Dickey column 7-6-24: The Bataan Death March (Part 2)

Southeast Missouri State University professor of military history Art Mattingly, retired, had the opportunity to interview several of the survivors of the Bataan Death March. He said he found two consistent comments from those interviewed. All said they were captured, and they didn’t surrender. And the other comment was they believed the U.S. Army let them down by not sending reinforcements and supplies.

At the Cape County History Center Museum as part of the Red Clifton collection, there is a display dedicated to the soldiers of the Bataan Death March, with the focus on Pvt. Eugene “Gene” Ralph. Pvt. Ralph did not survive the war. Eugene was born in 1923 and, after enlisting, was assigned to the U.S. Army Air Corps 17th Bomber Squadron of the 27th Bomber Group.

While part of the squadron was in Australia, a small group was sent to retrieve planes near Manilla. Because the Air Force was still part of the Army, the men of the 27th were formed into the only infantry brigade ever created for the U.S. Air Force. When the Army surrendered April 9, 1942, Eugene, along with others in the brigade became part of the Bataan Death March.

He survived the march to Camp O’Donnell only to die at the age of 19 on June 4, 1942. His death was one of approximately 1,500 U.S. military personnel to die between 1942-1943 in the camps. He and others were buried in a mass grave outside the camp. After the war, his body along with others was removed and re-interred at the U.S. Armed Forces Cemetery at Manilla.

Eugene’s mother continued to write him letters until his remains were identified. His mother moved to Millersville in 1951 after marrying Roy Shoults. She worked for the Cash-Book Journal and was a member of the American Legion Auxiliary, serving in many positions, including president.

A soldier by the name of Abie Abraham (1913-2012), a survivor of the march and POW for 3 1/2 years, worked digging up the bodies of the deceased soldiers. He spent 2 1/2 years recovering and helping identify their bodies. An article dated June 12, 1947, in the Los Angeles Times identified 353 soldiers from the Bataan Death March. Eugene Ralph was one. Next of kin had been notified before the list was released.

The April 6, 1992, the Southeast Missourian printed an interview with Charles Branum ( 1921-2001) for the 50th anniversary of the Bataan Death March. Branum was 72 at the time of the interview and a survivor of the march.

West Point had a prep school for young men wanting to enter academy. It gave them the training and skills to prepare them academically for the prestigious military academy. Branum wanted to get into West Point, and the prep school gave him the opportunity to gain the skills he needed as well as see the world. He joined the Army Air Corp and was sent to the Philippines. He was separated from the other 19 students when they were ordered to retreat to the Bataan Peninsula. In the battle for Bataan he was wounded six times and later awarded the Silver Star for valor.

When word came the Americans had surrendered on April 9, Branum said they believed it was a hoax. He like many others did not see it as a surrender, but a capture. Branum said he was a “185-pound farm boy” from Sikeston, and when he was released from prison in 1944, he weighed just 80 pounds. Over the nine-day march, Branum said he got about a canteen and a half of water. He witnessed fellow soldiers being slapped and beaten with sticks along the march in 100-degree heat.

In the article Branum talks about a weak soldier he had helped along the march who stumbled trying to get up after a rare break. A Japanese soldier shot him, then walked over to the wounded soldier and stabbed him with his bayonet. Branum’s account mentions he and other prisoners marched continuously for 36 hours with no break. Branum witnessed prisoners who were half alive being buried in a mass grave along with others who were dying. If the near dead tried to crawl out of the grave, the Japanese would send healthier prisoners to the grave site with shovels to “finish off” the living.

When Branum was freed in 1944, he was suffering from "malaria, amoebic dysentery and a number of parasites.” Between September 1942-January 1943, Filipino troops were paroled by the Japanese, signing oaths not to become guerrillas. Japan closed Camp O’Donnell in January 1943 due to the high death rate, and the prisoners were transferred to other camps. In February 1945 U.S. and Filipino forces retook Bataan and freed Manila, bringing to an end the Japanese occupation of the Philippines. Camp O’Donnell was recaptured by the U.S. Army with help from the Philippine Army on Jan. 30, 1945.

The Bataan Death March is considered by most historians to be the most horrendous march of prisoners in history. If you want to learn more about the Bataan Death March, you can visit the Cape County History Center in Jackson or visit the following link to the National American Defenders of Bataan & Corregidor (ADBD) Museum, Education and Research Center at adbcmuseum.com/history-of-the-museum.

Thanks to Dr. Arthur Mattingly for his knowledge and interviews on the Bataan Death March, along with Nancy Ayres and Forrest Swift, both at the Cape County History Center Research Annex, for their input and research on this topic and display.

As a nation, may we never forget the cost of war and the sacrifice made by our soldiers.

Dave is a lifelong resident of Southeast Missouri who has always had a strong interest in local history. Recently retired from the Cape Girardeau School District, Dave can spend more time exploring Southeast Missouri’s history.