The Bataan Death March began on April 10, 1942, when the Japanese gathered an estimated 78,000 prisoners (12,000 US and 66,000 Filipino) to march up the east coast of Bataan. The POWs were given no indication of how far or how long they would need to march through the intense tropical heat. The men, already weakened by months of hunger and disease, suffered unspeakable cruelties during the March.
Japanese guards made a sport of hurting or killing the POWs. They were beaten with rifle butts, shot, or bayoneted without reason.
Japanese guards started the day by giving POWs the "sun treatment." The men were lined up in rows of four and stood at attention in the sweltering heat from sunrise until the sun was high overhead. After ensuring the POWs were fatigued, the Japanese marched them with only minimal rations. Desperate for water, men attempted to drink from dirty and disease-filled, stagnant puddles. Sympathetic Filipinos alongside the road tried to offer nourishment, however, if seen by a guard, both the POW and the Filipino were shot without hesitation.
Over six days, the POWs marched roughly 65 miles until they reached San Fernando. In groups of 100 men, the Japanese forced them into boxcars designed to hold no more than 40 people, causing more men to die of heat exhaustion and suffocation. At Capas, the POWs disembarked and continued marching seven more miles to Camp O'Donnell.
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