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Filipino Bataan Death March survivors mark 75th anniversary

24 Comments
By JANIE HAR

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Im glad he Survived as All wars are a Tragedy And survival it the utmost one can do it beets those that has tried to Conquer him .

6 ( +7 / -1 )

I'm glad that the Philippines' support and roles in WWII are being acknowledged, and the shame of the US for stripping them later of benefits is as well (and that some have been reinstated, finally). This won't make the news much, if at all, here, since many people here deny it -- as they do all atrocities -- or say it was an "easy jog" as that nutbag female right-winger did a decade or so ago, but at least the world can learn a little more about what really happened.

1 ( +8 / -7 )

Seriously who cares ? This was like 100 years ago.

-13 ( +1 / -14 )

Seriously who cares ? This was like 100 years ago.

With $10,000 we'd be millionaires!

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

"This was like 100 years ago."

Somebody is a math genius.

2 ( +9 / -7 )

Seriously who cares ? This was like 100 years ago.

My grandfather was in the Philippines when Japan hit Pearl Harbor. The fighting was fierce, and US forces retreated to Corregidor. My grandfather was among them, working alongside General Wainwright. As luck would have it, my grandfather was evacuated with MacArthur. That was the time that MacArthur famously stated "I shall return"!

Return he did, and so did my grandfather, and many others. Those who stayed at Corregidor and surrendered to the Japanese endured the march, many of who were beaten and killed along the way. And the Bataan march was only one of many such marches, those British and Australians who were marched to and from Kanchanaburi to work on the Burma-Thailand suffered even more death and misery.

All told, of my grandfather's entire troop which was sent to the Philippines, only two survived to return to America.

My grandfather was one of the first to arrive in Japan at the end of the fighting, and was part of the entourage on the Missouri when the surrender was signed.

Why it matters is because when we forget the bad deeds and mistakes of the past, we tend to repeat them. Only two decades before Pearl Harbor, the "War to end all wars" was ended with the treaty of Versailles. At the time, it was thought that another such war would not be possible, people wanted to forget about it. Because it was widely believed that there could never be such another war, countries around the world stood down their armies. But apparently no one told Germany and Japan that there could never be another war, and because the rest of the world refused to believe another great war was possible, by their refusal to see and take action, they made another, and much bigger war inevitable.

Germany and Japan deserve great blame for beginning WW2, and the tens of millions who were killed. But the rest of the world deserves some blame for not having prevented Germany and Japan from starting the war.

As General Santa Ana said, "those who forget their history are doomed to repeat it."

4 ( +11 / -7 )

As General Santa Ana said, "those who forget their history are doomed to repeat it."

It looks like it is USA that is repeating the war.

-4 ( +5 / -9 )

It looks like it is USA that is repeating the war. and how can they repeat something they never instigated!? If you look at Japans lack of educating citizens of its past attrocities and recently the revisions to its constitution and efforts to increase nationalistic pride. It seems Japan is the one that needs to look into the mirror

-1 ( +6 / -7 )

@sangetsu03 Thanks for that fascinating post.

@tinawatanabe. Not good form for a Japanese to criticize the US on an article about the Bataan death march or anything about WW2 in the Philippines . Go visit and talk to old folk. There were atrocities everywhere..

And to the person who said so what because it was 100 years ago? Where do you start.... You should be made visit survivors of Bataan and the holocaust and say that to their faces.

2 ( +8 / -6 )

G.MAL.O.Q at Apr. 09, 2017 - 04:04PM JST Seriously who cares ? This was like 100 years ago.

Yah, man. Like 100 years ago. Who cares? Hiroshima, like 100 years ago. Seriously. Yah. Who cares? Lots of people.

0 ( +6 / -6 )

It looks like it is USA that is repeating the war. and how can they repeat something they never instigated!?

America`s actions during the Filipino Genocide prove otherwise.

http://scholarcommons.scu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1138&context=historical-perspectives

3 ( +5 / -2 )

As General Santa Ana said, "those who forget their history are doomed to repeat it."

Sadly for Japan much of WWII that's common knowledge they wont even admit 70+yrs later LET ALONE have a chance to forget!

-4 ( +2 / -6 )

America`s actions during the Filipino Genocide prove otherwise.

http://scholarcommons.scu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1138&context=historical-perspectives

Thanks for that link. Grim reading, but all news to me.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

tinawatanabe: "It looks like it is USA that is repeating the war."

