Death March: Cruel And Unusual Punishment By The Japanese Army

The Bataan Death March

The Bataan Death March was characterized as cruel and unusual punishment by the Japanese army, and many troops faced unimaginable horrors. It forced American and Filipino soldiers to experience the intense brutality of the Japanese army in a 65 mile march in the blazing heat. These prisoners of war experienced harsh conditions such as starvation, heat exhaustion, and malaria. There were few survivors of the Bataan Death March as U.S. General Douglas MacArthur surrendered about 75,000 troops at Bataan. The final survivors of the march were rescued by the returning General Douglas MacArthur after he promised that he would come back and save his troops. After Pearl Harbor, the Japanese turned their attention towards

The men received very little food or water and died on the trek to the capital. Prisoners faced extreme heat, dehydration, and dysentery. Troops were bayoneted if they became too sluggish to walk or if they tried to prevent the march. Vehicles would run over the men if some of them fell along the way or sat down to take a break from walking. “Cleanup crews” were put in place to kill any weak prisoners, and some of the Japanese would purposefully beat or bayonet their rival troops for fun. The Japanese were frowned upon for their treatment of their prisoners, even though that the commanding General Masaharu Homma ordered that the troops be treated humanely and for them to be transferred to the capital peacefully[Britannica]. To counteract this view perceived by many people, Japan released their own propaganda to show that the Americans and Filipinos were treated with respect, and the only men that died were a result of the stubbornness of the American generals who refused to surrender[Toland 300]. The prisoners were freed by General Douglas MacArthur when he returned, just like he had promised, and the Japanese were defeated and were forced to

Many prisoners died on the trek, and several more survivors died after the march was completed. One survivor, Major Richard Gordon, retold the events up until the Battle of Bataan and the Bataan Death March. When he first arrived in Manila, he received his basic training needed to fight in the war, and he was paid about $20-$30 a month after receiving a job in some barracks[Cervone]. He spoke of marksmanship training that only took place two weeks out of the whole year and the extreme heat he experienced while stationed in Manila. He told of how the battle began on January 2 and how the Japanese were defeated when they tried to destroy the defensive position he was in. The Japanese brought in reinforcements in March, and Gordon and his troops were able to hold the line until April. Gordon was captured, but he did not surrender. He and his friend, Elmer, tried to escape the Japanese after word had gotten to them that General MacArthur had surrendered and fled up the mountain to combat positions to hide. They were discovered by the Japanese and were forced back down the mountain, where he discovered his battalion commander dead on the side of the road with bayonet holes in his