese allowed it.
The Death March alone killed more than 7500 people. Not just cause of lack of water but also random killing by the Japanese.
(silverhornentertainment.com)
japanese cruelty
The Japanese believed in honor and fighting to the death. They viewed all the prisoners less than humans and no better than wild animals. (history1900.com)
They were forced to starve and couldn't stop even if they needed to use the bathroom( if they did . They were not allowed to rest unless an officer allowed it. POWs were also killed just for amusement when the Japanese were "bored" (pbs.org)
They were forced to starve and couldn't stop even if they needed to use the bathroom( if they did . They were not allowed to rest unless an officer allowed it. POWs were also killed just for amusement when the Japanese were "bored" (pbs.org)
Leon beck: pow's experience
Q: What was the Death March like?
A:"It depends on the guards you had over you. Some of the guards were not too abusive and some were very abusive. They would harass you, they would make you line up at daylight, get in a column of fours, usually 100 to 125 men, in a column of fours and keep you standing at attention until the sun came up and got real hot.... They would start you double-timing until the line got stretched out. The sick, lame and lazy, we called them, fell back. Then, they'd close you up again and they might keep you standing another hour in that hot sun.... There are ways you can rest one leg and shift your weight, it's not too noticeable and you can slough off and rest a bit. But, if they caught you at it, it meant a butt stroke with a rifle or a beating over the head, and the people that fell down and didn't get up, you'd hear a shot fired and you'd look back and there lays a body behind you. But they wouldn't let you go back and take care of him, even at the artesian wells, when the prisoners would break and run for the water. They'd shoot indiscriminately into the crowd and some got shot and laid there. You couldn't go take care of them ...At night, they put us in barbed wire enclosures, just a single string of barbed wire around the trees and they'd herd you in there. There was no latrine facilities, you defecated right where you were and it got pretty bad and stinky come morning and you couldn't walk around. You had to stay there. Because of the mess, everybody was sick with malaria and dysentery...." ( pbs.org)
A:"It depends on the guards you had over you. Some of the guards were not too abusive and some were very abusive. They would harass you, they would make you line up at daylight, get in a column of fours, usually 100 to 125 men, in a column of fours and keep you standing at attention until the sun came up and got real hot.... They would start you double-timing until the line got stretched out. The sick, lame and lazy, we called them, fell back. Then, they'd close you up again and they might keep you standing another hour in that hot sun.... There are ways you can rest one leg and shift your weight, it's not too noticeable and you can slough off and rest a bit. But, if they caught you at it, it meant a butt stroke with a rifle or a beating over the head, and the people that fell down and didn't get up, you'd hear a shot fired and you'd look back and there lays a body behind you. But they wouldn't let you go back and take care of him, even at the artesian wells, when the prisoners would break and run for the water. They'd shoot indiscriminately into the crowd and some got shot and laid there. You couldn't go take care of them ...At night, they put us in barbed wire enclosures, just a single string of barbed wire around the trees and they'd herd you in there. There was no latrine facilities, you defecated right where you were and it got pretty bad and stinky come morning and you couldn't walk around. You had to stay there. Because of the mess, everybody was sick with malaria and dysentery...." ( pbs.org)
what happened if you were tired or ill?
You were shot. Simple as that. (pow.grokett.org)
Ask for food? You were shot. Stop to groan? You were shot. Show any emotion? You were shot. You could've been doing nothing, you still could've got shot. If you were a prisoner, you were completely under the Japanese officer's mercy.
Ask for food? You were shot. Stop to groan? You were shot. Show any emotion? You were shot. You could've been doing nothing, you still could've got shot. If you were a prisoner, you were completely under the Japanese officer's mercy.
Conclusion
The Bataan Death march was an unfortunate event for all the American and Filipino prisoners of war. It was a cruel and inhuman event, forcing tens of thousands of people to march under a hot burning sun with no rest, food, or shelter. The story of Bataan has been told by many, but only the real prisoners whom experienced the torture will fully understand the cruelty of the Bataan Death March.