The Chronicles Of Grant County
“Heroes of Bataan” is a memorial located in Veterans Park in Las Cruces. In its description of the Bataan Death March, Visit Las Cruces noted that this was “…one of the most brutal chapters in American military history.” (The photo was provided courtesy of Visit Las Cruces.)
As we celebrate our freedom and the independence of the United States of America today, it’s important that we recall a saying that “Freedom is not Free.”
We should remember how New Mexico helped secure the freedom that some people in Grant County may take for granted at times. The price paid was high. For the men who served in the uniform of our nation. Men from both the U S and the Philippines. And for their families and loved ones. It’s a price we should never forget.
On Memorial Day, the edition of The Chronicles Of Grant County highlighted the life of one of the men who survived the Bataan Death March. Thomas Foy was one of a number of New Mexicans who served our country during World War II. He was among the troops captured by the Japanese in the Philippines, forced to walk about sixty miles through the Bataan Death March, and was held as a Prisoner of War until his release.
While the distance is great in terms of miles, there is a closeness between Bataan and New Mexico that years have not diminished.
“Tens of thousands of Americans and Filipinos – including many New Mexicans – demonstrated incredible and courageous fortitude during the Bataan Death March,” stated Martin Heinrich, U S Senator for New Mexico, in a news release dated April 9, 2021. This document highlighted proposed legislation supported by him, Senator Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico, and others – both Republican and Democratic – within the U S Senate. “We must never forget their undaunted heroism in the face of unthinkable conditions and horrific abuses.”
“America owes its Bataan veterans a debt of gratitude that can never be repaid,” said Senator Luján. “These brave soldiers demonstrated courage in the face of captivity and inhumanity.”
Grant County operates a park – in the process of being updated – named in the memory of those who served the people of the United States and the Philippines. Several survivors of the Bataan Death March and family members are seen here attending the dedication of the Bataan Memorial Recreational Park in Grant County approximately 13 years ago. This park is located just outside of the limits of Santa Clara, off of Fort Bayard Road. (The photograph was provided courtesy of Mary Alice Murphy, 2008.)
Grant County operates a park – in the process of being updated – named in the memory of those who served the people of the United States and the Philippines. Several survivors of the Bataan Death March are seen here attending the dedication of the Bataan Memorial Recreational Park in Grant County approximately 13 years ago. This park is located just outside of the limits of Santa Clara, off of Fort Bayard Road. (The photograph was provided courtesy of Mary Alice Murphy, 2008.)
“On December 8, 1941, hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Japanese bombers attacked U S military stations in the Philippines,” the news release detailed. “Despite being cut off from supply lines and reinforcements, thousands of American and Filipino forces mounted a courageous, months-long defense of the Bataan Peninsula and then Corregidor Island in Manila Bay. This brave defense changed the momentum of the war, delaying the Japanese conquest of the Philippines and providing the Allied Forces with critical time to mount a campaign to liberate the Pacific.”
“On April 9, 1942, after the Battle of Bataan, approximately 75,000 troops from both the United States and the Philippines were taken prisoner by the Japanese,” the news release continued. “They were forced to endure a torturous march of more than 60 miles that came to be known as the ‘Bataan Death March’ to prison camps throughout the Philippines. The marchers endured intense tropical heat without food, water, or medical care. An estimated 10,000 men – including thousands of Filipinos and hundreds of Americans – died from starvation, exhaustion, and abuse.”
“Survivors of the Bataan Death March were held captive in Japanese prison camps for [more than] three years, where they were subject to further torture, undernourishment, and forced labor,” noted the Senators in this news release. “Others died when they were transported out of the Philippines, by way of unmarked Japanese Navy ‘hell ships’ that were targeted by Allied Forces. Out of the 1,816 New Mexico National Guardsmen in the 200th and 515th Coast Artillery who were originally sent to defend the Philippines in the Fall of 1941, 829 never returned home.”
Let me repeat that:
“Out of the 1,816 New Mexico National Guardsmen…sent to defend the Philippines…829 never returned home.”
A memorial to all of these men – “Heroes of Bataan” – is located in Veterans Park in Las Cruces; this was the country’s first federally-funded monument honoring American and Filipino veterans of the Bataan Death March. This monument was dedicated on April 13, 2002, to mark the 60th anniversary of the Bataan Death March.
“Entangled in one another’s arms, three soldiers stand in eternal tribute to the 70,000 men that braved the treacherous journey…,” noted Visit Las Cruces. “These larger-than-life bronze statues represent the oft-forgotten American and Filipino soldiers who hiked the Bataan Peninsula, the 50,000 who survived and the thousands of others who did not.”
According to a statement from Visit Las Cruces, “Artist Kelley S. Hestir, who was commissioned to create the monument, said “‘Heroes of Bataan’ portrays Filipino and American prisoners of war entwined in their struggle to survive the Death March. They look back to what has passed, down to what is present and ahead to what might be. The many footprints which surround the statue are symbolic of the many soldiers who began the march and the few who finished. The impressions were made from the feet of those who survived.”
Take a moment today to remember the men of Bataan. The men from New Mexico, from the rest of the U S, and from the Philippines. The men who survived the Bataan Death March. The men who died and the men who were murdered along the route. Recall the sacrifices of those who served, those who survived, and those who perished. Keep their families and loved ones in your prayers.
Our Independence Day is based on freedom.
Remember always: “Freedom is not Free.”
(Photo from 1942)
The caption for this photo was listed by the U S Department of Defense as “The March of Death - Taken during the March of Death, from Bataan to Cabana Tuan Prison Camp.” (The photo was provided courtesy of the U S Marine Corps through The U S National Archives and Records Administration, May of 1942.)
Do you have questions about communities in Grant County?
A street name? A building?
Your questions may be used in a future news column.
Contact Richard McDonough at chroniclesofgrantcounty@mail.com.
If your email does not go through, please contact editor@grantcountybeat.com.
© 2021 Richard McDonough
The caption for this photo was listed by the U S Department of Defense as “The March of Death - Taken during the March of Death, from Bataan to Cabana Tuan Prison Camp.” (The photo was provided courtesy of the U S Marine Corps through The U S National Archives and Records Administration, May of 1942.)
Do you have questions about communities in Grant County?
A street name? A building?
Your questions may be used in a future news column.
Contact Richard McDonough at chroniclesofgrantcounty@mail.com.
If your email does not go through, please contact editor@grantcountybeat.com.
© 2021 Richard McDonough