During World War II on the 9th of April 1942, after months of fighting against the invading Japanese, the depleted Philippine-US armies, was forced to surrender to the Japanese Forces. Overwhelmed by the large number of prisoners, the Japanese decided to move them by foot from Bataan to another base located 140 kilometers (90 miles) away in San Fernando, Pampanga.
Popularly known as “Death March of Bataan”, the prisoners of war consisted of 68,000 Filipinos and 11,796 Americans. Many prisoners eventually died due to starvation, disease, dehydration and exhaustion. Others were also murdered along the way.
In this photo, American Prisoners or War (POW) celebrates in Cabantuan, Nueva Ecija, for their freedom with the help of the 6th Ranger Infantry Battalion and the Filipino guerrillas on 30 January 1945.
Every 9th of April, we celebrate Araw ng kagitingan (“Day of Valor”) as a national public holiday in the Philippines, also known as “Bataan Day”. This horrible passé during the war is a reminder of the heroism and strong will to sacrifice to the point of death, by the Philippine and American soldiers for the sake of freedom for our country.