“The men of Bataan saved democracy for the world….” Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt

Editor’s Note: In observance of Bataan Day, we are publishing this article contributed by Robert L. Hudson, an American who calls himself “a proud resident of Limay

My father, T/Sgt. Richard C. Hudson, was a member of the 31^st Infantry Regiment which fought in Bataan in 1942. He was a survivor of the Death March – Capas and Cabanatuan. Prior to the war, he was stationed in Intramuros in Manila, was engaged and had a daughter with a Filipina. His fiancée was murdered by the Japanese during the war and his daughter thrown into an orphanage.

I came to the Philippines in February of 2012 to continue the research on my father which started 12 years previously and to find the daughter – my sister, whom he had lost track of. In 2011, I toured Bataan and met a Filipina by the name of Rosalie Serrano, a long time employee of the Municipality of Limay who shared a passion for the Heroes of Bataan with me. We became close during the short time I was here and we communicated through Facebook until I moved here. We are to be married soon.

One of the things I noticed when I arrived was the poor condition of the Death March markers. They were dirty, paint was peeling off and many of them had been defaced by locals who I believe do not know what these markers standd for. These markers were erected by FAME (Filipino American Memorial Endowment) and are also supposed to be maintaining them. I contacted FAME and questioned them about the condition of the Death March Markers. What I heard from was saddening. FAME operates on donations.

They are a non-profit organization responsible for the maintenance, not only of the Death March Markers, but of other memorials throughout the Philippines also. FAME is operating on a shoestring budget and the funds to maintain the markers are almost non-existent.

I met with FAME in May of 2012 in Makati. They are headquartered in the offices of the American Chamber of Commerce. Rosalie and I offered to maintain the Death March markers by providing free labor and supplying the cleaning materials if FAME would provide the paint. It was costly for FAME to send a crew and truck to Bataan, Pampanga and Tarlac to maintain the markers. They did not have the funds to do it and the markers had gone untouched for a number of years.

Rosalie and I worked hard in the late months of 2012 and early months of 2013 on the Markers and saw to it that all but 20 of the markers were cleaned and painted, painting 74 of them personally. We met with the owners of GN Power in Mariveles and they agreed to maintain the first 11 Markers from Km00 in Mariveles to Number 10. We also managed to get several chapters of the SDAI (Sons and Daughters Association Inc.), an organization of veterans and descendants of veterans to paint many markers as well from Samal to Dinalupihan.

Attached are photos to show what a typical marker looks like before and after. This year, 2015, we got a late start due to family problems but were able to see that all markers in Bataan are maintained. There are 100 markers in Bataan, 89 of which were cleaned and painted by Rosalie and myself. We were assisted for one day by Rosalie’s son and nephew. The GN power again maintained the first 11 markers.

All together there are 138 Death March markers, 73 between Mariveles and Dinalupihan and 27 between Bagac and Pilar. Most people do not know that the Death March started from two locations. Mariveles and Bagac. The vast majority of POW’s surrendered in Mariveles.

These Markers represent and honor the 10,000 Filipinos and 700 Americans who perished during the Death March as well as those 23,000 Filipinos and 1,550 Americans who died in Capas within weeks towards the end of the Death March.

It is important to honor these gallant men who suffered greatly and demonstrated to the world what their sheer will was capable of when the scaffolding of their existence collapsed and the eyes of the world rested upon them. As President Roosevelt said prior to his death in 1945, “These men of Bataan saved Democracy for the World.” Let us all remember these gallant and selfless men always.