Bataan Death March Revealed

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Today, January 28th, is the 75th anniversary of when the American public first learned of the infamous Bataan Death March.

The Chicago Tribune and its affiliates' published an account of the horrors by W. Edwin Dyess, a heroic aviator who had survived the Death March and escaped from the Japanese POW camp, Davao Prison Colony in April 1943. Until then, the American public did not know about this war atrocity.

The original story on Japanese atrocities in the Philippines was written for the Tribune in July 1943. The military and the Roosevelt White House balked at releasing the explosive material--especially to a newspaper critical of the President--and even used wartime censorship powers to block publication of Dyess’ story in the Tribune.

The also didn’t want to shock the American public and were worried that the Japanese might respond with even more cruelty against POWs.

One important factor in the decision to delay release of Dyess' account was the fear that the Japanese, in retaliation, might refuse to accept or otherwise block delivery to the prisoners of a Red Cross relief shipment then on the way to Japan aboard the M.S. Gripsholm. Once it was learned that the Gripsholm had reached Japan and it was believed that the Red Cross supplies would reach POWs by late January 1944, the it was easier to decide to release the news by the end of that month.

Months of pressure and Dyess' death in a training flight crash in December 1943 also contributed to the government relenting. At midnight on January 27, 1944, the War Department distributed a long summary of the atrocities to the media.

The next day, the Tribune and its 100 affiliated newspapers ran the first of what would be 24 installments of Dyess’s dramatic story of combat, leadership, selflessness, survival, and escape.

Dyess was buried in a simple family plot in the Albany, Texas Cemetery. The only public recognition, in Texas or anywhere else, of Lt. Col. Dyess’ valiant and inspiring actions during World War II was the 1956 renaming of Abilene Air Force Base to Dyess Air Force Base.

The Dyess Story: The Complete Eye-Witness Account of the Death March (1944) as told to Chicago Tribune journalist William Leavelle remains a best-seller.

For more on Lt. Col Dyess also: THIS and THIS.

Can Abe Acknowledge the Truth

Bataan Death March by Ben Steele

Bataan Death March Survivor

To be in House Gallery for Japanese PM Speech

Listening for Acknowledgment

American Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor to hold Press Conference

CARBONDALE, Ill., April 28, 2015/ADBC-Memorial Society/ --

Lester Tenney, 94 – a former POW of Japan and Bataan Death March survivor will be a guest of Congressman Mike Honda (D-CA) at Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s speech to a joint meeting of Congress on April 29th. That evening he will be a guest of the Japanese Embassy at their Gala dinner to be held at the Smithsonian.

Caroline Burkhart - Vice President of the American Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor Memorial Society (ADBC-MS) and daughter of Bataan defender and former POW of Japan will also attend the speech by Mr. Abe as a guest of Congressman Darrell Issa (R-CA).

Dr. Tenney was the last National Commander of the American Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor. He successfully negotiated with the Government of Japan and the US State Department Japan’s 2009 offer of an apology to the American POWs of Japan and the program of reconciliation and visitation to Japan for former POWs. He was a tank commander from the famous Maywood, Illinois National Guard, Company B, 192nd Tank Battalion and fought in the Battle for Bataan from December 1941 to April 9, 1942. He survived the infamous Bataan Death March, a Hellship to Japan, and slave labor mining coal for Mitsui at Fukuoka #17 Branch POW Camp in Omuta. 

A press conference will be held with Dr. Tenney and Ms. Jan Thompson, President of the ADBC-MS on Thursday, April 30 at 9:00am at the American Institute for the Study of Contemporary Germany, 1755 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Suite 700, Washington, DC.

Ms. Thompson is the daughter of a USS Canopus sailor who was a POW held in Mukden, China. She is a filmmaker chronicling the ordeal of the American POWs of Japan.

For more details, contact the ADBC Memorial Society President Ms. Jan Thompson.

Untold stories of heroism and valor still to be told

The American Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor (ADBC) Memorial Society needs your help to tell journalists about the rich resources available on the American POWs of Japan. Help get the truth out there!

Success of Angelina Jolie's Movie "Unbroken" Highlights 

Untold Stories of World War II POWs 

American Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor Supports Surviving Veterans, Can Help Journalists Connect 

with Former Prisoners of War of Japan

CARBONDALE, Ill., Dec. 30, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The box-office success of "Unbroken," a movie about the true-life war-time experience of Olympian Louis Zamperini, has brought new attention to the issue of the appalling treatment by ImperialJapan of its prisoners of war during World War II.

As we approach the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, many remarkable and compelling stories of valor, perseverance and survival remain untold.

The American Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor (ADBC) Memorial Society has maintained constant support and engagement with surviving POWs of Japan and their families and the ADBC is uniquely positioned to provide unrivaled media access to these veterans who are located throughout the United States and their incredible histories. A number of former POWs from California, Connecticut,Nebraska, and New Mexico recently returned from a reconciliation trip to Japan.

These men, all in their 90s, represent all the Services. Most were POWs longer than Mr. Zamperini and some were held with him in the Ofuna, Omori, and Naoetsu POW camps. Others are survivors of the infamous Bataan Death March, the building of the Thai-Burma Death Railway, and solitary confinement in occupied China.

"The box office success of Angelina Jolie's biopic 'Unbroken' on the heels of this coming year's 70th anniversary of the end of World War II highlights a history shared by thousands of Americans that needs to be better known and should not be lost," Jan Thompsonpresident of American Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor Memorial Society said today.

For help in contacting these American heroes, please contact the ADBC Memorial Society President Ms. Jan Thompson at (618) 521-3654 or janithompson@gmail.com. Website: http://www.dg-adbc.org/

The ADBC Memorial Society is also available for any information on the backgrounds of these men or details on the historical context to help bring their stories to life.