Notable Passings

Collectors Edition

BETTY TENNEY, WIFE OF LESTER TENNEY

This past December Betty Tenney (106) passed away at her home in Carlsbad, California. She was married for 57 years to Lester Tenney who was the last National Commander of the American Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor. He negotiated with the Japanese government in 2009 for a decade-long program of expiatory (atonement) trips to Japan for former POWs and their relatives. He was the author of the well-received memoir My Hitch in Hell: The Bataan Death March (2000).
Betty's Obituary Page where you can leave a memory for her family is HERE. 

STANLEY FALK, AUTHOR OF BATAAN: THE MARCH OF DEATH.
In April, Dr. Stanley Falk (99), the prominent historian of the POW experience in the Philippines, passed away. Falk served in MacArthur's GHQ in Tokyo and later as Chief Historian, US Air Force, and then as Deputy Chief Historian for Southeast Asia, US Army Center of Military History. He was an inspiration, mentor and adviser to me.

Among the many books he wrote or contributed to are: Bataan: The March of Death, Liberation of the Philippines, American Patriots: MIS in the War Against Japan, and Foo : A Japanese-American Prisoner of the Rising Sun.

Stanley's Obituary Page where you can leave a memory for his family is HERE. 

requiescat in pace

NATIONAL FORMER POW RECOGNITION DAY 2026

        Presidential Message on National Former Prisoner           of War Recognition Day

The White House

April 9, 2026

This National Former Prisoner of War Recognition Day, we honor every American service member who returned home after enduring the horrors of captivity by enemy forces during times of war.  My Administration will always uphold the promise to leave no warrior behind and to bring home the missing souls from every war or conflict.

No one is more deserving of our Nation’s appreciation than the former prisoners of war (POWs) who put their lives on the line for freedom’s cause and survived brutality and violence beyond all comprehension for the sake of our posterity.  These brave warriors endured unthinkable atrocities, torture, mental and physical abuse, separation from family, and horrendous living conditions.  Their selflessness and strength deserve our everlasting respect, and as Commander in Chief, I will never stop fighting for these exceptional heroes and all of our incredible veterans.

This year, as we celebrate 250 glorious years of American independence, we are reminded that this milestone is possible only because brave men and women from every generation answered the call of liberty when it was in peril.  As our American Flag flies high over a Nation made free by their sacrifice, the POW/MIA flag flies at federal sites just below it—a requirement I was proud to sign into law during my first term—to serve as a constant reminder of those still missing in action and our duty to account for them and bring them home. 

As we pause today to celebrate the POWs who returned home, we also acknowledge their families who lived for months and years in a prison of uncertainty and fear while awaiting news of their loved ones.  This unimaginable sacrifice deserves our utmost gratitude, admiration, and awe.

Our returned POWs represent the best of America.  They understand what it means to serve a cause greater than self, and their names and stories should never be forgotten by a people forever in their debt.  Today and every day, we honor their extraordinary sacrifices, courage, patriotism, and resilience.

❀

N.B.: This proclamation is not as badly written as previous ones by the Trump White House. It was still issued late. The document did not appear on the White House website until late morning on the 9th. Previous presidents posted the day before. Sadly, there is no mention of either the POWs of Japan or of the Civil War. April 9 is a significant date for both.

April 9 is the 84th anniversary of the 1942 fall of Bataan to invading Japanese forces in the Philippines. Army Major General Edward P. King surrendered to Japanese General Masaharu Homma that morning. About 12,000 Americans and 66,000 Filipinos became prisoners of war making it the largest contingent of U.S. soldiers ever to surrender in U.S. military history.

There is, however, a Presidential Message on the Anniversary of the Surrender at Appomattox. April 9 is the 161st anniversary of the 1865 surrender of Confederate General Robert E. Lee to Union General Ulysses S. Grant at the Appomattox Court House in Virginia, effectively signaling the end of the Civil War. The formal and legal end of the Civil War is August 20, 1866,

Trump's Appomattox proclamation was not mandated by Congress. It is also the first by a president of the United States.

Remembering April 9, 1942

April 9 is a little recognized American commemoration to recognize members of the U.S. Armed Forces who became POWs. It was created in the 1980s primarily to honor the American fighting men and women on the Bataan Peninsula in the Philippines who were surrendered on April 9, 1942. The infamous Bataan Death March up the peninsula to a squalid, unfinished POW Camp began by the end of the day. Thousands died en route, thousands more died in the camp. 

By law, the President issues a proclamation remembering the sacrifice of all Americans who became POWs. Look for it.

