Remembering the Bataan Death March
/Seventy five years ago, on April 9, 1942, some 75,000 defeated Filipino and American troops were forced by the invading Japanese Imperial Army to walk 65 miles from Mariveles, Bataan to the prisons in San Fernando, Pampanga. The trek, under extreme heat and hunger, accompanied by maltreatment by the Japanese soldiers, resulted in the death of about 1,000 Americans and 9,000 Filipino soldiers. That day of infamy has since been recorded in history as the Bataan Death March. Positively Filipino joins the Filipino nation, and the veterans of WWII and their families in commemorating this tragedy that has nonetheless brought about stories of valor and heroism by its survivors.
Our Washington DC-based contributor, Jon Melegrito, the son of a Bataan Death March survivor, wrote about his personal journey to honor his late father by walking 14 milesin the scorching New Mexico desert with some 7,000 participants of the re-enactment of the Death March.
In San Francisco, a group of women led by Cecilia Gaerlan, also an offspring of a survivor, has established the Bataan Legacy Project whose primary goal is to keep the memories of Bataan and its survivors alive. Contributor Manzel Delacruz writes about them and the good work they're doing.
And from another dark period of our Motherland's history, Issa Manalo Lopez in "Prison Baby" writes about her birth in a Marcos prison and how she had to come to terms with her parents' incarceration.
In case you missed these interesting stories from various publications, here are our In The Know links this week:
Once PH's poorest, town literally draws path out of poverty
http://www.rappler.com/nation/165305-subanens-celebrate-poverty-reversal-siayan-zamboanga-norte
Bishop Oscar Solis of Salt Lake City Catholic Diocese: Bringing the church to the people
http://asianjournal.com/aj-magazines/bishop-oscar-solis-of-salt-lake-city-catholic-diocese-bringing-the-church-to-the-people/
‘Bangungot’: Why young men die suddenly in their sleep
http://lifestyle.inquirer.net/259051/bangungot-young-men-die-suddenly-sleep/
Man seeks justice for wife shot 28 times in Philippines
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-39405721?SThisFB
Jonathan Gold's 6 favorite Asian fried chicken joints in the L.A. Area
http://www.latimes.com/food/dailydish/la-fo-jonathan-gold-asian-fried-chicken-20160629-snap-story.html
For Video of the Week, Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho spotlights Erwin Macua, a security guard who graduated cum laude at St. Theresa’s College, the school he worked for.
Finally, as we near Holy Week, another meatless recipe from Elizabeth Ann Quirino, Grilled Salmon and Shrimps in Banana Leaves.