April 9, 1942, the infamous "Death March" 6 days, 90 miles,
began at the Mariveles terminating at Camp O'Donnell and later moved to
Camp Cabanatuan.
According to Japanese Plans these P.O.W's were to be moved by foot,
carrying their own rations to the border of Bataan and Pampango.
The main stage of the Death March was set at Mariveles, at the southern
tip of Bataan Peninsula.
Troops started to march in a long column on a dusty road without food
and water.
For many of the Bloody, frail men, this was the last march.
One man fell from exhaustion and was then flatten by a tank, as all the
other troops witnessed this horrible action, other soldiers were hit by
Japanese trucks passing by.
The P.O.W's were forced to stand next to a fresh stream but
weren't allowed to drink from it, even though they were exhausted and
dehydrated , after a while one soldier could not take it any more, he
ran to the stream and fell in, face first, to drink.
Immediately one of the Japanese guards ran over, pulled his sword out
and cut his head off..
A great many men reached the end of their endurance. The dropouts became
numerous. They fell on the roadside, some making no effort to rise.
Groaning and weeping, some succeeded while others fell back
helplessly.
As the march continued, the diseased, starving men staggered up the
dusty road, prodded by the Japanese guards to keep moving. As one
soldier was dying, he cried for water. He died on the dusty road. The
heat of the day was so intense that they were half crazy from thirst.
They arrived at a small stream that
was contaminated with filthy water, a bloated corpse filled with
maggots, this
filthy stream the P.O.W's were allowed to drink from , as the Japanese
guards laughed at them.
Death March ended after 6 days, where the P.O.W's boarded a train to the
Death Camp.
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