IN PHOTOS: 75th Anniversary Of Bataan Death March Plays With High School Students In Capas, Tarlac

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"OUR HEROES, OUR HISTORY"
By: Era Nunag

PHOTOGRAPHER: Jenzel M. Macabali

The Philippines will mark this year the 75th anniversary of Japan's violent conquest of the Southeast Asian nation, earmarking events that will honor survivors from Japan's atrocities and commemorate the lessons from that chapter in the two countries' history.

Our countrymen, especially the youth, should not forget the Bataan Death March 75 years ago, in April 1942. This is the kind of heroism which is very difficult to find these days.

The captives, mostly soldiers, began their walk from Bataan province and were later slumped into freight cars that brought them to their prison camp in Tarlac province 160 kilometers away, on Luzon Island. Historians said only around 54,000 arrived alive.

The so-called "Fall of Bataan" marked Japan's successful occupation of the Philippines, which was then a territory of the United States. It happened four months after Japan first occupied the Philippines in December 1941.

Among at least 2,000 Capaseños, including around 1,750 other Grade 11 senior high school students, who joined the “Heroes’ Walk” trail in commemoration of the infamous 1942 Death March.

The students from private and public high schools in this town were mandated to undergo six to seven kilometers walk as requisite for graduation, based on Executive Order (EO) 8 signed by Mayor Reynaldo Catacutan who led the march himself.

The “heroes’ walk” was supposed to take place last March 11 and as stated in the order that it shall be held every second Saturday of March each year, but for unknown reasons it was moved to Friday.

Both private and public high schools in Capas, Tarlac plays the role of our great heroes held in Capas National Shrine.

Capas High School got the first place, Dominican College of Tarlac is in the second place and the last but not the least the Wellspring High School.

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