Ang Bataan Death March—na mistulang isang pagkatalo—ay naging makapangyarihang simbolo ng katatagan at pagmamahal sa bayan. Ngunit ano nga ba ang hindi pa natin alam tungkol dito?
Ano nga pa nga ba ang mga kuwento sa likod ng makasaysayang Bataan Death March?
Ano nga pa nga ba ang mga kuwento sa likod ng makasaysayang Bataan Death March?
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00:00The following scenes are a vivid memory of our defeat at the hands of the Japanese during World War II.
00:21But by April 1942, their valued defense could endure no more.
00:33But on the other hand, if we compare it to other Asian countries, the battle at Bataan Peninsula lasted for three months.
00:44This was the longest war against the Japanese.
00:49Singapore fell on February 15, one and a half months.
00:54After two weeks, Java fell.
00:57We were the longest defense.
01:00If there was no shortage of weapons, if there was no shortage of food and water, if there were no casualties, the result of the battle here would have been different.
01:21April 9, 1942, Bataan surrendered.
01:25On April 10, more than 70,000 Filipino and American soldiers marched towards hell.
01:38The Filipino soldiers marched from the American camp to their east.
02:00The Japanese said that they had to leave Bataan because the next phase of fighting was near.
02:08So they had to leave the battlefield.
02:11The prisoners of war were placed in tarlac.
02:17They were short of trucks and gas.
02:21So they marched.
02:23If you are weak and sick, you will fall there.
02:29The Japanese did not want anyone to fall.
02:31Those who fell were killed.
02:35They were bayoneted or shot.
02:39Many died on the march.
02:42That's why it was called the Death March.
02:45The soldiers of Bataan Death March came from two places.
02:50They came from Mariveles and Bagac.
02:52The son of the Death March survivor, Private First Class Fernando Tejada, is Jimmy.
03:00Although he was saved, not all of his father's wounds healed.
03:06He was always confused.
03:09He didn't know what to think.
03:11He always wanted to hold his gun.
03:17That's when you feel that the war is over.
03:25They still feel what happened.
03:30Year after year, Jimmy joined the long march of the Death March.
03:36They followed the more than 100-kilometer route that his father also passed through.
03:43Jimmy's father's Death March started here in Mariveles, Bataan.
03:49So this is the same site where it all started?
03:52Yes, this is Kilometer Zero.
03:54This is where it all started.
03:57Give me some respect.
03:59It's past 1 a.m. now.
04:02Let's see how long it will take for the sun to rise.
04:07It's better at night because it's not that hot.
04:11That's why the soldiers didn't have a choice.
04:14Whether it's cold or hot, they had no choice.
04:18They had no choice.
04:20They had no choice.
04:22They had no choice.
04:23It's better at night because it's not that hot.
04:26That's why the soldiers didn't have a choice.
04:28Whether it's cold or hot, they had no choice.
04:37The soldiers were divided into groups of 100.
04:42When the Death March started, what were they thinking?
04:45Did they know that this would happen to them?
04:48That they would have to walk that far?
04:49Actually, they didn't know that they would have to walk that far.
04:54What they were thinking was that they might be killed.
05:05As the march began, they quickly climbed up the mountain.
05:12We're at the top of the mountain.
05:14That's what we went down earlier.
05:15But Sir told us that it's still dark.
05:20So, just imagine how it was before.
05:23There was no electricity.
05:25They saw what they were walking and they walked all night.
05:31In order to reach the camp, the soldiers marched day and night.
05:46If they couldn't walk anymore, the Japanese would kill the soldiers.
05:52They would bayonet them so that they wouldn't be able to march slowly.
06:01That's why every kilometer, Jimmy would stop the marker
06:06so that he could pay tribute to the hard work of his father and other soldiers.
06:16This is it.
06:22You can rest for a while.
06:24It's good that they can rest. They couldn't rest before.
06:30But even the markers were exposed.
06:36Because of the original posts that were made of steel, they were stolen.
06:46At Kilometer 25 in Limay, Bataan,
06:51the first one who took care of the Death March Markers lived.
06:59Good day to you.
07:01Hi Sir, I'm Av.
07:03His father was also one of the marchers.
07:05Richard Hudson was the quartermaster.
07:08He didn't really fight much until the last two weeks when basically the food was gone.
07:12The ammunition was just about all gone and they gave him a rifle.
