80th Anniversary of the Bataan Death March

Dear Friend,

Today marks a solemn anniversary for New Mexico and for our nation. Eighty years ago, on April 9, 1942, after mounting a courageous, months-long defense of the Bataan Peninsula and then Corregidor Island in Manila Bay, approximately 75,000 troops from both the United States and the Philippines were taken prisoner by the Japanese. Many historians credit their brave defense with changing the momentum of World War II, delaying the Japanese conquest of the Philippines and providing the Allied Forces with critical time to mount a campaign to liberate the Pacific.

After they were captured, tens of thousands of Americans and Filipinos--including 1,816 New Mexico National Guardsmen in the 200th and 515th Coast Artillery-- were forced to endure a torturous march of more than 60 miles that came to be known as the "Bataan Death March" to prison camps throughout the Philippines. These men demonstrated incredible and courageous fortitude while enduring intense tropical heat without food, water, or medical care. An estimated 10,000 men--including thousands of Filipinos and hundreds of Americans--died from starvation, exhaustion, and abuse.

Survivors of the Bataan Death March were held captive in Japanese prison camps for over three years, where they were subject to further torture, undernourishment, and forced labor. Others died when they were transported out of the Philippines, by way of unmarked Japanese Navy "hell ships" that were targeted by Allied Forces. Out of the 1,816 New Mexico National Guardsmen in the 200th and 515th Coast Artillery who were originally sent to defend the Philippines in the fall of 1941, 829 never returned home.

We must never forget the undaunted heroism of the Bataan Death Marchers. That’s why I am leading the bipartisan effort in the Senate to pass the Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor Congressional Gold Medal Act to bestow a collective Congressional Gold Medal to the troops from the United States and the Philippines who bravely defended Bataan and Corregidor and endured one of the most harrowing prisoners of war experiences in history.

Sincerely,

MARTIN HEINRICH
United States Senator