The Bataan Banner
"In Pursuit of Truth!"
March, 2004

THE WAY I SEE IT:

I am sorry I had to cancel our BBB Events in DC for this May during the Dedication of the WWII Memorial Wall. I know many were looking forward to being together again. Believe me, I thought long and hard, but had to struggle with sentiment, because of Dick, (Major Gordon). However, looking at the Pros and Cons, and especially after receiving a copy of the Contract between the Hotel and the BBB, the Cons far outweighed the Pros. Contract Law requires that you read the "Four Corners" of the Contract. After this, I lost no time in canceling the Contract. Not only the BBB, but also some individuals could have been levied with a monetary judgment if the terms of said Contract had not been fulfilled. Lyn Gordon helped greatly with the Bus Contract and finally got our deposit back.

The Hotel was a different matter. Countless phone calls and emails were never answered. Even a Restricted delivery Registered Letter received no response. The Postal Service was a fault here, as we paid almost $10 for this NON-service. A change of contact personnel at the Hotel caused further problems. This is a long story, taking weeks to resolve. Suffice to state that we are free and clear of all obligations and I insisted and received written confirmation.

We had two reported findings of dog tags and possible soldier's remains, on Bataan and O'Donnell. This also involved much email and phone calls to Hawaii. The results were positive. The information has been placed in the hands of proper authorities, with the Adjutant/Commander of the BBB being kept advised.

REORGANIZATION: Perhaps many of you are wondering what the BBB is doing in this respect.

1. The number one project after resolving the above has been the Snail Mail version of the Bataan Banner, our newsletter Fred is pursuing this and he now has a California source we are going to try. WE will also reduce the mailing to those without PCs. This is to save funds with material, processing and postage. If all Members had PCs, this problem would be mute.

2. I have not yet appointed a Membership Chairperson nor a QM. We have NOK Members willing to do this, however study needs to be as to procedures and whether we will even order any more merchandise. The Chaplain position is also on hold. Comments here are welcome.

3. SOMETHING EVERYONE NEEDS TO UNDERSTAND: We all have ill spells, i.e. Fred was very ill and then had a relapse. He was down for several weeks. Remember that there are only a very few really working within the BBB. WE DO NOT HAVE ANYONE TO REPLACE FRED. I WANT FRED, NO, I INSIST, THAT HE TAKE CARE OF HIMSELF, FIRST AND FOREMOST. We had to skip issues of both the Snail Mail Banner and the Internet Banner for illness and reorganization issues.

LET ME EMPHASIZE: I MAKE THE DECISIONS, WHICH IS MY RESPONSIBILITY, AND I CAN DO THAT AND I CHECK THINGS OUT, BUT, AND I AM SERIOUS HERE, WITHOUT FRED BALDASSARRE AND JAMES LITTON (MANILA BBB REP), THE BBB WOULD BE IN A "BIG HURT". THE OLD SAYING IN THE MILITARY, "ANYONE CAN BE REPLACED" - NOT IN THIS CASE!!
 
 

Bear with us. Before you find fault, complain, ask yourself, "Am I willing or capable of doing their job?" We do it strictly out of dedication to what the BBB stands for and our fellow Bataan veterans. THUS, our reorganization continues.

We still receive many, many requests for information from families, many just discovering our Website.

Well, the final ruling has been made in our attempt to hold the Japanese Companies liable for using POW labor, during WW II and for making several of them very wealthy. I will not repeat to the Judges' Ruling, but it was very evident to me he was highly disgusted and displeased with having to rule as he did, IN essence, he said that we were entitled and had a right to be allowed to seek compensation, BUT IT WAS AGAINST THE LAW! Appeal to the Supreme Court was also denied.

My opinion? We have politicians, still today, that would sell their own Mother if it suited their political agenda, maybe not all, but most. SO, ONCE AGAIN AS DICK HAS ALSO OFTEN REMARKED, "WE HAVE BEEN BETRAYED AND CAST ASIDE." I, for one was not holding my breath, as I expected nothing less, ALTHOUGH ALL OTHER COUNTRIES WITHOUT NEAR THE RESOURCES OF THE USA HAVE COMPENSATED THEIR VETERANS WHO SUFFERED AS PRISONERS OF THE JAPANESE.

Until next time, take care and, reflect on what is stated above.

