THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, April 12, 1995 TAG: 9504110011
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A14 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 47 lines
The current 50th anniversary ceremonies honoring the various fields and fallen from World War II clearly demonstrate the value and general appeal that history holds.
With commemorations of V-E and V-J days so near, it is important that the lessons continue beyond 1995. And there should exist an imperative to recognize and honor those older veterans whose valor and sacrifices have helped define American heroism while they are still with us.
In any account of World War II, the men and women of Bataan and Corregidor should be among those foremost in our national consciousness, beginning with the acknowledgment of the date of April 9, 1942, when Bataan fell to overwhelming Japanese numbers. The island fortress of Corregidor followed on May 6 after massive and nonstop bombardment.
Fighting continually alongside our Philippine compatriots and a brave civilian population, the Americans' saga began with the infamous wave of attacks on Dec. 7, 1941. Isolated and never supplied, they were left to their fates with equipment left over from World War I (including canned food), and yet they were able to stop short the roll of the Japanese war machine. The five months of their valiant fight saved Australia at the very least, and provided invaluable time for the Allies to regroup and organize for their offensive.
Those Americans who managed to survive the battles were to endure the most barbaric and contemptible treatment imaginable at the hands of the Japanese. Beyond the death march of Bataan, the death camps in the Philippines such as O'Donnell, the torture and outright murder, American POWs were packed with little food or water into hell ships and distributed throughout the Japanese empire for brutal and illegal use as slave laborers, hired out as chattel by the Japanese government to corporations with especially familiar-sounding names to today's American consumers.
To date, not one dime in compensation or reparation to these POWs has ever been offered or received, nor have these war crimes ever been acknowledged.
For now, let us simply offer our respects and gratitude to the brave men and women of Bataan and Corregidor. They should never be forgotten.
RICHARD SALZBERG
Norfolk, April 4, 1995 by CNB