So take a moment on Thursday to remember a sweltering day in the tropics marked by an earthquake when thousands of starving, sick, and dispirited American and Filipino troops were surrendered by their commanding generals to the merciless invading Japanese forces. 

Here are some ceremonies to join:

83RD ANNIVERSARY WREATH LAYING CEREMONY MEMORIALIZING THE FALL OF BATAAN. Thursday, April 9, 2026, 10:00am (CDT), IN PERSON ONLY, Brainerd National Guard Armory, 1115 Wright Street Brainerd, MN. Sponsor: 1st Combined Arms Battalion, 194th Armor Regiment, Minnesota National Guard. To: Remember Company A of the 194th Tank Battalion that bravely fought the invading Japanese in the Philippines at the beginning of World War II in the Battle of Bataan. American and Filipino soldiers were surrendered on April 9, 1942 after running out of ammunition, food and medical supplies. The surrender was followed by the infamous Bataan Death March to Camp O’Donnell. Thousands died. It is believed that of the 64 National Guardsmen who left Brainerd and served on Bataan, three were killed in action and 29 died as POWs with only 32 surviving to return home.Those who survived endured over three years of brutal captivity and slave labor. Keynote Speaker: John Erickson, historian of POWs of Japan. https://www.brainerdvfw.org/bataan.html 

DAY OF VALOR [ARAW NG KAGITINGAN] CEREMONY. Thursday, April 9, 2026, 11:00am-Noon (EDT), Military Women's Memorial, Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia. Sponsor: Filipino Veterans Recognition and Education Project (FilVetREP). Remembers the valor and suffering of the thousands of American and Filipino troops and civilians who were on the Bataan Peninsula when it was surrendered to invading Japanese forces on April 9, 1942. https://filvetrep.org/ 

COMMEMORATION OF THE 84TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FALL OF BATAAN. Thursday, April 9, 2026, 11:00am-Noon (MDT), Bataan Memorial Building, 407 Galisteo Street, Santa Fe, New Mexico. Reception to follow at The New Mexico Military Museum, 1050 Old Pecos Trail​, Santa Fe, NM. Sponsor: Adjutant General of the State of New Mexico. The ceremony is also followed by the opening of Last of the 200th: Valdemar DeHerrera that honors his life and legacy. https://eanmng.org/2026/03/29/nm-national-guards-84th-anniversary-fall-of-bataan-ceremony/​ 

BATAAN DEATH MARCH 84TH ANNIVERSARY COMMEMORATION. SATURDAY, APRIL 11, 2026, 9:45am to 12:20pm (PDT). Sponsor: Bataan Legacy Historical Society.  SAN FRANCISCO NATIONAL CEMETERY, One Lincoln Blvd., San Francisco, California. With special honors to the WWII Nurses and the quest for their Congressional Gold Medal. AGENDA  

2026 BATAAN MEMORIAL DEATH MARCH ON THE POTOMAC. Saturday, April 12, 2026, 10:00am (EDT), Start and end at Fort Hunt Park, Virginia, Pavilion 1 along the Potomac River near Washington, DC. Sponsor: Filipino Veterans Recognition and Education Project (FilVetREP). Marchers can choose to do 3, 6, or 14 miles. It is not a race, it is a commemoration honoring those who suffered the infamous 100 mile march and train trip up the Bataan Peninsula in the Philippines to the death camp O’Donnell. The March began shortly after General King surrendered the American and Filipino troops on April 9, 1042 to General Homma and the invading Imperial Japanese forces. Race Registration closes April 10, 2026. 

*BOOK TALK: DAUNTLESS: THE 1ST & 2ND FILIPINO INFANTRY REGIMENTS, UNITED STATES ARMY (2023). 4/16, 6:30pm (EDT), IN PERSON ONLY. Quezon Hall, Annex Chancery Building, 1617 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC. Speaker: author Marie Vallejo. https://philippineembassy-dc.org/special-book-presentation-dauntless-by-marie-vallejo/  

PURCHASE BOOK: https://amzn.to/4bSh8mz 

15th ANNUAL CHESAPEAKE BATAAN DEATH MARCH MEMORIAL WALK. 4/18, Registration begins at 6:00am (EDT), Dismal Swamp Canal Trail, Chesapeake, VA. Closing Ceremony at Noon. Sponsor: SSG Jonathan Kilian Dozier Memorial VFW Post 2894

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064849921506&ref=embed_page# 

WEBSITE: https://walkchesapeake.wixsite.com/chesapeakebataan