Tears in the darkness: The Battling Bastards of Bataan

August 18, 2026

Andy Caldwell

OPINION by ANDY CALDWELL

After the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor at the beginning of World War 2, they set their sights on the Philippines because of its strategic location.

The Battle of Bataan began on Jan. 6, 1942, and almost immediately the defenders were on half rations along with few weapons and meds, because of poor planning by General MacArthur. That is, before the Bataan death march began, after having resisted the Japanese forces for some three months, the troops were already very ill, having been stricken with malaria, dengue fever, and many, many other diseases.

Ultimately, we surrendered and that action represented the largest single defeat in American military history.

The Bataan Death March was a forced march of some 66 miles that began with 76,000 prisoners of war- 66,000 Filipinos, 10,000 Americans.

During the march, the captives were brutalized and dehumanized, shot, bayoneted, and, in many cases, beheaded; many those who made it to the first camp in the Philippines later died of starvation and disease.

The book “Tears in the Darkness” by Michael and Elizabeth Norman is a remarkably accurate account of the march and its aftermath. The New York Times stated that “if you are not weeping openly by the book’s final scenes, then you have a hard crust of salt around your soul.”

After the march, the troops were loaded into box cars and then transferred onto what became known as hell ships. During the march and the subsequent hell ship transport, they were given no water and no food and, in some cases, little to no air to breath.

Most of the Americans taken prisoner on Bataan died before war’s end. Most of those who survived the war experience died before the age of 50 due to the effects of disease, stress, and starvation.

Some deaths were attributed to biological experiments on the troops. The death rate for American POWs from the march was over 60%, whereas for those in Nazi POW camps it was less than 2%.

No man left behind? The Bataan death march survivors believed they were left behind to die, and they were right. That too, took a huge toll.

Back in Washington, American and British leaders decided upon a “Europe first” war policy, as it was determined that Germany must be the first of the Axis powers (Germany, Japan, and Italy) to be defeated, because it was the most formidable.

So, what about the men and women left behind in the Philippines? The answer to that question attributed to Secretary of War Henry Stimson was “there are times when men must die,” as reported in the book, “When Men Must Die Live” (another excellent read!), by Bataan death march survivor James T. Murphy and his son, Kenneth Murphy, who I had the honor to meet and interview.

Listen to these words:

We’re the Battling Bastards of Bataan,

No Mama, No Papa, No Uncle Sam,

No aunts, no uncles, no cousins, no nieces,

No pills, no planes, no artillery pieces,

And nobody gives a damn!

My father was on the death march and it was about this time 81 years ago that the severely emaciated POWs began to be rescued and released, but, unfortunately, the majority of those who made it home died before their 50th birthday due to the horrors, torture, starvation and deprivations they were forced to endure.

My father died at age 47. I will always be grateful for his and his fellows’ sacrifice, and I am extremely grateful that Mr. Murphy located my father’s POW records for me.

Finally, as Mr. Murphy writes, “As we approached the USS Rescue, we all looked up and shouted in unison, “There’s Old Glory.” As we focused our eyes on the first American flag that we had seen in the last 41 months, we survivors of the Hanawa prison camp wept unashamedly at the spectacle waving in the breeze at us.

To a person, we felt as if those stars and stripes were saying, “Welcome back. You are safe now.”

Andy Caldwell is the executive director of COLAB in Santa Barbara County and host of The Andy Caldwell Radio Show, weekdays from 3-5 p.m. on  FM 98.5, FM 99.5, AM 1240, AM 1290 and FM 96.9.