My great uncle was captured when the Japanese overran Clark Air Base. The first wave of the attack was nine hours after Pearl Harbor and destroyed most of the aircraft. The base didn’t fall until the following month, by which point my uncle would say the Japanese had to climb over their own dead stacked three high.
So he was taken prisoner and survived the Bataan Death March. When he returned he weighed 88 pounds. The military told him if he ever spoke about what happened to him he’d be imprisoned and fined $10,000.
Fast forward to the 90’s. Uncle Joe saw some infobabe type presentation on the death march (20/20 I think). He got angry and went to the local paper and sat for an extended interview. I still have it somewhere.
One of the things he always told us was that the government knew Japan was about to attack Pearl Harbor and his base in the Philippines but wouldn’t send reinforcements. Years later Day of Deceit and other books came out and seemed to confirm this.
I think your find here settles the question once and for all.
My great uncle was captured when the Japanese overran Clark Air Base. The first wave of the attack was nine hours after Pearl Harbor and destroyed most of the aircraft. The base didn’t fall until the following month, by which point my uncle would say the Japanese had to climb over their own dead stacked three high.
So he was taken prisoner and survived the Bataan Death March. When he returned he weighed 88 pounds. The military told him if he ever spoke about what happened to him he’d be imprisoned and fined $10,000.
Fast forward to the 90’s. Uncle Joe saw some infobabe type presentation on the death march (20/20 I think). He got angry and went to the local paper and sat for an extended interview. I still have it somewhere.
One of the things he always told us was that the government knew Japan was about to attack Pearl Harbor and his base in the Philippines but wouldn’t send reinforcements. Years later Day of Deceit and other books came out and seemed to confirm this.
I think your find here settles the question once and for all.