Bataan-Corregidor Memorial

The back of the Bataan-Corregidor Memorial dedication stone educates visitors about the Battle of Bataan and the subsequent Bataan Death March.

The Bataan Death March began on April 10, 1942 with the fall of Corregidor Island and the Bataan Peninsula to the Japanese. The Japanese assembled all the American and Filipino soldiers, a total of about 76,000 soldiers, and marched them approximately 65 miles north of the Bataan Peninsula to Camp O’Donnell.[3] The now infamous march to Camp O’Donnell became known as the Bataan Death March. It was labeled as such due to the Japanese harsh mistreatment of the prisoners; forcing them to march non-stop with no food, water, or rest and indiscriminately killing the prisoners.[4] By the end of the war approximately 4,000 Americans survived.[5]

By the 50^th anniversary of the Bataan Death March, de Mesa and Herring realized that nothing had been done to memorialize the soldiers involved in the defense of Bataan and Corregidor; they then established the Bataan-Corregidor Memorial Foundation.[6] In a partnership with the City of Kissimmee and through private donations, the foundation broke ground on the site of the memorial in Kissimmee’s Lake Front Park on April 9, 1994, the 52^nd anniversary of the fall of Bataan.[7] Sculpted by artist Sandra M. Storm, the memorial was completed and dedicated on May 20, 1995.

Since its completion, the Bataan-Corregidor Memorial has become the location of annual reunions of veterans who meet at the monument to honor and remember their sacrifice during World War II. Furthermore, as of April 9, 2003 the Bataan-Corregidor Memorial has become the centerpiece of the annual Filipino-American friendship day.[8]