07:17He sat in the foxholes with the army and fought against the Japanese.
07:23He witnessed, that's part of the reason he had so many bad dreams, nightmares.
07:32He witnessed so many cruelties, especially on the Filipinos.
07:38The Japanese hated the Filipinos because they were fighting with the Americans.
07:42They hated Americans.
07:47Bob was married to a Filipino woman.
07:51When he visited the Death March route,
07:54he saw that the markers were ruined.
07:59That's why he wrote the organization that made them.
08:03I said, why do they look so terrible?
08:06We're talking about thousands of men died on this march.
08:09These Death March markers you put up, they were in such a sad condition.
08:14We should have more respect for what these men went through,
08:19what they gave up, what they sacrificed.
08:23They were the ones who cleaned and painted all 137 markers.
08:30Now that Bob is old, the responsibility of taking care of them has been handed over to the government.
08:40When we arrived in Balanga, we took a short detour.
08:47We visited an elementary school that used to be a Japanese garrison.
08:55In the middle of the ruins, there was a small torture chamber used by the Japanese.
09:10In the World War II Museum here,
09:13various items of the Japanese were displayed.
09:17They displayed actual bayonet blades of the Japanese.
09:23They said that in this area where the museum is located,
09:27there were many Filipinos and Americans who were tortured and killed.
09:34According to Dr. Ricardo's history,
09:36not all of the Japanese were cruel.
09:39Some of them were driven by trucks, so they did not walk to the camp.
09:46Those who were left on the march helped each other to survive.
09:51There is a civic sense that they will help others.
09:56Let's say that the fallen were killed by the Japanese,
10:00some of them said, we will help you.
10:04The others were almost killed.
10:07The tragic thing about that is that those who were killed
10:11went to Camp O'Donnell in Capas and survived.
10:15Those who were killed were the ones who died.
10:21We went back to our route.
10:24We went back to our route.
10:33The sun is about to set in the afternoon.
10:41But to be honest,
10:43it is hotter than the temperature of the soldiers.
10:49Last April, it was 40 degrees Celsius.
11:00The water in that river,
11:02during the death march,
11:05that was the reason for their survival.
11:08When the Japanese did not care,
11:11they grabbed the water and drank it.
11:13That's what my father told me.
11:15Wasn't there a lot of water back then?
11:18Or was it clean back then?
11:20It was clean back then, of course.
11:23But no matter how dirty it was,
11:25as long as they saw it,
11:27it was enough for them to have liquid in their bodies.
11:34There were also civilians who helped the soldiers,
11:38even though their lives were in danger.
11:41The civilians were hiding you.
11:44But let's say that the grandmothers
11:47had long skirts,
11:49they would say,
11:51get under my skirt,
11:53and the soldiers would hide there.
11:55Then the grandmothers would leave with the soldiers.
11:59So there were cases like that,
12:02where they really helped.
12:15We passed these statues at Layak Junction in Danyalupihan.
12:26This is where the first line of defense
12:29of the Filipinos and Americans took place
12:32during the Battle of Bataan.
12:34This is the Philippine flag.
12:36The red one is raised
12:38because it symbolizes that we are in a state of war.
12:41Now, it's blue at the top
12:42because it's a state of peace.
12:44And I hope that in our lifetime,
12:46we won't see the Philippine flag like this again.
12:50Only carved on the rocks
12:53is the heroism that took place
12:55more than 80 years ago.
13:04One of the well-known Filipinos
13:07with the Death March
13:09is Brigadier General Vicente Lim.
13:11One of the three personalities
13:13with a 1,000-peso bill.
13:15Lim was the first Filipino
13:17to complete the US Military Academy
13:20at West Point.
13:22At least for the Americans,
13:24there was already talk very early on
13:26that we should let the Philippines go at some point.
13:28And that meant that
13:30if you were to be a sovereign nation,
13:32then you would have to be able to protect yourself,
13:34have your own method of self-defense.
13:38That meant putting up a military,
13:40a lot of those in the Philippine Army
13:42were very green.
13:44It means that they were not experienced.
13:46They were not professional soldiers.
13:48They were called up as reservists.
13:50They were given maybe a maximum
13:52of six months of training.
13:54But a lot of people signed up for that.
13:56They were very willing to do their duty
13:58if war ever came.
14:00When the war started, were they ready?
