New Mexico and Bataan

Bataan Medal

New Mexico’s 200th Regiment was sent to to provide air defense on the Philippines in September 1941. On December 8, 1941 they were the “first to fire” on Japan and by evening the Regiment was split, forming the 515th Coast Artillery to provide anti-aircraft protection to Manila, the first battle-born unit of World War II. Few regiments have given and suffered so much to defend the United States.

The 200th and 515th Coast Artillery batteries were among the most highly decorated in American history. They received four Presidential unit Citations, five Battle Stars, the Bronze Star, the Bataan Medal issued by the State of New Mexico and a Philippine Presidential Unit Citation. Of the 1,816 200th and 515th Coast Artillery (Anti-aircraft) men identified: 829 deaths (46%) — 24 battle-related; 803 as POWs (44%) including five who were massacred on Palawan; 2 post-liberation (related to abuse as POWs).  There were only 988 survivors (54%) and 40 deaths post-liberation for a ten year period (4%). (Source: B. Charley Gallegos, Bataan-Corregidor Memorial Foundation of New Mexico, Inc.)

Although in 1943, the City of Albuquerque vowed to build a memorial to New Mexico’s 200th and 515th Coast Artillery and created the Bataan Memorial Park, a city memorial was not dedicated until April 7, 2002. In 1960, family members and friends of the Regiment’s survivors had erected a stone memorial to the Regiment in the Park.

The new Memorial features granite pillars bearing the names and story of the men of the 200th and 515th Coast Artillery (AA) units arranged such that one may get a sense of marching alongside a man, toward the original stone memorial. Behind the flower garden, is a ramada to providesshade for benches on which visitors can sit and look across a series of stepping stones which delineate the island nation of the Philippines to the original marker, or beyond to the grassy lawn of the park and children at play.

This Memorial provides a physical reminder that the park is integral to the history of Albuquerque and New Mexico. It is maintained by the city and the Bataan Corregidor Memorial Foundation, which also hosts an excellent website on the Regiment's history.

Albuquerque’s congressman is Martin Heinrich (D-NM-1) and he is a co-sponsor of H. Res. 333. New Mexico’s other congressmen, Steve Pearce (R-NM-2) and Ben Lujan (D-NM-3) still have not signed on to support the Resolution.

The Importance of Apologies

Just how important is an apology for war crimes committed over 60 years ago? Very.

Dr. Aaron Lazare, the former chancellor of the University of Massachusetts Medical School and author of the book On Apology, finds that apologies are “the most profound of human interactions.” When used well, the words can heal humiliation — by lifting anger and guilt and allowing splintered bonds to mend.”

Lester Tenney, a San Diego resident, felt that receiving the apology from Japan was so important that he consented to experimental heart surgery barely five months before he was to travel to Japan to lead a delegation of American former POWs of Japan.

As a POW, both military and civilian guards repeatedly told him that as a surrendered soldier he was "lower than a dog." He should have killed himself, they believed.

He knew he had to be there to accept the Japanese government's official apology for their mistreatment and slave labor. It was an act not only to rest the demons of his PTSD, but also to give meaning to our peace with Japan, and hope to future Americans who may become POWs.

Tenney, a Bataan Death March survivor, slaved nearly three years in a dangerous Mitsui coal mine. He suffered malnutrition, unsanitary conditions, poor medical care, and continuous beatings.

He remembers never receiving packages from home or any of the Red Cross boxes sent to the camp. After liberation, the POWs found a warehouse full of the undistributed Red Cross boxes. Thus, over the past few years, he has organized his retirement community to send "care packages from home" to U.S. servicemen and women in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In this video, Tenney talks about his surgery, his hopes for his trip to Japan, and his experience as a POW of Japan. His wish to have Mitsui & Co., LTD, one of Japan's biggest and oldest conglomerates, apologize to him for his slave labor and the abuse he suffered from their employees is yet to be realized. Fortunately, Scipps Memorial Hospital has made it possible for him to maybe live long enough to receive this crucial apology.

Congressional Hearings on American POWs of Japan

It was not until 2000, that the U.S. Congress held hearings on how the 1951 San Francisco Peace treaty with Japan abrogated the right of American former POWs of Japan to sue Japanese companies for compensation for their forced labor or on how the POWs were treated in Japan in violation of the Geneva Convention.

