World War II in the Philippines

On the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II, the Veterans Museum has created the Virtual Coffee & Conversation series to maintain our connection to these momentous events. In this installment, learn more about the Battles of Bataan and Corregidor and the Bataan Death March from Tracy Perry. On May 25, 2019, Perry shared the story of his uncle’s capture in the Philippines in 1941 and his eventual death in a Japanese POW camp.

The images above show (from left to right) a wounded Filipino soldier being assisted during the fall of Bataan, the Japanese bombing of Bataan, and paratroopers landing on Corregidor in 1945.

About World War II in the Philippines: A mere ten hours after Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor, the Empire of Japan attacked American bases in the Philippines. Then, over the course of the next four months, the Japanese invaded the Philippine mainland and eventually subdued the combined American and Filipino forces in the Battle of Bataan, forcing them to surrender on April 9, 1942. A month later the last defense at the island of Corregidor fell to Japanese troops. In the aftermath of the battles, American and Filipino soldiers endured the Bataan Death March or POW “hellships,” which housed American soldiers and sailors in terrible conditions.

Watch this Coffee & Conversation from May 25, 2019 here or below from Tracy Perry, who spoke about his uncle’s World War II experience on the submarine tender USS Canopus, his capture in the Philippines, and then his subsequent death in a Japanese POW camp.

Tracy Perry explains his uncle’s service in the Pacific theater during World War II

Sources for images is the Library of Congress Image Archives:

One of our Filipino boys, injured in the fighting on Bataan, being brought back to a first aid station by his comrades. Longoskawayan Point, West Coast. Republic of the Philippines Republic of the Philippines, 1943. Mar. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2017697146/.

General view showing houses burning as the result of Japanese bombing raid in Bataan, the Philippine Islands. Bataan Bataan. Republic of the Philippines, 1943. Mar. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2017697149/.

Paratroopers, supported by ground forces, landing on Corregidor in the combined assault launched on. Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2005684101/>.