75th Anniversary Commemoration of the
BATTLE OF BATAAN

On Saturday, January 7th, the Friends of the National World War II Memorial will host a brief ceremony and wreath presentation at the World War II Memorial's Pacific Arch in honor of the 120,000 U.S. and Filipino troops who served during the Battle of Bataan and in remembrance of the 10,000 killed and 75,000 imprisoned.

Nearly 75 years ago, forces of the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy invaded Luzon, Philippines along with several islands in the Philippine Archipelago following their surprise military attack on United States military installations on the island of Oahu in Hawaii. General Douglas MacArthur, Commander-in-Chief of all American and Filipino forces in the Philippines, consolidated all Luzon-based units on the Bataan Peninsula to fight against the Japanese invaders as the Bataan peninsula and the island of Corregidor were the only remaining Allied strongholds in the region. Despite a lack of supplies, American and Filipino - many of whom were U.S. Nationals - forces managed to fight the Japanese for three months. As the combined American and Filipino forces made a last stand, the delay cost the Japanese valuable time and prevented immediate victory across the Pacific. On April 9, 1942, the American and Filipino defenders of Bataan surrendered. Soon afterwards, more than 60,000 Filipino and 15,000 American prisoners of war were forced into the infamous Bataan Death March.

Provided by Jerry Meeks

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