14:02Hardly.
14:04So, again, a lot of them had probably
14:06a max of six months of training.
14:08There are a lot of survivors
14:10who would eventually say,
14:12you know, we were sent to the front line.
14:14I never had the chance
14:16to try the replicas.
14:19During World War II,
14:21General Lim left his family in America
14:23and led the 41st Division.
14:26Lim's group was with him
14:28in the battle of Bataan.
14:30The Japanese did not give up.
14:33Low-ranking soldiers
14:35or generals like Lim,
14:37were all sent to fight in the Death March.
14:41With General Lim's division,
14:44was the father of Major General Ramon Zagala
14:47of the Philippine Army.
14:5022 years ago,
14:52his father was Major General Rafael Zagala.
14:55He also fought in Bataan
14:57and walked his grandfather,
14:59Colonel Ramon Zagala,
15:01in the Death March.
15:03They surrendered.
15:05They were in formation.
15:07They just saw
15:08the pillar,
15:10the Bataan Pillar.
15:13And, um,
15:15they held each other.
15:17Alright.
15:20He missed a few nights.
15:22My grandfather, I think,
15:24got stricken with
15:26influenza,
15:28malaria.
15:30My grandfather could not walk anymore
15:32and my father was also weak.
15:34They would just,
15:36his friends,
15:38they would replace him.
15:40More than 70 kilometers
15:42from where we were born in Mariveles,
15:45the Death March
15:47passed through Pampanga,
15:52where the Bilangos
15:54boarded a train
15:56to Capas, Tarlac.
15:58According to my father,
16:00they were there for almost one day.
16:02One day? Really?
16:04Yes. And that train was not a real train.
16:06Actually,
16:08it was a bus.
16:10Oh, so it was not a passenger train.
16:12Exactly.
16:14So they were given 60 to 100.
16:18At Capas National Shrine in Tarlac,
16:23an original boxcar
16:25was displayed.
16:2960 to 100.
16:31Prisoners were put inside.
16:33They were stacked.
16:35Even if they were standing,
16:36they could not fit 100 here.
16:38Here?
16:40Even if they were standing.
16:41Many died.
16:49Can you imagine if they could fit here?
16:51Yes.
16:53And it was like this,
16:55because there was no air coming in.
16:57Nothing.
16:59So from San Fernando
17:01to Capas.
17:03And then from Capas,
17:04they will march.
17:06The last,
17:08I think,
17:10from the Capas Station
17:12is about 10 kilometers.
17:15From the 70,000 soldiers
17:17who marched,
17:19only 55,000
17:21reached Camp O'Donnell.
17:24The road they walked
17:26was a long burial.
17:29How were the bodies?
17:31Were they scattered on the road?
17:32Yes, they were scattered.
17:34They said that even the dogs
17:36ate the bodies.
17:38So the local people
17:40built temporary graves
17:42because it was temporary.
17:44They buried them on the side of the road.
17:46And so after the war,
17:48that was the problem.
17:50How will you recover those bones?
17:53But the hell
17:55for the survivors of the Death March
17:57is not yet over.
18:00Because now,
18:02they are in one of the most
18:04horrific concentration camps
18:06during World War II.
18:08They suffered the most.
18:10Really?
18:12This is a prisoner of war camp.
18:14You can see a lot of trees.
18:16A lot of trees.
18:18The veterans, they planted
18:20close to the number of deaths
18:22that they planted.
18:24Almost 30,000 trees.
18:27That's because
18:29there was no food, no water,
18:30no sleep,
18:32or because of maltreatment.
18:34It was mixed.
18:36Based on stories and that,
18:38they were not fed well.
18:40A lot of diseases,
18:42dysentery, malaria.
18:44They were not buried one by one
18:46because a lot of people died.
18:50A very high monument was built here
18:55for those who fought
18:57and died during World War II.
19:00For me, it's an exploration.
19:04It's their way to heaven.
19:08It shaped
19:13for them.
19:15Those souls who are still here
19:18go up to heaven.
19:21It's heavy to feel
19:23that many of those who sacrificed
19:25for our freedom now
19:27are not listed
19:29so that we can be thankful.
19:32We tried to walk
19:34from Mariveles.
19:37So only march, huh?
19:39Yes, that's it.
19:41We thought the boxcar
19:43was the worst of the worst.
