70th
Anniversary of the Defense the Philippines, Bataan Death March and the Fall of
Corregidor to be Held in Washington
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April
9th 2012, Washington, DC – Commemorative events will be held in Washington, DC April 24-25 to
remember the
heroic American defense of the Philippines against Imperial Japan in the early
months of World War II. Survivors from the Bataan Death March and the battle of
Corregidor will attend.
The
70th Anniversary of the infamous Bataan Death March is today, April 9th,
and the surrender of Corregidor marking the fall of the Philippines is May 6th.
The
veterans from the Battle of the Philippines coming to Washington include past
national commanders of the now-disbanded American
Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor (ADBC) who traveled to Japan in 2010 and 2011 to
receive an official apology from the Government of Japan for their maltreatment
and to visit their former POW camps. The death rate and incidence of
post-traumatic stress for American POWs of Japan was the greatest of any
American conflict.
Participating
is Bataan Death March survivor Dr. Lester Tenney of California, the last
national commander of the ADBC and instrumental in persuading the Government of
Japan to offer American former POWs an apology and a program to visit Japan. He
is the founder of Care Packages
from Home for soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Also
participating is Death March survivor Mr. Ben Steele of Montana who has
chronicled the horrors of the Death March and Japan’s POW camps through his
award-winning paintings and drawings. Mr. Donald Versaw of California is the
last of the “China Marines” (4th Marine Regiment who were stationed in
Shanghai, China) who fought on Corregidor. Mr. Rolwand Towery of Texas, who
fought in the battle for Corregidor, is a Pulitzer prize winner. Mr. Joe
Alexander of Texas at 14 was the youngest member of the Army Air Corps on
Bataan and became a POW of Japan at 15.
Veterans attending:
Dr. Lester Tenney, 92,
San Diego, CA. Bataan Death March, Illinois National Guard, Company B, 192nd
Tank Battalion from Maywood Illinois
Mr. Joseph Alexander, 85,
San Antonio, TX. Bombing of Clark Field, Army Air Corps 440th Ordnance Aviation
Bombardment Squadron
Mr. Donald Versaw, 91, Lakewood, CA,
Corregidor, 4th Marines Band (China Marines), 2nd
Battalion E Company
Mr. Ben Steele, 94, Billings, MT, Bataan
Death March, Army Air Corps, 7th Material Squadron, 19th Bomb Group
Special
Guest: Ms. Kinue Tokudome, Kagoshima, Japan. Founder of the US-Japan Dialogue on POWs,
who accompanied the POWs on their return to their POW camps.
The
schedule of events includes a wreath laying at the World War II Memorial, a
roundtable discussion on the legacy of the Bataan Death March hosted by
Congressman Brian Bilbray (R-CA) and Mike Honda (D-CA), a luncheon hosted by
the Disabled American Veterans association and The Heritage Foundation with
today’s Wounded Warriors, a dinner hosted by the VFW, and a reception hosted by
U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA). There will also be meetings with Japanese
Ambassador Ichiro Fujisaki and Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and
the Pacific Kurt Campbell.
According
to Mindy Kotler of Asia Policy Point, a Washington research center, the
Commemoration “will be unique and likely last opportunity to honor these
heroes.” These men “made history during World War II by participating in the
defense of the Philippines as well as recently by accepting one of the very few
official, specific Japanese government apologies for its wartime atrocities.”
These veterans now hope that the Japanese companies that used them as slave
labor while they were POWs will follow the example of their government.
