Bataan Death March April 10 1942

[whitehall]

Dougout Doug was safely in Australia while General Wainwright was left holding the bag for the surrender of U.S. forces in the Philippines.

 

[regent]

Had two experiences relating to Bataan. One was when our infantry regiment was assigned the job of retaking Bataan and two, was when the prisoners from the Death march were released by the Sixth Rangers and some of the prisoners ate a hot breakfast with us. The hot breakfast was the first we had for some time, and when one of the former prisoners asked us if we always ate like that, we responded with "Oh sure." Which of course was a lie. Later I figured our responses were based on being around real heroes, and we felt intimidated in their presence.

 

[whitehall]

An example of real heroes in WW2 in the Pacific were the (forgotten) guys on Iwo Jima where "Uncommon Valor was a common virtue". The poor bastards who were left to surrender and rot on Bataan weren't heroes, they were pathetic survivors.

 

[regent]

An example of real heroes in WW2 in the Pacific were the (forgotten) guys on Iwo Jima where "Uncommon Valor was a common virtue". The poor bastards who were left to surrender and rot on Bataan weren't heroes, they were pathetic survivors.

One of my closest friends was on Iwo and I never saw any indication of his believing he was forgotten.

 

[Syriusly]

An example of real heroes in WW2 in the Pacific were the (forgotten) guys on Iwo Jima where "Uncommon Valor was a common virtue". The poor bastards who were left to surrender and rot on Bataan weren't heroes, they were pathetic survivors.

I am sure the survivors from Bataan are glad to hear that you don't think that they are heroes but pathetic survivors.

Always good to hear from the armchair quarterbacks 70 years later.

 

[whitehall]

An example of real heroes in WW2 in the Pacific were the (forgotten) guys on Iwo Jima where "Uncommon Valor was a common virtue". The poor bastards who were left to surrender and rot on Bataan weren't heroes, they were pathetic survivors.

I am sure the survivors from Bataan are glad to hear that you don't think that they are heroes but pathetic survivors.

Always good to hear from the armchair quarterbacks 70 years later.

They would be the first to tell you that they weren't heroes but victims of Mac's incompetence (and cowardice?) if you could find any today. You gotta get your mind right about the concept of heroism vs survival. A guy who is forced to pick the peanuts out of human shit and eat God knows what in order to survive isn't a hero, he is a survivor with an incredible will to live.

 

[whitehall]

An example of real heroes in WW2 in the Pacific were the (forgotten) guys on Iwo Jima where "Uncommon Valor was a common virtue". The poor bastards who were left to surrender and rot on Bataan weren't heroes, they were pathetic survivors.

One of my closest friends was on Iwo and I never saw any indication of his believing he was forgotten.

Marines like your friend will always be heroes to their friends and family (and society) but their mission is all but forgotten and the phrase "uncommon valor" has faded into memory.

 

[IsaacNewton]

For anyone to disparage any US soldier that was in the Philippines and was captured is disgusting. They fought a brilliant retreat back to the Bataan peninsula and held out for months, until their supplies ran out. Just as with the Marines on Wake at the beginning of the war who fought extremely well, sank two Japanese destroyers with a handful of 5" guns on Wake, and only surrendered to vastly superior numbers of enemy that had plentiful supplies and ammunition two weeks later.

The US forces at Bataan beat the hell out of the Japs until they ran low on supplies and ammunition.

MacArthur left because he was ordered to leave. His capture and/or death would not have made any difference re the Bataan death march.

 

[Syriusly]

An example of real heroes in WW2 in the Pacific were the (forgotten) guys on Iwo Jima where "Uncommon Valor was a common virtue". The poor bastards who were left to surrender and rot on Bataan weren't heroes, they were pathetic survivors.

I am sure the survivors from Bataan are glad to hear that you don't think that they are heroes but pathetic survivors.

Always good to hear from the armchair quarterbacks 70 years later.

They would be the first to tell you that they weren't heroes but victims of Mac's incompetence (and cowardice?) if you could find any today. You gotta get your mind right about the concept of heroism vs survival. A guy who is forced to pick the peanuts out of human shit and eat God knows what in order to survive isn't a hero, he is a survivor with an incredible will to live.

I guess you and I have different definitions of what a hero is.

According to historian Bill Keith, while in the Cabanatuan prison camp in the summer of 1943, Taylor gathered a group of soldiers around him and said, “Ask me about my condition. I’m dirty, nasty, and all I have on is my underwear. Can you smell the stench of my rotting teeth? Listen to me, listen without pity, I’m not going to die. I’m going to live and you are too, because God is going to give us strength.”