There had also never been congressional discussion on how the POWs were treated upon return. Many were forced to sign military gag orders not to discuss any details of their imprisonment. Researchers have found that American POWs of Japan died at four times the rate of other veterans of WWII after their first year back. Further, POWs of Japan suffered the highest rate of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD, which was not given an official name until 1980) of any WWII veteran. (Soldier from the War Returning: The Greatest Generation's Troubled Homecoming from World War II by Thomas Childers, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2009)

In 2000, the full Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on if and how the U.S. can assist POWs to obtain compensation for forced labor and inhumane imprisonment. In 2002, the Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security and Claims of the House Judiciary Committee held a hearing on the Justice for POWs Act, H.R. 1198 [107].

This legislation was popular in the 107th House of Representatives. Introduced by Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), there were 230 co-sponsors. Despite this strong support, much of it promoted by then-Majority Whip Tom "The Hammer" Delay, the bill never made it out of the three committees it was referred to, thus never getting to the floor of the House for a vote. There was also no companion legislation in the Senate (necessary for bill to become a law).

For a full analysis of all the legislation concerning the American POWs of Japan see "Critical Documents" on this blog: Legislative History. Below are the tables of contents of both hearings and the links to these documents. They are excellent compendiums of the issues involved with reconciliation and Japanese war crimes.

HEARING

BEFORE THE

COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY

UNITED STATES SENATE

ONE HUNDRED SIXTH CONGRESS

SECOND SESSION

ON

DETERMINING WHETHER THOSE WHO PROFITED FROM THE
FORCED LABOR OF AMERICAN WORLD WAR II PRISONERS OF
WAR ONCE HELD AND FORCED INTO LABOR FOR PRIVATE
JAPANESE COMPANIES HAVE AN OBLIGATION TO REMEDY THEIR
WRONGS AND WHETHER THE UNITED STATES CAN HELP
FACILITATE AN APPROPRIATE RESOLUTION

JUNE 28, 2000

STATEMENTS OF COMMITTEE MEMBERS

Hatch, Hon. Orrin G., U.S. Senator from the State of Utah ................................ 1

Feinstein, Hon. Dianne, U.S. Senator from the State of California ...................... 5

Grassley, Hon. Charles E., U.S. Senator from the State of Iowa ....................... 22

Leahy, Hon. Patrick J., U.S. Senator from the State of Vermont ...................... 23

CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF WITNESSES

Statement of Hon. Jeff Bingaman, U.S. Senator from the State of New Mexico.... 3

Panel consisting of David W. Ogden, Acting Assistant Attorney General,

Civil Division, U.S. Department of Justice; and Ronald J. Bettauer, 

Deputy Legal Adviser, Department of State, Washington, DC............................. 6

Panel consisting of Harold W. Poole, former World War II prisoner of war

in Japan, Salt Lake City, UT; Frank Bigelow, former World War II prisoner

of war in Japan, Brooksville, FL; Maurice Mazer, former World War II

prisoner of war in Japan, Boca Raton, FL; Lester I. Tenney, former World

War II prisoner of war in Japan, LaJolla, CA; Edward Jackfert, former

World War II prisoner of war in Japan, and commander, American Defenders

of Bataan and Corregidor, Inc., Wellsburg, WV; and Harold G. Maier,

professor of law, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN .................................. 28

ALPHABETICAL LIST AND MATERIALS SUBMITTED

Bettauer, Ronald J.: Testimony.......................................................10

Prepared statement ....................................................................... 14

Bigelow, Frank: Testimony ............................................................ 31

Bingaman, Hon. Jeff: Testimony .......................................................3

Jackfert, Edward: Testimony .......................................................... 35

Maier, Harold G.: Testimony.......................................................... 38

Prepared statement ....................................................................... 39

Mazer, Maurice: Testimony ........................................................... 32

Ogden, David W.: Testimony .......................................................... 6

Prepared statement ......................................................................... 8

Poole, Harold W.: Testimony ......................................................... 28

Prepared statement ........................................................................ 29

Tenney, Lester I.: Testimony ........................................................... 33

APPENDIX

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Responses to questions of Senator Hatch from:

