Undefeated: America's Heroic Fight for Bataan and Corregidor

Reading Stanley Falk's Bataan: The March of Death gave an insight as to the grueling march, difference in experience based on the guard watching, and the hellish train ride to Camp O'Donnell. Sloan's narrative, however, followed captives from all over Bataan and Corregidor. The individual stories embellished what was already a shocking transition from life in the Philippines. There were also brief mentions of my nurses, the Angels of Bataan and the American hospitals were thousands lay dying with no reprieve. Eventually, they were captured of course, and shipped off to prison camp. Knowing a bit about the Philippines from my research on Hawaii, the choice of prison for these men (and occasionally civilians) was either the Spanish-constructed Bilibid or Camp O'Donnell. Neither fared better than the other as dysentery and malaria affected nearly everyone. Approaching the surrender, men were sent on the so-called "Hellships" to Japan. Thousands died from their ailments or Ally torpedoes every journey. Those in Japan when American's dropped the atomic bombs were able to see the cloud of smoke from their work details. It is incredible to me how many men survived through all of these atrocities.