Page 7

One of the earliest and most severe mis-
treatment of prisoners of war became
known to the world as the DEATH MARCH.
All troops, both Filipino and American,
gathered at various points on Bataan after
the surrender and then were forced to march
55 miles from Mariveles on the tip of Bataan
to San Fernando under conditions that no
one believed could happen. There was very
little food, no water, and no medical attention
for the sick and wounded. The sun beat
down unmercifully on the marchers with
a continuous drum by the Japanese guards
to hurry. Many of the troops died with
approximately 600 of them being American,
and thousands of Filipinos. No one was ever
able to record the exact death toll since many unaccounted for just escaped. Arriving at San Fernando, the troops were literally shoved
and stuffed into small rail road cars with
no room to sit down for their last leg into
Camp O'Donnell. No water, no food, and the
heat from the tropical sun was beyond
description. Thus they came, to the end of
the road, suffering from every disease
imaginable. They were dirty, unkept, pale,
bloated, and lifeless. They looked aged
beyond their years an had----------------------

nothing to look forward to except degrad-
ation. The United States had informed the
Japanese government on December 18, 1941,
that it is a party to the Geneva Convention of
1929 on Prisoners of War, and intended to
apply the provisions to both captured armed
forces and civilian internees which may be
interned by the United States, and requested
the Japanese government to apply those
provisions to those captured or interned by
its armed forces. On February 4, 1942, the
Japanese government cabled that "IT IS
STRICTLY OBSERVING THE GENEVA CONVEN-
TION AS A SIGNATORY STATE AND WOULD
APPLY MUTIS MUTANDIS PROVISIONS OF THAT
LAW TO AMERICAN PRISONERS OF WAR IN ITS
POWER". Also on February 4, 1942, Japan
cabled that 'ON CONDITION OF RECIPROCITY,
JAPAN WILL APPLY GENEVA CONVENTION TO
POWS AND CIVILIANS INSOFAR AS APPLICABLE,
AND THEY SHALL NOT BE FORCED TO PERFORM
LABOR AGAINST THEIR WILL. These cables
are very inconsistent with the manner that
the Japanese military and civilians mistreated
American prisoners of war in their power. The
atrocities that the Japanese military ravaged
against our prisoners of war is unbelievable.
First there was the Death March, Palawan, the
Hell Ships, and slave labor among many others.