Tillman J. Rutledge
Adj/Comdr Battling Bastards of Bataan
CO F US 31ST INF
CMS USAF RET

Elnore was born during the first months of World War II, in Guadalupe, Makati City, Philippines. She told me she was born in a tunnel that came from Ft. McKinley into Guadalupe, where the US Army kept the ammunition. She had an older half-brother named Herbie, who was from her mother's first husband, who was an American soldier. Her mother and their step-father raised them both. She later learned her step-father was a friend of her biological father.

Elnore's mother and step-father kept both children in seclusion throughout the years of Japanese occupation. They did not look Filipino. Elnore had red hair and Herbie had blonde hair. Their parents feared that the Japanese would know, if they saw them, that they were children of American soldiers and they might have harmed them. Later in life, her parents told her, "We had to hide you, because your father was in Bataan."

After the war, Elnore spent her childhood in Paco, Manila. While she was growing up, her parent's friends kept telling her how much she looked like Jack. For a long time, she did not know what they meant. The day finally came when she was told that her real father was an American soldier, whose name was Jack McCarson, and that he went to Bataan, and became a POW.

At the age of 17, Elnore migrated to the US with her family. She lived in San Francisco. She continued her education, went to work, as a secretary, and got married, twice. She raised her children in California.

Around 1978, Elnore decided to look for her father, Jack McCarson. She tried to get his military records from the US Army, in St. Louis, but they could not help her, because she did not have his serial number or any other information they needed to locate his records. She even went to a large reunion of people whose last names were McCarson. She met several Jack McCarsons, but none of them were ever in the Philippines. She used the service of a company that searches for people. They returned her fee, because they gave her the same list of McCarsons that she already had. She continued to look for him.

Many years later, Elnore's son, who was in the US Army, was being sent to Korea. He gave his mother his computer. She went on line and began searching for any information on Ft. McKinley.

One night, Elnore had trouble sleeping, so she stayed up all night on the computer and found five different organizations which were related to Bataan and POWs that mentioned of Ft. McKinley. She contacted the five different organizations.

She told me, "The Battling Bastards of Bataan" was the only one that replied, and they did so, within twelve hours. She then reminded me of what I told her the first time I spoke with her, "You told me, 'I'm 95% sure I found your father.' You then told me, 'Here is his number. I will leave it up to you to break the news to him, delicately.'"

The Jack McCarson I found spelled his name differently. His name was spelled Jack McKarson, with a K and that was probably why Elnore had so many problems finding him, all these years. I looked him up in our data base and noticed he was a prisoner in Camp Hoten, in Mukden, Manchuria. I found his phone number. I spoke with him about Camp Hoten and his life in pre-war Manila and based on what Elnore told me, I was convinced he was Elnore's father. Jack was with the 698th Ordinance. Although Jack was stationed in Nichols Field before the war, he would often visit his friends in Guadalupe, just outside of Ft. McKinley, where he met Elnore's mother.

Elnore called Jack. His wife, Marie, answered the phone and passed the phone to Jack. Elnore explained to Jack that he was, probably, her father. Elnore told Jack, her mother's name was Pearl Fillamor, to which Jack replied, "Her name was Perla Villamor and she had a little blond boy named Herbert." Herbert was her older brother, Herbie. Jack started laughing and said, "You probably are my daughter." Elnore, who now lives in Phoenix, promised to visit Jack, who lives in the Sacramento Area, in California.

Elnore kept her word. Several months after the phone call, she visited Jack McKarson. The moment after Elnore walked through Jack's front door, Jack commented, "You look just like my sister, Nora." Jack's children, who were also gathered in the living room said, "Yes! She looks just like Aunt Nora!." Elnor told me, she had a great time, that day, meeting her new family.

Later that same day, Jack told Elnore, he knew he had a daughter. After the war, he stayed in the military and was stationed in Clark Field, in Angeles City. Whenever he could, from 1948 to 1950, he would visit Elnore in Paco and his friends in Guadalupe. He said, her mother had already married his friend and they had adopted Elnore, as their own, not knowing whether Jack had survived the war. Jack recounted to Elnore, how, when she was a child, she use to sit on his lap.

Now, Elnore calls Jack at least, once a week. She has plans for more trips to California to visit with him. Members of her new family call on her and will be visiting her. Elnore is enjoying her new family.

We, in the "Battling Bastards of Bataan," are very happy and proud to have been able to unite Jack and Elnore.

