Who went on the Bataan Death March?
There were about 80,000 Allied personnel who were Prisoners of War of the Japanese. This included about 12,000 Americans and 68,000 Filipinos. The exact death toll in unknown, because the Japanese did not care how many were killed and kept no records. Any guard who felt like doing so was free to kill any handy prisoner. These men had been on short rations, while trying to fight, for months, and were in poor condition. The Japanese would allow them no water. Anyone who fell out was killed, usually bayoneted or beheaded. Any civilian Filipino trying to give food or water to the prisoners was also killed. As many as 24,000 were killed, based on analysis of the number surrendered compared to the number reaching their destinations. The Japanese ambassador actually finally apologized in May, 2009, and I for one could not possibly be more astonished. The Japanese are PROUD of their record of wartime barbarity. The difference between the Germans and the Japanese is that the Germans are ashamed
