This multi-media program will feature film clips with live narration by Cecilia Gaerlan, author of the World War II novel,
In Her Mother’s Image. Also featured is a reading of a scene from the stage adaptation of
In Her Mother’s Image
to be performed by USF students. The highlight of the program will be
the appearance of several Bataan veterans who will speak about their
experiences during the war.
The price of peace was paid dearly by the defenders of Bataan. And yet,
their place in history has been ignored, derided and even maligned.
Despite the lack of training, meager resources and a broken promise from
the United States that help was on the way, the men of Bataan fought a
fierce and bitter battle that disrupted the timetable of the Japanese
occupation enabling the Allied Forces to harness the resources that
turned the tide of war in the Pacific. After the fall of Bataan on April
9, 1942, around 63,000 Filipino and 12,000 American soldiers
surrendered to the Japanese Imperial Army. Approximately 15,000 Filipino
and 750 American soldiers, mostly sick and emaciated, died during the
60-mile march to their prison camp at Camp O’Donnell where more
prisoners subsequently died. And yet, not even a year after the war
ended, the benefits for the Filipino veterans under the U.S. Armed
Forces of the Far East were rescinded by President Truman in 1946. To
this day, these rights have not been fully restored nor their sacrifices
honored.
The Bataan Legacy project is a series of projects aimed at spreading the
legacy of the defenders of Bataan and Corregidor, particularly the
Filipino veterans whose sacrifices during World War II have not been
recognized in this country. For more information about the Bataan Legacy
project, please visit
www.ceciliagaerlan.com.
Admission is free. For more information about this event, please contact Annmarie Belda at belda@usfca.edu.