Rockland To Commemorate The Bataan Death March

Pearl River NY

07 April, 2022

10:20 AM

Description

PEARL RIVER, NY — Hudson Valley residents are invited to a Commemoration of the 80th Anniversary of the Bataan Death March, which will honor the troops of the 31st Infantry Regiment. The event will take place on Saturday on Bataan Road in Orangeburg. Marchers will meet at noon at Tappan Zee High school and march at 1 p.m. to the Camp Shanks Monument for a wreath-laying ceremony. "The 31st played a huge role in the Battle of Bataan in the Philippines at the start of WWII. Over 60 percent of the men never came home," said Kevin O'Rourke, one of the event organizers and Sgt. At Arms for Squadron 329. "More recently, the 31st was deployed 13 times to Iraq and Afghanistan. Yet, their contributions tend to be ignored by the public. They are the grunts that get sent to the toughest situations, but get little credit for their contributions and sacrifices." Squadron 329 are the Parade Marshals, as they were when a ceremony marking the 75th anniversary was attended by about 1,000 people. SEE: BATAAN DAY APR 8 2017 on YouTube. Commanding Officer for this event is Lt. Col. Jay Chabot, whose father survived the Death March. On Dec. 7, 1941, when the Japanese struck the Philippines a few hours after they carried out their surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Joseph Ludger Chabot was one of 29 of the USMA's Class of 1937 stationed there. When the fighting was over, only 11 would still be alive. The troops on Bataan fought for months in the mountainous jungle. With much of the Pacific Fleet devastated, the original plan to rescue them wasn't viable. Those that survived surrendered April 9, 1942. The Japanese force-marched about 76,000 Filipinos and Americans to a POW camp about 60 miles to the north, according to Britannica.com. More than 3,000 died during what became known as the Bataan Death March and another 27,000 died in the next three years. While the exact numbers are not known, about 2,000 American POWs are estimated to have been among the dead. During his 10 days on the march, Major Chabot said he survived on a can of stewed tomatoes, 4 oz. of bacon, ½ lb. of dried rice and several handfuls of dried coconut. As a POW he suffered from dysentery, dengue fever, scurvy, beriberi and pellagra and by the time the Americans took back the Philippines in 1945 after heavy fighting that demolished Manila, he weighed 85 pounds. See more at: www.rememberbataan.org