Right after the bombing of the US Naval Station at Pearl Harbor, the Philippines was attacked by the Japanese forces. The attack surprised the Philippine Commonwealth and many towns easily fell to the invaders. President Manuel Quezon, General McArthur and other high officials of the Philippine Commonwealth flee the Philippines and left many American, Filipino and Chinese soldiers fighting the Japanese, especially in Bataan.
When Bataan fell to the Japanese, thousands of Filipino, American and Chinese soldiers were forced to march for 140 km (90 miles) to ride on rail cars in Camp O’Donnell. This forced march is the infamous Bataan Death March where hundreds of soldiers died because of heat, dehydration, hunger and atrocities by Japanese soldiers. According to Wikipedia, about 5,000 to 10,000 Filipino soldiers died during the Bataan Death March. About 600 to 650 American soldiers during that forced march.
During my visit to Limay in Bataan, I chanced upon this marker along the highway:
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Markers like the one in photo were placed all along the highway in Bataan. These markers mark each kilometer that the Filipino and American soldiers endured during the Bataan Death March. The marker above shows that I am about 20 kilometers away from the place where the soldiers started the Bataan Death March.
In honor of the Filipino and American soldiers who fought and died during World War Two, the Philippine Government built the Dambana ng Kagitingan on Mount Samat, Bataan.
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Visit Ahab Reviews and Tips and read about the Ube-flavored Otap.
Read about a good anti-RH Bill video in the previous post.
Photo of the Dambana ng Kagitingan is taken from WikiPilipinas and taken by Aileeen.
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