"The
Battling Bastards of Bataan"
Photo taken by James Litton
Camp
O'Donnell Monument
"Sad
to say 84 percent of the American deaths (at Camp O'Donnell) were under
30 years of age and most of that group, were 21 to 23 years of age..."
Maj. Richard
Gordon and Phil Coon unveiling the Cross
"We
have the utmost respect and admiration for our Filipino comrades who did
most of the fighting and dying on Bataan, but for our enemies who caused
their deaths, along with 1600 Americans in this camp, we have none."
Filipino
Veterans in white shirts with Humprey O'Leary US 31st INF
"Upon
arriving here (Camp O'Donnell), men died of the most hideous conditions
imaginable... What was supposed to be a hospital was in reality
nothing more than a place to die... Men plotted to stay out of this
hospital knowing that if they didn't, they would not come out alive.
Men
died under the building they were sleeping in. Their bodies were
found days later."
Left to
right, Maj. Gordon, US Amb. Tom Hubbard, (standing) Col. Rafael Estrada,
and Phil. Sec. of Defense Orlando Mercado
"Burials
were a nightmare. But my memory of those burials as well as the conditions
of the hospital has remained etched in my mind. I will carry the
images to my grave."
Quotes are
from excerpts of a speech made by Maj. Richard M. Gordon, on April 7, 2000,
at the Camp O'Donnell Memorial Dedication, in Barangay Aran-Guren, Capas,
Tarlac, Philippines.
"Read
the Story of the Monument"