https://thestrategybridge.org/the-bridge/2018/4/10/the-battle-of-bataan-and-the-bataan-death-march
"The legacy of heroes is the memory of a great name and the inheritance of a great example." This is a historical fact that brings us into remembrance of the great Filipinos together with the Americans who suffered a lot in the hands of the cruel Japanese invaders. These heroes who walked in the path of hardship, the so-well remembered Bataan Death March under the extreme heat of the sun in hunger and in thirst are unquestionably branded as the stars of the great commemoration in the celebration of “Araw ng Kagitingan” or the Day of Valor.
The Bataan Death March was doomed to happen when the Japanese army launched its final assault on Bataan. Although the starving Allied soldiers fought as best they could, they were no match for the fresh Japanese troops brought in for the attack. As Homma’s army rolled back the front line on Bataan, King, the American field commander of more than 70,000 U.S. and Philippine troops made a fateful decision. King surrendered on April 9, rather than see any more of his starving, diseased men slaughtered by Japanese forces. Some refused to become prisoners, fleeing into the jungle. Of the ones who got away, many would join the guerrilla movement.
Once the surrender went into effect, the Japanese rounded up the Allied troops, gathering them into groups of 100 on the only paved road. The Japanese assigned four guards to each group and began marching the prisoners, lined up four abreast, north toward Camp O’Donnell in Tarlac province, 65 miles away. As the emaciated men proceeded up the highway in the blistering heat, the Japanese guards summarily shot or bayoneted anyone who fell, attempted to escape, or stopped to quench his thirst at a roadside spigot or puddle. The men were given little water or food during the march, which took about five days for each group to complete.
The guards also chased off or killed any Filipino civilian who tried to give water or bits of food to the passing lines of prisoners. At various points along the route of the march, they singled out individuals or groups of prisoners, tied them to trees or fences, and shot them as examples to the others. The Japanese killed between 7,000 and 10,000 men during the Death March, they kept no records, so the exact numbers remain unknown.
Counting the many lives that were sacrificed in the name of freedom leads us to a deeper realization of the heroism manifested in the Bataan Death March. The painful historical event might have ended the lives of many Filipinos, yet there is that one great thing that we should be thankful about, that is the birth of nationalism that paved the way to the regaining our country’s long-lost freedom. The Day of Valor or “Araw ng Kagitingan” should remain a yearly celebration in honor of the Filipinos who fought the battle of our country’s independence.