The Department of Justice ............................................................................ 47

Ronald J. Bettauer ......................................................................................... 53

ADDITIONAL SUBMISSIONS FOR THE RECORD

Text of e-mail message to Senator Hatch from Rabbi Abraham Cooper of

the Simon Wiesenthal Center, Berlin, Germany, dated June 26, 2000 ............ 55

Prepared statements of:

Bruce R. Harder, director, National Security and Foreign Affairs, Veterans

of Foreign Wars of the United States .......................................................... 55

Linda G. Holmes ............................................................................................. 56

Chalmers Johnson .......................................................................................... 59

Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama, dated Aug. 15, 1995....................... 61

Michael D. Ramsey ......................................................................................... 61

Paul W. Reuter ............................................................................................... 65

John M. Rogers ............................................................................................. 67

Joseph A. Violante ......................................................................................... 72

Letters to:

Senator Hatch from Edward Jackfert, past national commander, American

Defenders of Bataan & Corregidor, Inc., dated June 20, 2000 .............. 73

Stuart Eizenstat, Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Treasury, from Michael

Engelberg, M.D., the American Center for Civil Justice, 

dated June 10, 2000 ..................................................................................... 74

Hiroaki Yano, president, Mitsubishi International Corp., from Michael

Engelberg, M.D., the American Center for Civil Justice, 

dated June 13, 2000 ..................................................................................... 74

Hiroshi Noda, Kawasaki Heavy Industries U.S.A.), Inc., from Michael

Engelberg, M.D., the American Center for Civil Justice, 

dated June 13, 2000 ...................................................................................... 75

Senator Hatch from Michael M. Honda, California State Legislature,

dated June 30, 2000 ..................................................................................... 75

Senator Hatch from Gilbert M. Hair, executive director, the Center for

Internee Rights, Inc., dated June 22, 2000 ............................................... 76

Chart: Information on U.S. POW’s held in World War II ........................ 78

Senator Hatch from John E. Julian, first selectman, Office of Selectman,

State of Connecticut ...................................................................................... 79

Senator Hatch from John F. Sommers, Jr., executive director, the American

Legion, dated June 27, 2000 ....................................................................... 79

Senator Hatch from Charles L. Taylor, AMVETS national commander,

dated June 26, 2000 .................................................................................... 80

Senator Hatch from Bob Weygand, Member of Congress, House of
Representatives, dated June 23, 2000 ...................................................... 80

      Senator Hatch from Frank G. Wickersham, III, national legislative director,

Military Order of the Purple Heart, dated June 23, 2000 ...................... 81

HOUSE 2002 JUDICIARY COMMITTEE HEARING NEXT PAGE

25 Co-sponsors of H. Res. 333!

As of Monday, July 25, 2011, there are 25 co-sponsors in addition to Representative Mike Honda of House Resolution 333, a bipartisan resolution honoring United States veterans who were held as prisoners of war by Imperial Japan during World War II.

These members are listed below along with links to their websites.

Tell your congressman/woman to join this growing list:

Rep Bilbray, Brian P. [R-CA-50]

Rep Carnahan, Russ. [D-MI-3]

Rep Carson, Andre [D-IN-7]

Rep Chandler, Ben [D-KY-6]

Rep Cicilline, David N. [D-RI-1]

Rep Cohen, Steve [D-TN-9]

Rep Davis, Susan A. [D-CA-53]

Rep Faleomavaega, Eni F.H. [D-AS]

Rep Filner, Bob [D-CA-51]

Rep Green, Al [D-TX-9]

Rep Grijalva, Raul M. [D-AZ-7]

Rep Heinrich, Martin[D-NM-1]
Rep Hinchey, Maurice D. [D-NY-22]

Rep Honda, Mike [D-CA- 15]

Rep Israel, Steve [D-NY-2]

Rep Jones, Walter B. [R-NC- 3]

Rep LoBiondo, Frank A. [R-NJ-2]

Rep McCollum, Betty [D-MN-4]

Rep Moran, James P. [D-VA-8]

Rep Nadler, Jerrold [D-NY-8]

Rep Payne, Donald M. [D-NJ-10]

Rep Platts, Todd Russell [R-PA-19]