Fred Baldassarre

The Bataan Death March was the removal of American and Filipino prisoners from Bataan to Capas, Tarlac for internment in Camp O'Donnell, an old Philippine Army training camp. Naval Radio Transmitting Facility, Capas, is now located on the site of the old camp. There is another Camp O'Donnell located a few miles to the west of the old POW camp; it is the Air Force Transmitting Facility.

During Spring Vacation, BSA Troop 336, from Clark Air Base spent six days on Bataan to retrace the route taken by those brave and tortured men, in April 1942. A week later, on 18 April, they again took to the road to march the route taken by prisoners as they left the trains which had brought them to Capas, from San Fernando, Pampanga. They were sealed in virtually unventilated box-cars in which some died from suffocation. The final six miles to the camp must have been a relief following the nightmare of the train ride. They expected the end of the March to bring an end to their suffering.

As with each new portion of their journey, the horrors of the last were made to seem mild compared with the next. Camp O'Donnell was truly a "Death Camp." Towards the middle of May, 1942 through the first part of June, over 200 died each day and were buried in mass graves (20 to 40 to a grave). Disease was the main cause of death, although atrocities were committed.

During the 55 miles of marching on Bataan and the 7 miles in Capas, the Troop carried an American Flag and a Philippine Flag. On arrival at the Navy Transmitting Facility, the flags were presented to Mr. Lapada (a veteran of the March and Camp), who in turn presented them to Lt. L.E. Jones (OIC of the facility) to be made a permanent part of the memorial to those who suffered and died in the old camp. A short devotional was conducted by Father Pineda, Parish Priest of Capas and former Chaplain of the Death Camp, followed by Taps played by a bugler from Clark Air Base. The troop and guest then enjoyed dinner in the Station Club to close out the two weeks activity.

VFW Post 2485
Angeles City, Philippines

SUBJECT: Capas Memorial Service

Comrades and Shipmates,

Each year we observe Memorial Day and Veterans Day, either at the Clark Cemetery or individually at services within our communities. In the observance of these holidays we may have lost sight of a portion of our local and national historical heritage. This is honoring our Comrades and Shipmates that participated in or gave their lives in the Battles of Bataan, Corregidor and the subsequent Death March.

VFW Post 2485 will host the 5th Annual Death March Memorial Service at the Capas Memorial at 1000 hours, 8 April 2004. The service will be held at the Capas Museum Compound, between the Philippine and Battling Bastards of Bataan Memorials. The service will consist of a message by the Commander Post 2485, a prayer offered by the Post Chaplain and a wreath laid at both Memorials..

We hope you will be able to attend. Request you and your organization consider putting the service on your schedule.

I can be contacted through the Post Home at 379 Pinatubo Street (corner Pinatubo Street and Santol Road), Clarkview, TEL: 63 45 892-7147, FAX: 63 45 322-0391 or E-Mail:vfw2485@mozcom.com

Yours in Comradeship,

Buddy McGuire
Commander
VFW Post 2485

(VFW Post 2485, in Angeles City, has been a great friend to the Battling Bastards of Bataan.)

"To the Japanese we were not men. They frequently told us we were 'nothing', 'expendable', and referred to as 'animals' for work today in the mine". We were below their, contempt. We had surrendered.

Their insane warrior code, the Bushido of the Samurai, demanded they either die in battle or take their own life. Thousands, though a very small minority, did. The Banzai charges and Kamikaze aircraft were prime examples of this depravity. Those who were prison guards were not the best nor the brightest. The best and the brightest were in more important positions. As a consequence, our guards and their leaders looked down on us with even greater disdain in order to justify their own position. These factors largely account for their cruel and brutal treatment of us.

Some may ask why I have let so many years pass before writing our story. The answer is simple: I was so traumatized by the experience that every time I sat and tried, the memories would cause such intense emotions that I was unable to continue. Even now, I find it difficult to read parts of the drafts.

War, either battle or prison life, brings to the surface the bravery and courage that exists in some men. Prison life brings even greater emphasis, since there is no hope of victory, only survival. There are no weapons to lash out at your captors with, no place to retreat to, even for a moment's respite.

On the battlefield you are equipped, motivated, disciplined, in touch with news of home and the world (and they make sure the news is encouraging), and feel that "it can't last forever". In the Japanese prison camps, we were starved, sick, unarmed, exhausted from hard labor under hellish conditions, harassed and humiliated 24 hours a day, nearly naked, and beaten daily.

