The Day of Valor

 

The Philippine national holiday Araw ng Kagitingan, commonly known as Bataan Day or Bataan and Corregidor Day, commemorates the fall of Bataan during World War II. It is celebrated on April 9, though in 2009 it was rescheduled to April 6 to avoid clashing with Maundy Thursday. The Japanese forced 76,000 captured Allied soldiers (Filipinos and Americans) to march 80 kilometers across the Bataan Peninsula during the Bataan Death March. During World War II, the march took place in April 1942.

For three days, the Japanese denied the detainees food and water. As the troops' health deteriorated, many of them began to fall behind the rest of the squad. The Japanese thrashed and killed anyone who fell behind. Trucks and other army equipment would occasionally run over weary detainees. The inmates were crowded into the trains so tightly that they had to stand for the remainder of the voyage. Those who did not fit had to march the entire distance to the camp. The march was six days long. No one knows exactly how many men died along the route, although estimates range from 5,000 to 10,000. Conditions did not improve much once the soldiers arrived at the camp. Thousands more died at the camp during the next few years as a result of malnutrition and disease. When the Allies retook the Philippines in early 1945, the survivors were rescued. General Masaharu Homma, the Japanese officer in charge of the march, was hanged for "war crimes against humanity."

The Day of Valor, also known as Araw ng Kagitingan, honors the bravery of Filipinos and American soldiers during World War II when the Philippines was occupied by the Japanese. Despite their defeat, the captive soldiers remained strong and emerged as heroes as a result of the battle.

Reference:

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