Sunday, August 4, 2019
Bataan Death March Essay -- essays research papers
     The Bataan Death March started on April 11, 1942. It was a result of over 70,000 American and Filipino soldiers surrendering to the Japanese on April 9. The Japanese were surprised by this number, having only expected about 30,000. According to soldier Lester I. Tenney, who experienced the Death March first hand, it was brutal for the prisoners of war.      â€Å"Japanese soldiers hollered and would prod us with their bayonets to walk faster(on a short walk to the starting point). Once at the main road, we waited for three hours, standing, sitting, or resting any way we could, but talking was not allowed,†Tenney wrote in his book My Hitch in Hell. â€Å"Those who left without a canteen had no means of getting water, even if it was available. Those who left with no cap or headpiece walked in the broiling hot sun, with temperatures by midday well in the 100's.†     The Japanese soldiers used different weapons to torture the Americans and Filipinos. For example, the POW’s were bayoneted, shot, or slain with a samurai sword. One man fell from exhaustion and was flattened by a tank. As his friends and comrades watched this happen, other soldiers were hit by Japanese trucks passing by.      The soldiers were not forced to walk the entire journey. At one point, they were stuffed into 1918 model railroad boxcars, which were 40 by 8 in size. There were over 100 men in each car. There was ... Bataan Death March Essay -- essays research papers      The Bataan Death March started on April 11, 1942. It was a result of over 70,000 American and Filipino soldiers surrendering to the Japanese on April 9. The Japanese were surprised by this number, having only expected about 30,000. According to soldier Lester I. Tenney, who experienced the Death March first hand, it was brutal for the prisoners of war.      â€Å"Japanese soldiers hollered and would prod us with their bayonets to walk faster(on a short walk to the starting point). Once at the main road, we waited for three hours, standing, sitting, or resting any way we could, but talking was not allowed,†Tenney wrote in his book My Hitch in Hell. â€Å"Those who left without a canteen had no means of getting water, even if it was available. Those who left with no cap or headpiece walked in the broiling hot sun, with temperatures by midday well in the 100's.†     The Japanese soldiers used different weapons to torture the Americans and Filipinos. For example, the POW’s were bayoneted, shot, or slain with a samurai sword. One man fell from exhaustion and was flattened by a tank. As his friends and comrades watched this happen, other soldiers were hit by Japanese trucks passing by.      The soldiers were not forced to walk the entire journey. At one point, they were stuffed into 1918 model railroad boxcars, which were 40 by 8 in size. There were over 100 men in each car. There was ...
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