Such hypocrisy on a thread about a subject you deny (or won't even comment on) is pretty low. And what does Abe say about the US military build up in the Korean Peninsula? Supports it 100%! What did he say about the missile strike in Syria? Supports it 100%! What is Abe doing about the military in Japan? approved the highest budget ever, with record 'defense' spending. Has "reinterpreted" and continues to push for a revised Constitution to allow Japan to build an offensive military. Has refused to back a treaty to ban nuclear bombs, despite every year going to Hiroshima to drone on and on about how horrible the atomic bombs were for the cameras. Denies the atrocities of the past and spits on Asian neighbors. Has pushed to isolate China.

So, tina, if any nation is pushing for war in this region, Japan is among the first and foremost. What's more, YOU support what Japan has done and is doing, so YOU support the push for war.

-3 ( +4 / -7 )

An aquaintance was on the Bataan Death March. He was an American schoolteacher in the Philippines when it fell to the Japanese. He not only survived the march, but he also survived the rest of the war in the prison camp to which he was sent. And then ... as far as I know ... he lived out the rest of his life right here in Japan. The last time I saw him he told me he was teaching English to a group of old women in Chiba Prefecture. He was an old man then, so I doubt if he is still alive today. One interesting thing about him, if I asked him a question about his experiences in the march and camp, he didn't have an answer. Yet, during our numerous talks, he would bring up things that happened during the march and time spent in the camp.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

nakanokira: "America`s actions during the Filipino Genocide prove otherwise."

So, you're saying the US instigated WWII based on the genocide in the Philippines, but no comment on the Baatan Death March or Japan's atrocities. Interesting.

-1 ( +5 / -6 )

gaijinpapa

Not good form for a Japanese to criticize the US

I did not criticize, I simply stated the fact that it is USA not Japan that's repeating the war, in responce to sangetsu03 who is criticizing Japan as "those who forget their history are doomed to repeat it."

-2 ( +4 / -6 )

tinawatanabe: "I did not criticize, I simply stated the fact that it is USA not Japan that's repeating the war"

And it's only fact in your mind, tina, since it is so obviously very wrong. Japan was heading towards war quite some time while Obama as coming over here even to give speeches on peace.

"in responce to sangetsu03 who is criticizing Japan as "those who forget their history are doomed to repeat it.""

Wrong again. Sangetsu criticises EVERYONE in quoting the expression, hence "THOSE who...", not "those JAPANESE who forget their history...". Japan is included, of course, but it is not limited to Japan. The world is not "Japan vs. everyone", tina, and believe it or not Japan IS part of the world, and Asia, too! Under Trump, the US is most certainly headed to and may very well have just started open war with Syria, but to say that Japan is not supporting it or involved, and Abe hasn't been leading Japan down the path to war is ludicrous and even worse denial than usual.

-3 ( +3 / -6 )

and how can they repeat something they never instigated!?

USA instigated all the US wars.

-2 ( +3 / -5 )

tinawatanabe: "USA instigated all the US wars."

Not WWII, tina. Japan instigated the Pacific War. Stop trying to say Japan was the victim of Pearl Harbor and was "defending Asia" -- you insult the Japanese who fought and died, as well as the rest of the world by suggesting Japanese are not intelligent people and are brainwashed about history.

-2 ( +3 / -5 )

G.Mal.O.Q

Who cares? A few million maybe. (those who are old enough to remember it, and those of whom are educated in history).

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

A few million maybe.

US did, not Japan. Japanese weree victim of US genocide.

-4 ( +1 / -5 )

tinawatanabe: "US did, not Japan. Japanese weree victim of US genocide."

What on EARTH are you talking about? First, Ex_Res is talking about the number of people who care about WWII, in response to a person asking "who cares?". Second, Japan slaughtered more than 10 million people across Asia, not to mention all those it forced into sexual slavery, chopped heads off for fun in sword contests, and experimented on with chemical weapons or live vivisections. The Baatan Death March is ONE example of Japan's cruelty and crimes against humanity, and you're on here saying Japan was the victim. Unbelievable. You're straight out of a Moritomo text book, and likely think their education was a good idea.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

sangetsu03 - As General Santa Ana said, "those who forget their history are doomed to repeat it."

Not Santa Ana. It was Santayana. Names do sound similar.

Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.

George Santayana

https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_Santayana

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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