When sick we knew, since there were no medical supplies, the chance of survival was slight. Worse was watching your mates die in ghastly, ugly circumstances, a terrifying picture of what you would probably become.

It is little wonder that in every camp there were cowardly and mean men determined to live and saying to hell with everyone else. All men in such conditions are scared. The brave and courageous are able to overcome these instinctual emotions. The average can merely keep them at bay. The weak succumb. Thankfully, those in the last category were small in number. The vast majority looked after their mates. That was the system that allowed us to survive: knowing that if you looked out for your mate when he was in difficulty or sick, he would do the same for you. Knowing that someone cared, the love of one individual for another, is what enabled us to survive.

Courage and bravery in battle are rewarded with medals and ribbons. I saw both the battles and prison camp. Neither was easy. But to my mind there were many, many more deserving of recognition than were decorated from surviving prison camps. The daily torments of the mine, the constant hunger and pain, the incessant beatings and harassment made courage, self-respect, mutual esteem between the men a necessity. Those who did not have it, those who did not look after their "mucker" usually perished.

The unwritten law was that you did nothing to harm your mates. The worst crime was to become "Jap-happy", to go along willingly with their orders or try to ingratiate yourself with the enemy. In those extreme conditions of despair and degradation, we turned to each other for reassurance that life was worth living and that we could survive.

This book is my attempt to record the ultimate courage, bravery, and love of their mates that occurred under these worst of all possible conditions, acts known only to those who were there."

Lastly I felt impelled to tell of the massacre plan (of all POWs), the plot to leave no traces of the atrocities of our captors. It is important that people know that the atomic bomb saved far more lives than it took, that it saved far more suffering than it gave, and that it was used on a people possessed and controlled by an insane code. No, not all citizens were believers in that insanity. But they supported those in control, and those in control were believers. They were cruel, brutal, and uncaring, because of their irrational beliefs. The revelations of the Tokyo War Crimes trials where my evidence was also used showed the Japanese brutally murdered six Million civilians. It is now overlooked that this was about the same number of Jews slaughtered in the Holocaust by the Germans. Every year now the anniversaries of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are used by peace and anti-nuclear groups to hammer home their message of the horrors of war.

The Japanese have cleverly turned these annual events into world-wide media propaganda vehicles to try to show how badly they have suffered, and their citizens who survived those bombings still suffer. They attempt to make the Allies the criminals in a heinous crime. Their Ministry of Education has recently altered the history books and refers to the savagery of the "Rape of Nanking" as "an unorganized act committed in a state of utmost confusion", describe their invasions as "movements" or "expansions" and make the West out as the villain.

The world continues to be reminded of the Nazi atrocities and attempted genocide of the Jews. The USA, European nations, and Israel relentlessly track down, pursue, and bring to trial Nazi war criminals such as Dr. Joseph Mengele, "The Angel of Death", Adolf Eichman, Klaus Barbie, "The Butcher of Lyons", and John Demjanjuk, "Ivan the Terrible". Even now, Jewish organizations and the American press are closely scrutinizing the war-time activities of the Austrian President, Kurt Waldheim, his actions trivial when compared to the heinous crimes of the Japanese War Criminals, long forgotten. After the initial trials of those caught at the end of the war, there has been little or no investigation nor pursuit nor trial of those that escaped. Why? Why has Japan never paid the same type of compensation that Germany was forced to pay?

When Mr. Newell called for twenty men to load the Interislander, “La Princesa,” at Pier 7, I was quick to respond. Working on the Princess was a privilege since she usually afforded great looting from the Jap officers' baggage that she routinely transported to the southern outposts. The little ship lacked power winches so we had to load her manually, lugging the cargo on board and muscling it down a set of narrow, steep steps into her small hold. With room for ten men to work at one time, the rest of us goofed off, under the Nip’s dumb "Kotai system." I
was stretched out on a bollard at the edge of the pier when a fellow GI suddenly shouted a warning. Jumping to my feet, I saw that a Jap Officer, resplendent in his white, starched uniform, was mincing our way down the quay. Behind him, a tiny Filipina woman could be seen staggering along under a huge load of luggage and boxes. Following Japanese protocol, one of my mates screamed, “Kirei,” (attention) and I, like Pavlov’s dog, automatically saluted. I muttered to myself, “My salute was for you, Magandang Dalaga. (beautiful lady) It sure as hell ain’t for that pompous idiot of an officer. To him, I'll say, “Bakeru, dame ja nai ka.” (a gross insult). Smiling inwardly at the subtle insult, I watched the Filipina draw near, weaving
at times under her heavy load.