19:45And then now,
19:47you're saying,
19:49your father said,
19:51no, it's worse here.
19:53It's worse there.
19:54It's worse there.
20:00And I think that's why
20:02I only found out
20:04that I probably had a relative
20:06who called me.
20:10But this is not the end
20:12of the story of Filipino
20:14and American soldiers.
20:16After a few months
20:18in a concentration camp,
20:20the refugees were released.
20:22The Japanese said,
20:24we'll let you go
20:26as long as you don't join the resistance movement,
20:28you don't join the guerrillas.
20:30Of course, when the Filipinos were released,
20:32the first thing they do is join the resistance,
20:34join the guerrillas,
20:36and continue the fight anyway.
20:38Tejada escaped from O'Donnell's camp
20:40and returned to being a soldier.
20:42Did he tell you
20:44that you were already in a death march,
20:46you were about to die there,
20:48why did you return to the front line?
20:49Why did he return?
20:51Because he loved his country.
20:54He wanted to continue the fight
20:56against the foreign invaders
20:58in our country.
21:01Zagala, on the other hand,
21:03joined the guerrillas.
21:06While Lim
21:08tried to recruit Japanese soldiers,
21:10but he got sick
21:12and joined the guerrillas.
21:15He was eventually tortured
21:17for a very long time.
21:19He got really sick
21:21and we don't know when exactly
21:23that would have happened,
21:25but he was eventually beheaded
21:27and they were thrown into a mass grave.
21:29Technically, his body was never found,
21:31which is why he would end up
21:33here on the walls of the Missing
21:35here at the Manila American Cemetery.
21:40In 1945,
21:42three years after the death march,
21:44the Americans returned
21:46as promised.
21:47And the Philippines was recovered
21:49from the Japanese.
22:07It was only in March,
22:09the 80th anniversary
22:11of the liberation of Manila,
22:13that two of the American soldiers
22:14fought for our country.
22:16It was only now
22:18that they were reunited
22:20in the Philippines
22:22since World War II.
22:45On...
22:48February 22nd,
22:50I believe it was.
22:57My life was 20 blocks north,
23:0020 blocks south,
23:0220 blocks east and west.
23:04Here I go,
23:06come to the Philippines,
23:08thousands of miles
23:10away from my home.
23:12It was worth it.
23:14Everything which we did
23:16for the people.
23:24The world has to grow up
23:26knowing what we did in the past,
23:28hopefully for the best
23:30in the future.
23:32So that we learn
23:34and do not repeat the mistakes of the past.
23:36Yes.
23:39When he arrived in Capas,
23:41Jimmy visited his father.
23:45I'm really speechless,
23:47sad.
23:49But I'm happy
23:51that
23:53we met again.
23:55And I'm sure
23:57that he will welcome me again.
24:02Vinci hopes
24:04that one day
24:06they will find
24:08where his grandfather was buried.
24:10The name General Vicente Lim
24:12is still on the list
24:14of the Wall of the Missing.
24:20They asked,
24:22why did they still celebrate
24:24April 9th as a day of valor?
24:26It was a day of laughter.
24:28After that,
24:30Bataan Death March, a disaster.
24:32The only reason they surrendered
24:34was that they had reached
24:36the limits of human endurance
24:38and what else can you do at that point?
24:40And to me,
24:42it's their duty knowing that
24:44it was a hopeless situation
24:46and they did it anyway.
24:48That to me is what
24:50exemplifies that period of
24:52Philippine history
24:54and which is why we should never forget it.
24:59Major General Zagala
25:01is now in charge of
25:03the AFP Reserve Command,
25:05the military branch
25:07that prepares the reservists
25:09in case of war or disaster.
25:11Do you know what your father
25:13and grandfather went through?
25:15Why?
25:17He asked,
25:19he said,
25:21Son,
25:24there's more important things in life
25:26than our self,
25:30but to serve your country.
25:34That's it.
25:41Our country's foundation
25:43is the grave of those
25:45who fought and sacrificed.
25:50The current generation
25:52is bearing the fruits
25:54of their greatness.
25:58That's why I hope
26:00we are worthy
26:02of our freedom.
26:06I am Mav Gonzalez
26:08and this is
26:10The Eyewitness.
26:35Thank you so much
26:37for tuning in to Eyewitness.
26:38So, what can you say
26:40about this documentary?
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