The Bataan Death March

On April 10, 1942, approximately 78,000 American and Filipino prisoners of war were forced to march nearly 65 miles under brutal conditions during the Bataan Death March. Starving, ill, and exhausted, many were executed if they could not keep pace—making the journey one of the most harrowing ordeals of World War II.

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The Bataan Death March

With few aircraft left, United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) personnel fought as infantry to hold the Bataan Peninsula in the Philippines. Although they suffered from malnourishment and disease, these men battled valiantly until they were ordered by their commander to surrender on April 9, 1942.

Then followed the barbarity of the Bataan Death March, during which their Japanese captors tortured, starved, and killed thousands of US and Filipino prisoners of war (POWs) during the 65-mile forced march. Worse still, the majority of those who survived the march later perished in POW camps or in transit on "hell ships" to Japan.

Click on the following links to learn more about the Bataan Death March.

The Last Days on Bataan
The Battling Bastards of Bataan
The Provisional Air Corps Regiment
The Battle of the Points
The Cost of Being Unprepared
Bataan Death March: Japanese Brutality
The Aftermath: Prison Camps and Hell Ships
Service and Sacrifice: Master Sgt. Charles B. Causey
Service and Sacrifice: Chaplain Robert Preston Taylor
Service and Sacrifice: William E. Dyess

Makeshift Uniform

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Videos

Yesterday's Air Force: Bataan Death March (Air Force TV) (00:03:10)

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