Death March: The Survivors of Bataan

by Donald Knox

Interviews with survivors recount the horrible conditions American soldiers encountered as Japanese prisoners of war in the Philippines and in labor camps in Japan

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Military Fiction, World War II, War, Survival, Military History

507 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1981

Reviews

[Sleepy Boy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book that was frankly hard to read, the author weaves the stories of the March survivors seamlessly. Even harder reading at the end was the treatment of these men by their own government in telling them they had no psychological damage and refused them treatment.

[Richard Drummer · Rating 4 out of 5]

vivid accounts of the hell endured by our military stationed in the Philipines and subsequently captured by the Japanese. Probably the saddest chapter is of their return and terrible treatment by their own country and VA.

[Michael Koch · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was written in 1981 by Donald Knox. It tells the story of the men and women who fought the Japanese in the Philippines in late 1941 and early 1942. The story begins on December 7, 1941, the day of Pearl Harbour, and covers the battle, including Bataan, until May 8, 1942, when all soldiers of the USA, except on Corregidor, were ordered to surrender. Their challenges were just beginning as for many units, more soldiers died after the surrender than during the battle. Experiences, as told by returnees, form most of the content of the book. The academic history is told in short, one-to-three-page introductions to major sections. This provides context for the experiences and reminds the reader of what else is happening in the war at that time.

Most of the stories are short, one quarter to one half page, although a few are up to three pages long. These are generally the best. While many are unconnected, the author has attempted to place them in sequential order. This allows the stories to be clustered also by time and location such as: the initial battle, “Death March”, the horrors of the concentration and prison camps, the Hell Ships, the few that escaped, and how the escapees fought back, etc.

Few of the experiences were positive and what we hear about mostly are the cruel, uncaring, and evil. Immediate, unquestioning, obedience is demanded; if not given, the punishment is almost always corporal, or deadly. The prisoners’ first challenge is collection by Japanese field units they had been fighting. Collection was primarily respectful with few killings. A few hospital patients were killed as fakers were unearthed and a few poorly led units forced the wounded to join the collected prisoners. In the next day or two, field units were replaced with prison guards and things became much worse. This began the Death March as prisoners were marched south to the bottom of Bataan or farther to the former O’Donnell USA Air Base. Food and water were not provided but some guards allowed prisoners carrying canteens (few) to fill them at rivers or wells to share with those near them. Anybody who fell back was killed including any wounded. At this time movement was halted while the Japanese revisited plans to handle the 12,000 American and allied prisoners, and 66,000 Philippine prisoners; about twice the expected numbers.

Prisoners were separated into about 20 prison camps and given hard labour of various types including farming to feed the Japanese army, building bridges, construction, mining, etc. During this period conditions were poor as temperatures were high, water was available but not plentiful and food was available only in famine amounts. As allied, island hopping shrank the size of the Japanese empire, prisoners began to be moved to Japan. Allied submarines sunk a lot of Japanese shipping resulting in considerable loss of allied prisoners. Work in Japan was much the same, plus steel and metal casting and refining, necessary to replace Japanese men conscripted into the military. Conditions here were worse; temperatures often exceeded 130°F and many never saw the outside for weeks or months at a time. As the war moved to its end, some locations provided air raid shelter, however a few continued to make prisoners lives as unpleasant as possible.

Of course, not all Japanese were brutal. The field units recognized their enemy soldiers and treated them with respect. Female Army nurses captured at Corregidor were interned with five thousand civilians in the university in Manila and not brutalized, over 200 seriously wounded prisoners in various hospitals were exchanged via the Red Cross. Some guards opened swap transactions, mostly Red Cross cigarettes for various medicines, others allowed prisoners a small portion of the food they grew for the military. Released prisoners recognized these “angels” as well as the brutal murderers condemned for “war crimes.”

I found this book difficult to read. Partially due to the subject matter but mostly due to the format. For any significant event or location there would be two to ten inputs by say ten soldiers, followed later by the same or different soldiers on a later or different event or location. Some soldiers provided text on many locations while others provided only one or two. In my opinion, this gave the book no continuity, thread, or story. Some of the soldier inputs were very literate and articulate, others less so.

This book would be of interest primarily to Americans, veterans, allied veterans, spouses, and academics. It might also be of interest to Japanese trying to find out what happened under their military. It could interest legal students trying to understand what victim clients experienced in relation to potential war crimes. Several of the footnotes were more interesting than the text. Three stars

[Ethan Tjaden · Rating 4 out of 5]

Holy crap this book GUTTED me, very hard to read ONLY because of the horrors that these men had to go through. I cannot imagine how hard these four years were on these men and then the instant dismissal of them once they got home.
This book directly illustrated all of the events and the treatment that the POWs of the Phillipines through their testimonials. I cannot imagine a better way to hear the story than from these men themselves.

[K. M. Lang · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked up Death March for the first time 30 years ago - this was my third reading. The book remains one of the most powerful and timeless I've ever encountered. More than a WWII chronicle, Death March contains the poignant, honest recollections of soldiers whose world had became unrecognizable, while their chances of survival dwindled. Human nature is splashed across every page.

[Kelley S · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every American needs to read this.

[Wayne Minnicks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hands down one of the best books about WWII I have ever read. It flows so smooth and the stories are so real that’s it’s like you’re listening to a grandfather tell them.

[Patricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's amazing because Donald Knox cared enough to find all of these survivors of the Bataan Death March (and related POWs) and write their stories, then tell them in their words. It's not easy reading as the stories are pretty awful and if one doesn't know much about WWII in the Pacific sometimes it's hard to follow a little bit, but there are good maps and the survivors' words speak for themselves. Hopefully we won't have too many more books like this in the future.

[Ed Wyrd · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story of the Bataan Death March as told by the survivors: horrifying and depressing, its full of stories of man's inhumanity to man, as starvation, disease, mistreatment, and brutal beatings took a toll on our soldiers. Of the nearly 10,000 Americans captured, less than a third survived their four years of brutal captivity.

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Account of the Bataan Death march based on the accounts of survivors. A brutal look at the fate of Americans in the Philippines aftyer the surrender of the Philippines to the Japanese.

[Eric McLean · Rating 5 out of 5]

A stunning book with great first-hand accounts of this brutal death march. A must read for anyone interested in history.

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unreal book on strength but more over a book on how man can be so cruel.

[Fresno Bob · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most grim and brutal books I've read on WWII

[Pam Walter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heart shaking and heart breaking.

[Joey Ellis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wish it was written in narrative form, but the entries in this book were very interesting and really get you into the minds of the men and women who experienced Bataan.

[Joan King · Rating 5 out of 5]

A haunting book of memories from prisoners of war who survived the March to Battan.