The Bataan Death March
You and your group began the march on April 12, 1942?
Yes. We began walking the next morning. It was about eighty miles from where we started to where we ended up. It doesn't seem very far, but we were in such awful condition that eighty miles was a heck of a long way to walk. It took six days to get to San Fernando. There, the march ended and we got on board a train. But in that six days, a lot happened.
On the first day, I saw two things I will never forget. A Filipino man had been beheaded. His body lay on the ground with blood everywhere. His head was a short distance away. Also, there was a dead Filipino woman with her legs spread apart and her dress pulled up over her. She obviously had been raped and there was a bamboo stake in her private area. These are instances I would like to forget.
Beginning The March -- A Japanese wipes off his bayonet after killing a POW who has fallen out. -- Drawing Courtesy of Ben Steele I'm sure. How awful! So, you started marching at Mariveles and walked eighty miles to San Fernando, a railroad terminal. Did everyone take that road?
No, but most prisoners did. The captured soldiers on the West Side walked partially up the West Side, came across the peninsula, and went up the East Coast like we did.
What was the typical day like on the march?
We walked all day. At night, the Japanese took us to a field to sleep. You would lie down and pass out right there.
You started at sunup and walked all day until night. Did you stop along the way?
You just kept walking.
Japanese Soldier Beheading A Prisoner -- U.S. Archive Photo What would you do if you had to go to the bathroom?
If anyone had to, they went right in their drawers as they walked. If you stopped or got off to the side, you would have been bayoneted or shot. I didn't go to the bathroom because I had nothing to pass. Body fluid came out in sweat. I don't recall going to the bathroom until we got up to Camp O'Donnell. The first time I urinated, I thought I was going to die. It burned like sin.
You just kept walking. There was no food or water during the day. At the end of the day you were escorted to a field, or wherever they wanted you to sleep. The next morning it would start all over again?
Yes. In the morning, we would get up and start walking. That went on for six days.
What was the Oriental Sun Treatment?
During the day, at some point, the Japanese would call a halt. We would go to an open field and sit down. We just sat there, the hot sun beating down on us like mad.
After an hour or so, they would get us up and we would start walking again.
Was there any shade?
If there was any shade, the Japanese found it. Guards still walked around where we were. You could have slipped away any time, but where would you have gone?
Weary American Soldiers Rest in Utter Fear and Disbelief. -- U.S. Archive Photo The Japanese probably wanted to rest. Did you have anything to keep the sun off you?
We had no shade whatsoever! I was fortunate because I had my helmet on.
They let you wear it?
Yes. Some other soldiers had helmets but many others were bareheaded.
Didn't everybody get terribly sunburned?
We were used to it. If you didn't have a hat on, though, it was tough.
Did the Japanese issue different clothing?
We wore the same clothes we had on when we were captured.
As you walked, were the Japanese constantly yelling and pushing or did they just walk along with everyone else?
It depended on us. If we got below a certain walking speed, they would start hollering. As long as you kept a fairly decent pace, they didn't say or do anything. It wasn't a fast pace, just kind of shuffling along. The last two days we walked in close formation.
The Japanese weren't too keen on a forced march?
No. They had to walk along with us.
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