In addition to spiritual leadership, Taylor conducted daily services and prayers with the sick and wounded, and was soon able to find a way to smuggle food and medicine into Cabanatuan through an underground American spy in Manila. He knew the risk could be his life, but did it anyway, saving an untold number of Americans in the process. His contact was soon discovered though, and Taylor faced torture and debilitating punishment from the Japanese as a result. Apart from severe beatings, he was placed inside a four-foot by four-foot “hot box” made of tin and bamboo shafts where he was unable to lay down or stand. Incredibly, he endured this for 14 weeks straight in the extreme heat of the south Pacific summer with only his bible as a comfort, which he read through twice. Taylor suffered severe muscle atrophy and sores from sitting on the bamboo, and at the end of the fourteenth week, he slipped into a coma. Convinced he was dead, other soldiers pleaded with their Japanese tormentors to let them take Taylor’s body out of the hot box to ensure he had a proper burial. They found him faintly breathing and he eventually recovered enough to be able to stand again.
In October 1944, the Japanese ordered all American officers to be moved out of the Philippines, and Taylor and about 1,600 others were placed aboard “hell ships” and sent to the Japanese mainland. While in transit, they were bombed by American planes whose pilots didn’t know the ships contained American prisoners of war. Taylor received non-life threatening wounds and was transferred to two other ships, ending up in Formosa, or present-day Taiwan, and soon Japan itself. By the war’s end, Taylor was in a Japanese prison camp in Manchuria and was liberated in August 1945.

Taylor spent a total of 42 months in prison camps in the Philippines, Korea, Japan and Manchuria by the time he was released, ministering to the men in the camps to keep up morale and faith. Over the course of his career, he received the Silver Star, Bronze Star and the Presidential Unit Citation with two oak leaf clusters.

Taylor was a true American hero, both under fire and in an impossible situation as a prisoner. Before Bataan even fell on April 9, 1942, Taylor had received a Silver Star for gallantry for helping to evacuate wounded Americans from the front lines while under heavy fire. While suffering in the prison camps himself, he remained steadfast, supporting and providing to his fellow servicemen, an inconceivable feat of true humanity that few of us can even imagine today. After the war, Taylor remained in the Air Corps, redesignated the U.S. Air Force in 1947, and climbed the ranks, ultimately reaching the rank of major general. In 1962, President John F. Kennedy appointed him Air Force chief of chaplains, but it was his incredible service in the Philippines during World War II that left an indelible impression upon those he served.

 

[whitehall]

Air Force Chaplain Robert Taylor was truly a hero of the Bataan Death March and an inspiration to the survivors who he ministered to. I bet somebody can come up with maybe a dozen names of other heroes. The sad truth is that not everyone who survived Bataan can be considered a hero just because he was forced to surrender and suffered horribly..

 

[Pop23]

My Uncle survived the march, if you want to call what he endured the rest of his life survival.

Ended up drinking himself to death. Can’t count the times I heard him ask why he was allowed to live while he watched so many of his friends die.

He earned a special place in my heart and I’m sure he finally found peace in heaven.

 

[Syriusly]

Air Force Chaplain Robert Taylor was truly a hero of the Bataan Death March and an inspiration to the survivors who he ministered to. I bet somebody can come up with maybe a dozen names of other heroes. The sad truth is that not everyone who survived Bataan can be considered a hero just because he was forced to surrender and suffered horribly..

My Uncle survived the march, if you want to call what he endured the rest of his life survival.

Ended up drinking himself to death. Can’t count the times I heard him ask why he was allowed to live while he watched so many of his friends die.

He earned a special place in my heart and I’m sure he finally found peace in heaven.

But I am sure he would have found solace in Whitehall explaining he wasn't a 'hero' he was just a survivor'

 

[Pop23]

Air Force Chaplain Robert Taylor was truly a hero of the Bataan Death March and an inspiration to the survivors who he ministered to. I bet somebody can come up with maybe a dozen names of other heroes. The sad truth is that not everyone who survived Bataan can be considered a hero just because he was forced to surrender and suffered horribly..

My Uncle survived the march, if you want to call what he endured the rest of his life survival.

Ended up drinking himself to death. Can’t count the times I heard him ask why he was allowed to live while he watched so many of his friends die.

He earned a special place in my heart and I’m sure he finally found peace in heaven.

But I am sure he would have found solace in Whitehall explaining he wasn't a 'hero' he was just a survivor'

You took it far differently than I.

