Day of Valor in Bataan

  

    The Araw ng Kagitingan, also known as Day of Valor, honors the bravery of Filipinos and American soldiers during World War II when the Philippines was occupied by the Japanese. At daybreak on April 9, 1942, Major General Edward P. King of the United States Army was compelled to surrender over 76,000 Filipinos, Chinese, and American soldiers to the Japanese. The soldiers were ordered to hike 90 miles (145 kilometers) to San Fernando's Camp O'Donnell. Thousands of inmates perished from hunger, thirst, and illnesses before reaching the camp during the hike (also known as the Bataan Death March).

 

    Despite their defeat, the kidnapped troops remained strong and emerged as heroes as a result of the battle. The fall of Corregidor was expedited by the capitulation of Bataan. However, if the Japanese had not taken this stance, they could have rapidly conquered all of the US facilities in the Pacific. Bataan caused them to halt pace, giving the allies crucial time to prepare for subsequent conflicts like the Battle of the Coral Sea and the Battle of Midway. On February 8, 1945, American and Filipino liberation forces retook the Bataan peninsula.

 

    The Day of Valor was a national holiday until November 26, 1980, when the Philippine government issued Letter of Instruction No. 1087, declaring “Araw ng Kagitingan” a national public holiday to honor those who helped bring democracy and freedom to the Philippines during WWII. The Fall of Bataan is still remembered as a tragic event and this is not a tale based on a novel. It is a tragedy that will live on in the pages of our history.

 

References: 

https://excelnotes.com/araw-ng-kagitingan/

https://ph.asiatatler.com/life/heres-everything-that-happened-on-araw-ng-kagitingan

http://415vva.homestead.com/Mil-Hist-WWII-Bataan-Corregidor.pdf