Getting Ready for Memorial Day

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We’re on the downside of May. This is always my favorite, favorite time of year. It marks my wedding anniversary. It means the end of another academic year. It means warm weather and the promise of even warmer, sunnier days–so welcome after the long Wisconsin winter.

Memorial Day kicks off summer. It’s an odd marker. Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day to honor those who died during the Civil War, is about remembering members of the military who died in service to their country. It became a federal holiday in 1971, and its observance was moved to the last Monday of May.

The women I wrote about in Angels of the Underground were not in the military. They didn’t die during World War II; they didn’t make the ultimate sacrifice. Horrified by the number of Americans and Filipinos who died during the battles of Bataan and Corregidor, who perished along the Death March, and succumbed to diseases in POW camps, they did whatever they could to minimize additional loss of life.

On this Memorial Day, remember those men.

World War II Symposium

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2016 marks the 75th anniversary of the United States entry into World War II. The MacArthur Memorial in Norfolk, Virginia, is holding a symposium on Saturday, July 23. I’ll be there to talk about

Angels cover

Walter Borneman will be there, too:

And James P. Duffy:

The day will be capped with a showing of the new documentary

More details are right here. I hope to see you then.

An Interview with DailyHistory.org

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Recently, I had the pleasure of talking with DailyHistory.org about Angels of the Underground. I not only got to elaborate on my interest in the Philippines, but I discussed some of the fascinating sources I found on Claire Phillips and Peggy Utinsky.

Margaret and Claire

If you’re not acquainted with DailyHistory.org, it’s a great site for history lovers. It contains articles, interviews, and book lists on a wide range of historical topics. Check it out.

 

April 9: Two Historic Surrenders

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In American history, April 9 is a standout date because of two historic surrenders.

On April 9, 1865, Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered about 28,000 of his troops at Appomattox Court House, Virginia, to General Ulysses S. Grant. The Union general offered paroles (pardons) to the Southern officers and soldiers, allowed the officers to retained their sidearms and their horses, distributed rations, and sent the defeated men home. The Civil War had all but ended. The Union was restored; slavery was finished.

On April 9, 1942, General Edward P. King surrendered about 75,000 American and Filipino troops to the Japanese following a protracted, bitter fight on the Bataan peninsula on the Philippine island of Luzon. King received assurances that his sick and wounded men would be well treated.

The war in the Pacific was nowhere near an end. Some American and Filipino troops still held out against the Japanese on the fortified island of Corregidor. They didn’t last long, surrendering less than a month after Bataan.

In the meantime, the good treatment promised to the American and Filipino prisoners on Bataan never materialized. The Japanese hadn’t expected such a large number of POWs and weren’t prepared or inclined to deal with them. To relocate tens of thousands of malnourished, battle weary men to a hastily constructed prison camp, the Japanese ordered them to start walking.

Sanchez was among 1,800 New Mexican soldiers who were forced to take part in the death march, which started near Marivales in the Philippines in 1942 after U.S. forces on Bataan surrendered. (The Associated Press File Photo)

Over about sixty-five miles, thousands perished on what would later be called the Bataan Death March. Those who survived faced a new hell: either Camp O’Donnell or Cabanatuan, or both. Later, most of the survivors would be shipped off for forced labor in Japan or other places in Asia.

In and around Manila, four American women closely followed the fortunes of these men. Risking their lives, they chose to participate in the underground to provide as much assistance as they could to the prisoners.

For more about the Bataan surrender and about the four women, read Angels of the Underground.