Essay On Bataan Death March

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Logan Chapin
Mr. Gilbert
United States History
2 May 2014
Bataan Death March
The United States’ Armed Forces surrendered on April 9th, 1942 to Japanese General Masaharu Homma. Over 75,000 American and Filipino soldiers were forced to be Prisoners of War in which they marched to their death. This turning point in World War II happened at the Bataan Peninsula in the Philippines. This march was considered to be one of the worst outrages in wartime history. General Douglas MacArthur left the peninsula, promising that he will return, to assume commander of the United States’ soldiers at Melbourne, Australia. However, the United States and Filipino soldiers failed to defeat the Japanese when the American defense collapsed after MacArthur departed the Philippines. This horrendous act struck the books as one of the most distasteful military events in wartime history. This march was known as the Bataan Death March.
The Bataan Death March was marked as a major turning point in World War II. The American and Filipino soldiers held out for four months in the Philippines as the Japanese invaded the every other island in the Pacific. After bombing the American base located at Pearl Harbor, a day later the Japanese headed towards the Philippines for another attack. By March of 1942, the Japanese had taken control of all of the Western Pacific islands excluding the Philippines. After a month, the Japanese had captured the capital city of Manila within the Philippines. Unfortunately, this forced all American and Filipino soldiers to retreat to the Bataan Peninsula. General Douglas MacArthur was initially in charge of the American soldiers at the Philippines. MacArthur’s original plan was to hold his ground and wait until the United States’ Navy...

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...ntributed greatly to the overall death toll of World War II. The march changed many survivors’ lives as they witnessed the lives of others being taken away from them because of starvation or disease. These men had no chance against the Japanese Army after General Douglas MacArthur left, leaving the soldiers with the terrain to survive and forcing General King to make the decision of surrendering. General Douglas MacArthur never returned and left his American soldiers back to survive for their lives. The men went through tragedy and despair in which no man should have ever received. All of the men in this march are true heroes to society, because they pushed through struggle and witnessed more than any human being should have. The Bataan Death March was marked as one of the most tragic occurrences in World War II. What occurred at the Bataan Peninsula was a horrible

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