The events that took place in the Philippines during World War II are like a jigsaw puzzle. Each piece tells a different part of the story, but without all the connecting pieces, the overall picture is impossible to see.

In commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the Bataan Death March, Stanwood resident Scott Slater, a former officer in the U.S. Air Force,  shared a presentation with the Association of Naval Aviation April 10 at the Officers’ Club on Naval Air Station Whidbey Island.

The 30-minute documentary was created both as a tribute to his father-in-law and as a tutorial.

“I wanted to create something that was easy to follow,” Slater said.

He fears the story will be lost over time, or worse, changed somehow, so the atrocities that were suffered by American and Filipino soldiers will be forgotten.

“I don’t want it to be lost to history and I don’t want the story to become a victim of revisionist history,” he said.

Back to the beginning

Even before the U.S. was drawn into World War II, there was concern Japan would try to take control of the Philippines. American Forces, under the command of Gen. Douglas MacArthur, were stationed there to prevent a Japanese invasion.

However, the Philippines were attacked just hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

“The Japanese have attacked throughout the Philippine Islands,” reads Slater’s presentation. “Gen. Douglas MacArthur … is faced with overwhelming Japanese forces. MacArthur orders the evacuation of Manila and declares it an ’Open City’ to halt further bombing by Japanese war planes. MacArthur moves his headquarters to Corregidor [Island].”

Troops evacuating Manila are sent to Bataan, according to Slater. But supplies are low and  President Roosevelt’s joint Army-Navy Board adopts a plan to concentrate on the Allied offensive in Europe, dooming the men of Bataan.

Troops on Corregidor  Island, meanwhile, are embroiled in heavy fighting. (Today the bombed-out remains of the barracks and Gen. MacArthur’s headquarters are evidence of the battle.)  Having little choice, personnel retreat to Malinta Tunnel,  an east-west passage 836-feet long and 24-feet wide.

On March 11, 1942, MacArthur is ordered to leave Corregidor, but he vows to return. Gen. Jonathan Wainwright is put in command of the Philippines. The final battle for Bataan draws nearer.

“The troops have been surviving on little more than a half cup of rations a day,” Slater’s presentation reads. “Typhoid, malaria, malnutrition and dysentery  are exacting a heavy toll.”

Japan launches its final battle for Bataan on April 3, 1942. Headlines on newspapers in the U.S. scream 36,000 men are feared lost in the Fall of Bataan. On April 9, 1942, Maj. Gen. Edward King, the senior U.S. commander on Bataan, surrendered to Maj. Gen. Kameichiro Nagano, forcing more than 75,000 Filipino and American troops to become prisoners of war.

“Japan never expected that many prisoners,” Slater said. “They weren’t equipped to handle them.”

Death March begins

Because the Japanese were unprepared for the number of prisoners, there was no organized plan for how to handle them. Even though Japanese officers had assured Gen. King his men would be well treated, many were beaten at best and executed at worst. Prisoners were given no food for days at a time.

And because the Japanese military had no means of transporting their prisoners, they were forced to march approximately 80 miles, from Mariveles and Bagac to Balanga, Bataan’s capital.

“Most of the men on the death march were nearly dead when they surrendered,” said Slater. “It is atrocious what they went through.”

Following the death march, prisoners were loaded into train box cars and shipped like cattle to Camp O’Donnell, a former Philippine Army training center converted into a POW camp by the Japanese. Many of the prisoners fell victim to heat stroke or suffocation, dying before arrival.

While there are no exact casualty figures for the death march — thousands of captives were able to escape, and the number of troops killed in the fighting is unknown — estimates are than 5,000 to 10,000 Filipino and as many as 650 American prisoners of war died before they reached Camp O’Donnell.

After arriving at Camp O’Donnell, a number of prisoners were shipped to other prison camps. Many ended up at Cabanatuan prison camp, one of the deadliest POW camps in the Philippines. From 1942 to 1945, more than 9,000 American POWs passed through Cabanatuan on their way to other camps, according to Slater.

Liberation at last

In October, 1944, U.S.  and Filipino guerilla forces, under the command of Gen. MacArthur, began an assault to win back control of the Philippines. The Battle of Leyte, which lasted until Dec. 31, 1944, was the first and most decisive win in the reconquest of the Philippines.

Less than a month after the Battle of Leyte, a group of U.S. Army Rangers, Alamo Scouts and Filipino guerrillas liberated the Cabanatuan POW camp, traveling 30 miles behind Japanese lines to reach the camp. The nighttime raid took the Japanese troops by surprise; hundreds of Japanese were killed during a 30-minute attack.

“It was the greatest rescue of all time,” said Slater, whose program is featured at the prison.

“My documentary  plays on a loop at the Cabanatuan POW camp so visitors can see the history,” he said.

The liberation of Cabanatuan was the first in a series of prison camp rescues. As the tide of the war turned, the island of Corrigedor was liberated and the U.S. and Filipino stronghold was regained.

The Philippines were liberated on July 5, 1945. The Japanese surrendered on Sept. 5, 1945. Japanese General Masaharu Homma was indicted for war crimes and arrested. During his trial, he claimed he didn’t know about the excessive casualties until two months after the death march. He was found guilty and sentenced to death by firing squad.

For his part, Slater is happy to get this bit of history recorded. The documentary, just 30 minutes in length, is a powerful collection of facts, photographs and interviews containing a great deal of detail. The greatest pleasure of working on the presentation, said Slater, was the opportunity to talk to people who lived it.  He is also planning more projects in the future.

“I want to tell the story of the Filipino guerrillas,” said Slater. “And the Vietnam POW experience — there isn’t much in the way of individual accounts.”

Those interested in acquiring a copy of Slater’s presentation may contact him via email at
scottslater93@yahoo.com.