Oldest survivor of Bataan Death March dies at 105

Associated Press ^ | August 15, 2011 | JIM SUHR

[Cheetahcat]

“I have found as a general rule that the vets who fought the Germans tend to let bygones be bygones, but the ones who fought the Japs hate all them to their graves.

I have to admit, the Japs who participated still refuse to apologize for much of what they did. Bastards, all of them.”

Yes I have seen that myself,My Dad for one!

[jcon40]

Few have read “Bataan Uncensored” by Col. Ernest Miller - 194th tank battalion - Minn. A book many wanted swept under the rug and called a conspiracy.

As commanding officer and survivor he recounts with bitterness the stationing of his men in Manilla, seemingly as bait to draw the Japanese to attack.

1st captured - last released

A great read, a survivor and a good honest man from our family

[Cheetahcat]

"Few have read “Bataan Uncensored” by Col. Ernest Miller - 194th tank battalion - Minn. A book many wanted swept under the rug and called a conspiracy. As commanding officer and survivor he recounts with bitterness the stationing of his men in Manilla, seemingly as bait to draw the Japanese to attack. 1st captured - last released A great read, a survivor and a good honest man from our family"

Thank you for the tip.

[Huskrrrr]

A true hero.

[BBell]

I really feel sorry for people like you.

[MadMax, the Grinning Reaper]

Very few Japanese war criminals were executed. A few ranking officers but not most of those who did the actual torturing and killer.

The Japanese were as cruel to our men and the Filipino soldiers and civilians as they were to the soldiers and civilians of China, and for fewer reasons than that Nazis were to Jews, Gypsies, Russians, and Poles, among others.

Their cruelty also included massive cruelty for amusement. I know that the Nazis did it, but some of the regular Wermacht (Army) did not participate in it and Gen. Oberlander refused to do it at all.

I agree. All the Japanese who perpetrated war crimes in the Philippines should have been executed, much like the British did - trial, conviction, shot. McArthur was a fool to let the Japanese war criminals get away the way they did.

[Free Vulcan]

It was vainglory in part.

There was another agenda going on though, those thinking ahead already saw the Cold War coming and Nazi Germany had some freakishly advanced technology that would leapfrog whoever got there first. Let’s face it, the American space program came from the Nazis for the most part, and I suspect there are other little toys that were grabbed and never saw the light of day again.

Stalin knew the score and he was going to get everything he could so he could be positioned for the coming order of things. Vain, but not stupid either.

[vetvetdoug]

My neighbor from Tennessee was a survivor of the Bataan Death March and the POW camps. He came home weighing 80# and was over six feet tall. He retired from the USAF and lived to be in his late 80’s. There were a lot of men from Texas and Tennessee NG units that were captured at Bataan. In Wichita Falls, Texas, there was a NG museum that chronicled the history of the Texas NG units that were captured at Bataan.

[fso301]

Sure, but would you mind distilling the point for me?

Yes there are those who succumb to hardship but there were a lot of random killings along the route. You might be doing fine marching along until a truck passed and the driver decided to "wing" you, or soldiers riding along would swing a bamboo pole at you and crack your skull. Then it was just a matter of one of the guards deciding to finish you off, or letting you slowly die beside the road.

[fso301]

I have found as a general rule that the vets who fought the Germans tend to let bygones be bygones, but the ones who fought the Japs hate all them to their graves.

Yep.

[vladimir998]

So, bombing innocent civilians serves as a warning against bombing innocent civilians?

[jmaroneps37]

Time to rest forever sir. May God bless you.

[Belasarius]

Wake Island?

[Blood of Tyrants]

No, I had heard of Wake Island. It was a very small garrison that was on the island. Less than 100 men IIRC.

[dfwgator]

Those “innocent civilians” said “Ja!” when Goebbels asked if they wanted “Total War.”

Be careful what you ask for, you just might get it.

[driftless2]

Japanese soldiers were taught the code of Bushido for which surrender to a foe was unthinkable and unforgivable. Plus for the Japanese, people not Japanese were nothing. So the Japanese treated the surrendering Allied soldiers like non-people or slaves. See the movie Bridge On The River Kwai for examples of how the Japanese treated captured soldiers.

[getmeouttaPalmBeachCounty_FL]

My father-in-law’s cousin survived the Death March, but he died aboard the Japanese Shinyo Maru.

[Balding_Eagle]

Only one of my uncles went on the death march, he simply was never heard from again.

The other uncle (his brother) was held in a prison camp and suffered the tortures that most prisoners did. After the was he returned to Montana and raised a family of six boys. He always suffered from the after effects of the dysentery and other ailments from the time as a prisoner.

[MetaThought]

Thanks, appreciate the info!

[vladimir998]

You wrote:

“Those “innocent civilians” said “Ja!” when Goebbels asked if they wanted “Total War.””

Not only is that not really true, but it’s irrelevant. It’s wrong to firebomb civilians. The fact that the socialist scum (Nazis) did it doesn’t mean we should be as scumbag like as they were.