Bataan Death March Research Paper

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Headspin, sadness, and death, that was all the soldiers of war had known. Most remember the war for the millions of people murdered by the German Nazis, but the suffering was all over the world. The Bataan Death March was an inhumane march suffered by thousands of Americans and Filipinos after losing to the Japanese. It was a reminder to the people that the war was a time of suffering and death. The soldiers fought for their country with bravery, courage, and strength, but that wasn’t enough. It was December 8, 1941, only ten hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor, and the Japanese began to conduct an aerial attack upon the American force stationed in the Philippines. Thousands of Americans, along with over fifty-thousand Filipinos, tried to defend the island of Luzon; however, General Douglas MacArthur, who was leading the American-Filipino force, had to retreat to a defensible place in the Bataan Peninsula. The Allied forces were holding out and were depending on the U.S. Navy to come and aid them. Due to the many great losses at Pearl Harbor, the Navy never showed up. The American-Filipino force was starving, deprived of proper supplies, soldiers, and food. The force had only badly trained soldiers due to the high number of deaths during the attack on Pearl Harbor. It had been …show more content…

He and thousands of American and Filipino soldiers had escaped the camps. Now, they were on their way to make good to his word, with over ten thousand more soldiers than before. MacArthur was fighting for the men that died and the land that millions called home. They recaptured the island of Leyte, the capital, and most of the Philippine islands, including the Bataan Peninsula. Bataan was filled with thousands of men, hoping for a freedom they once had. Now, they could see the light at the end of the tunnel. A light that was ignited in the soldiers’