I will guarantee you, he never felt like a hero although he was treated as one.

 

[Syriusly]

Air Force Chaplain Robert Taylor was truly a hero of the Bataan Death March and an inspiration to the survivors who he ministered to. I bet somebody can come up with maybe a dozen names of other heroes. The sad truth is that not everyone who survived Bataan can be considered a hero just because he was forced to surrender and suffered horribly..

My Uncle survived the march, if you want to call what he endured the rest of his life survival.

Ended up drinking himself to death. Can’t count the times I heard him ask why he was allowed to live while he watched so many of his friends die.

He earned a special place in my heart and I’m sure he finally found peace in heaven.

But I am sure he would have found solace in Whitehall explaining he wasn't a 'hero' he was just a survivor'

You took it far differently than I.

I will guarantee you, he never felt like a hero although he was treated as one.

And how do you think he would feel about this thread?

 

[whitehall]

There are probably a thousand examples of uncommon valor that never qualified for an award simply because uncommon valor was a common virtue in some arenas of combat in WW2. I'm sorry but a survivor of a sad legacy of political incompetence and surrender doesn't rise to the level of hero.

 

[Syriusly]

There are probably a thousand examples of uncommon valor that never qualified for an award simply because uncommon valor was a common virtue in some arenas of combat in WW2. I'm sorry but a survivor of a sad legacy of political incompetence and surrender doesn't rise to the level of hero.

And I am sure that every survivor appreciates your judgement of them.

 

[whitehall]

The poor guys who were literally snatched off Iwo Jima after Joe Rosenthal turned them into icons would have been the first (if they all survived) to say they weren't heroes. They were just a squad used in a work party to raise a bigger Flag. They may have all been victims of what we call PTSD but the government didn't care as long as they could be used as stooges in a Bond drive.

 

[Pop23]

Air Force Chaplain Robert Taylor was truly a hero of the Bataan Death March and an inspiration to the survivors who he ministered to. I bet somebody can come up with maybe a dozen names of other heroes. The sad truth is that not everyone who survived Bataan can be considered a hero just because he was forced to surrender and suffered horribly..

My Uncle survived the march, if you want to call what he endured the rest of his life survival.

Ended up drinking himself to death. Can’t count the times I heard him ask why he was allowed to live while he watched so many of his friends die.

He earned a special place in my heart and I’m sure he finally found peace in heaven.

But I am sure he would have found solace in Whitehall explaining he wasn't a 'hero' he was just a survivor'

You took it far differently than I.

I will guarantee you, he never felt like a hero although he was treated as one.

And how do you think he would feel about this thread?

Sad

 

[whitehall]

For anyone to disparage any US soldier that was in the Philippines and was captured is disgusting. They fought a brilliant retreat back to the Bataan peninsula and held out for months, until their supplies ran out. Just as with the Marines on Wake at the beginning of the war who fought extremely well, sank two Japanese destroyers with a handful of 5" guns on Wake, and only surrendered to vastly superior numbers of enemy that had plentiful supplies and ammunition two weeks later.

The US forces at Bataan beat the hell out of the Japs until they ran low on supplies and ammunition.

MacArthur left because he was ordered to leave. His capture and/or death would not have made any difference re the Bataan death march.

MacArthur was in charge. He was the freaking general who should have spent every waking hour preparing for the mission of protecting his Army from destruction. He should have been subject to a court martial after being evacuated but he was awarded the MOH. Go figure.

 

[IsaacNewton]

For anyone to disparage any US soldier that was in the Philippines and was captured is disgusting. They fought a brilliant retreat back to the Bataan peninsula and held out for months, until their supplies ran out. Just as with the Marines on Wake at the beginning of the war who fought extremely well, sank two Japanese destroyers with a handful of 5" guns on Wake, and only surrendered to vastly superior numbers of enemy that had plentiful supplies and ammunition two weeks later.

The US forces at Bataan beat the hell out of the Japs until they ran low on supplies and ammunition.

MacArthur left because he was ordered to leave. His capture and/or death would not have made any difference re the Bataan death march.

MacArthur was in charge. He was the freaking general who should have spent every waking hour preparing for the mission of protecting his Army from destruction. He should have been subject to a court martial after being evacuated but he was awarded the MOH. Go figure.

A court martial for being caught behind enemy lines at the start of a war the US was in no position to fight. Whose men fought valiantly until running out of ammo and supplies.

You don't get to rewrite history to suit your conspiracy theories.