Rep Richardson, Laura [D-CA-37]

Rep Sablan, Gregorio Kilili Camacho [D-MP]

Rep Wilson, Frederica [D-FL-17]

Rep Young, C.W. Bill [R-FL-10]

Congressman John Mica (R-FL)

Click to read the foreword by  Congressman John Mica

Congressman John Mica and his father before him, were friends with Samuel B. Moody one of the founders of the American Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor. Sam, a member of the Army Air Corps, survived the Battle of the Philippines, the infamous Bataan Death March, a Hell Ship, and slave labor for Nippon Sharyo, Japan's premiere rail car maker. At the Narumi prison camp for Nippon Sharyo's factory, he was punished by being forced to stand at attention. Sam stood there for over 53 hours. It is one of the world's records for standing "motionless."

Mr. Mica reprinted Sam Moody's memoir of his prison camp experience, Reprieve from Hell, and wrote a new introduction. He gives a copy to every veteran who visits his office. Congressman Cliff Stearns (R-Fl) also distributes Sam's book to visiting veterans. Mr. Moody, who died in 1999, lived for a time in his district as well.

Every Congress, Mr. Mica introduces the Samuel B. Moody Bataan Death March
Compensation Act. It directs the Secretary of the military department concerned to pay certain compensation to individuals (or their survivors) who, as members of the Armed Forces during World War II:
(1) were captured on the peninsula of Bataan or the island of Corregidor in the Philippines by Japanese forces; and
(2) participated in and survived the Bataan Death March. Allows a survivor payment to be made to the nearest surviving relative of such individual.

This bill, which he introduced again on January 18, 2011 as H. R. 309, is unfortunately historically inaccurate and unfair to many who fought the Battle of the Philippines. No one captured on Corregidor participated in the Bataan Death March. Some on the Death March were able to escape and become guerrillas. Further, the Filipino Scouts on the Death March were techncially members of the Armed Forces and they did receive special compensation 2009-2010 through the Filipino Veterans Equity Compensation Fund. In addition, many who survived the Death March died soon after at the Camp McDonnell prison camp of disease, mistreatment, and starvation.

Interestingly, Mica has never reached out to the current ADBC and its descendants group for support. Nor does he push the bill with other veterans organizations. He is simply puffing up his veterans credentials by doing very, very little. Sadly, Mr. Moody is not there to complain.

Despite this strong attachment to Mr. Moody's memory, as of July 21, 2011, neither Congressmen Mica nor Stearns are co-sponsors of H. Res. 333. 

Kissimmee, Florida

The Bataan-Corregidor Memorial dedicated on May 20, 1995 was a project of the Filipino-American community with the help of the City of Kissimmee, Florida. It was the first of its kind built in the United States.  Kissimmee is 18 miles southwest of Orlando, with Walt Disney World a mere 6 miles to the west. The memorial features a life-size bronze statue of a Death March scene involving an American soldier, a Filipino soldier and Filipino woman. For more photos of the memorial park see HERE.

Bill Posey represents Florida's 15th district, which includes Kissimmee. Congressman Posey, as of July 19, 2011, has not yet signed on to co-sponsor H. Res. 333 that honors the survivors of the Bataan Death March..

The Numbers

According the Center For Research Allied POWS Under The Japanese:

Over 500 Japanese POW camps and civilian internment camps for American and Allied nationals stretched from Rangoon (Burma-Myanmar) down through Malaya, Singapore, Sumatra, across Indonesia (Netherlands East Indies, NEI) as far east as Rabaul in the Solomon Islands. Hundreds of camps stretched north through the Celebes, Borneo, the Philippines, Hainan Island, Taiwan and Korea.

In Japan alone, over 160 POW slave labor camps existed at the time of surrender. Camps were located in many areas of mainland China including notorious camps in the Hong Kong and Shanghai areas. Prisoners were used mainly for mining coal, ore, ship building, airfield construction, and military defense bunkers. The most notorious were a camp in Palawan (massacre by fire of 150 Americans), Sandakan 2,200 British and Australians died in a forced march in Borneo), and a series of camps along the Burma-Thailand Death Railway (an estimated 15,000 Allied POWS perished, along with almost 180,000 civilians impressed into slavery).