Ghost Soldiers: The Epic Account of World War II's Greatest Rescue Mission

On April 10, 1942, the Japanese troops marched the captive Americans and Filipinos along the East Road. The Japanese had confiscated everything that they could from the POWs. One guard sliced off a finger from an American POW to get a ring from his swollen finger that could not be removed. The POWs were dehydrated. The Japanese guards taunted them by stopping them next to a freshwater spring and not allowing them to drink. One man jumped in and was promptly decapitated.

In the early days of the march, “the guards were not gratuitously cruel” (107). They, too, were worn out by the Battle of Bataan and many Japanese soldiers were teenage peasants. However, the Japanese expected the POWs to march quickly to meet their deadline, regardless of their ability to do so (108). Gradually, they grew more irate and violent. Sometimes they disemboweled the slow walkers with their blades. Some were punished for having “made in Japan” items from before the war rather than trophies. According to some estimates, 5,000 Filipinos and 750 Americans died from the elements, exhaustion, or murder. In general, the Japanese looked down on the Americans not just as victors, but also “for holding out so long” in Bataan, and because “surrender was beneath the dignity of a true soldier” (109).