Suddenly her gaze found mine. Partially closing her eyes, she gave me a sensuous smile. Then,
pursing her lips, she threw me the most lucious “pretend kiss” I’d had for a very long time. Softly she whispered, “Please forgive me, Joe. I am also a slave. He threatens to kill my baby every day if I upset him. Please understand and don’t hate me.” Then her perfume reached me.  Hovering like a voluptuous veil, it quickly became a magic carpet, whisking me away to my former life of comfort and ease in America. My mind filled instantly with memories of classy ladies, their perfumes and beautiful clothes, of Saturday matinees, soft easy chairs, good books and wonderful food. During that brief, emotional moment, her scent took me back to my own good life, the one I’d known before but hadn’t properly appreciated. Before? Yes, before I, too, became a slave. I’ve never forgotten her look of desperation, her lovely scent nor the piteous appeal in her eyes that I couldn’t answer. That gorgeous woman, a slave like myself, was doing what she had to do to stay alive and save her child.  Oh, if I were only artistically inclined! I would paint her picture yet today.

Feb. 29, 04

To the Editor, Tyler ( TX) Courier Times Telegraph;

In the interest of Historical Accuracy, allow me to correct an Associated Press report in your paper Feb. 29th. Section D, page 7.

The report says , in brief, that on April 9th, 1942, General Jonathan Wainwright, after four months of fighting on Bataan, could hold out no longer and surrendered to the Japs.

The surrender of Bataan on April 9th is correct, but, this was done by Maj. Gen. Edward P. King Jr., who was in charge of the forces on Bataan. He had direct orders from MacArthur to "fight to the last man." Seeing no military purpose in sacrificing 75,000 men (about 10K Americans , the rest Philippine soldiers), he surrendered. Of these captives, about 700 Americans died on the subsequent "Bataan Death March", along with several thousand Philippine troops.

The AP report quotes some 36,000 men captured.  On May 6th, 1942, Gen. Wainwright surrendered his forces on Corregidor.   None of these men made the Death March.  Probably, General King's surrender on April 9th paved the way for Wainwright to surrender, rather than sacrificing his men as Gen. King had been ordered to do.

I hope you can straighten out "The Associated Press" on these statistics and facts. For your
readers information, see WEB sites of: The Battling Bastards of Bataan  and The American Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor.

Also, for History Buffs, visit The Admiral Nimitz Museum  in Fredericksburg TX. This museum specializes in World War 2 in the Pacific.

Yours truly,

Barrington Beutell

In the past year, we completed a project that was first started by Maj. Gordon.  This project was finding the names of more men who had died in Camp O'Donnell who were not included on the Wall of our memorial when it was first erected.  After a year of research using National Archive files and the rosters of various units, we found one hundred and ninety-five more names and they have been added on by extending the side panels.

We wish to thank our next of kin member Phillip Cafasso for assisting us in this project.  Below is a current picture of our Camp O'Donnell Memorial, with the additional names.

The project is now completed and it could not have been done without our Philippine Representative, James Litton.

We wish to invite you to visit a great website made by one of our next of kin members, Pam Gonzales.  Pam is the daughter of Francis Stuckey, who served with the 7th Material, on Bataan, and was a POW in Camp Hoten, in Mukden, Manchuria.   Her website has extensive information on her father's unit.  Please visit the site: "7th Materials.org"  It is historically accurate and has a an excellent roster.

The Battling Bastards of Bataan has a new mailing address:

Please send all your membership dues and donations to the above address, with a check made out to, "Battling Bastards of Bataan."  We can not exist without your help.

We wish to encourage all veterans, next of kins, or interested parties to send us materials to publish in our newsletter.  If you have written a book or anything other piece, show it to us.  If you have some photos which you would like to see published, let us know.  What ever it is, we wish to see it, and if it is relavent, and historically accurate, we will publish it on our newsletter and give you full credit.

The Battling Bastards of Bataan exist to keep the "true story" of the men and women (Filipino and American) who served on Bataan alive for future generations.  The "Pursuit of Truth" in this history is our mission.

I hope you all have a wonderful spring.  We will be back with a new newsletter in June.

Fred Baldassarre