On April 9, 1942, the United States experienced its largest military surrender, followed by the infamous Bataan Death March. Around 76,000 American and Filipino soldiers, already weakened by months of fighting on the Bataan Peninsula in the Philippines with no supplies, were taken as POWs by the Japanese. They were then forced to march 65 miles to a prison camp, where thousands perished along the way.
OPINION: 80 Years Later: Bataan Death March POWs Deserve Commemorating
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Mrs. Abe pose with Dr. Lester Tenney and Mrs. Tenney. Washington, D.C., 2015.
Lester Tenney
Dr. Lester Tenney, a survivor of the Bataan Death March, was a dear friend of mine who passed away in 2017. On this anniversary, I remember the moving speech he delivered in 2000 at a memorial service held at the Commonwealth War Cemetery in Yokohama, Japan:
We are gathered here today to pay tribute to the soldiers, sailors, and marines who served their countries honorably and died a needless death at the peak of their lives. The greatest honor we can pay our fallen comrades is to be here today, acknowledging the hell they endured during Japan’s brief victory in WWII.
