We’re the battling bastards of Bataan.
No Mama, no Papa, no Uncle Sam.
No aunts , no uncles, no nephews, no nieces.
No rifles, no planes, or artillery pieces.
And nobody gives a damn.
The AP release on 9 Mar 07 stated, Bataan ‘Angel’ Nurse Jean Schmidt Dies. Please read the release, it is informative and presents an image of a wonderful women that lived a remarkable life.
The fall of the Bataan peninsula, followed by the fall of Corregidor, and Gen. MacArthur’s harrowing escape by PT boat, across the South Pacific to Australia, and his return to liberate the Philippines, is fairly well known, historically. As is the Bataan Death March, and the resulting horrors that followed for the U.S. and Filipino soldiers. Little is known of the nurses that served in that battle, and the fate they faced as POW’s of the Imperial Japanese Army.
The invasion of the Philippines began 8 Dec 41, the day after Pearl Harbor was attacked. As the Japanese Army fought it’s way south, into the Bataan peninsula, the U.S. and Filipino forces fought bravely, and some historians have described the combat in this battle as some of the most brutal ever fought. According to one man’s personal account,
Bataan was put on half rations. Rations for one day were:
4 oz. of rice
1.5 oz. of sugar
1 oz. of canned milk
2.5 oz. canned fish, salmon or sardines
tomatoes when available – ten men per can
This ration continued from early January, 1942 until the middle of February. Bread was issued for the first two weeks, but then disappeared. During the last part of February, the rice ration went from 4 oz. up to 8 oz. and up again to 12 oz. during the last two weeks in March. At the end they were given 16 oz. But this was not enough.
They began to eat anything they could find. They ate pony, mule, iguana, monkey, anything they could get their hands on. They ate the jungle.
The sad fact was that large stores of food had been abandoned to the enemy on both Bataan and Corregidor.
Dysentery, malaria and beriberi had combined to produce a weakened American and Filipino Army. Russ had dengue fever during this time. Most of the men were weak and sick actually to the point of staggering, and yet the fighting went on.
The surrender of Bataan came on 9 Apr 42, after four long months of brutal combat and privations. The Japanese Army then directed their aggression on Corregidor, a heavily fortified island at the mouth of Manila Bay, in continuous operation since Spanish Colonial times, and by 6 May 42, the siege of Corregidor was over. Approximately 68,000 Filipino soldiers, and 12,000 U.S. soldiers began the Bataan Death March, and when it ended with their arrival at Camp O’Donnell, only a total of approximately 54,000 were still alive.
There were 88 women, mostly nurses in U.S. military service, and 25 Filipina nurses, that were captured after the battle was over. Little historical information is available on this small group of women. There is one book available, simply titled “We Band of Angels,” of which some book reviews are available, including this one. What I found most remarkable in the tale of these courageous women, is that none…not one, of these women died during the four years of captivity, where they were exposed to harsh treatment, starvation, and many diseases. They gave each other strength, and simply refused to give up. That strength of character, that devotion to selflessness, is what I find so inspiring and remarkable. According to one reference I found on this book, it was discovered that all of these women made a successful transition from war-time to peace-time, and the now departed Mrs. Jean Schmidt is a reminder to us all, as to what a group of courageous women, through individual and group self-reliance, can achieve.
I never met Mrs. Schmidt, but I know her.
She is of the quality of individual I have known all of my life. My mother and aunts, and my friends mother’s and aunts. They too are of the “Greatest Generation.” They are the ones that married our fathers and uncles, and are now the elderly ladies you see while shopping, that are dressed so meticulously, and take the time to send birthday and Christmas cards. In their lifetimes, they have witnessed and participated in enormous historical events, such as the Great Depression, WWII, and the Cold War, without ever losing faith, never giving up, and continuing to thrive while rebuilding the world, and making many happy families.
I feel a sadness in thinking of Mrs. Schmidt’s passing, and it is more of a selfish kind of sadness. People like her have given me the world I grew to know, and the country I grew to love, by not offering an explanation to a curious young boy, as to why they had tears in their eyes at the Fourth of July parade, but instead held his hand a little tighter, and stood a little prouder. For any younger person reading this, there is still time to spend with the women of the Greatest Generation, like Mrs. Schmidt, but you need to act now. A younger person will need to reach inside for the patience and the understanding that people like Mrs. Schmidt possess. They are the really cool people, inspite of…or perhaps because of, their lack of interest in the latest electronic gadgets and widgets, and pop stars. They are more concerned with people, and how they can best serve them as a caring human, because they know that their greatest rewards in life are always in terms of how “we” are, not I.
Thank you Mrs. Schmidt, for all that you have done for so many. God Bless You, and your loving family. Your time allowed with us was well spent, and we are so much richer for having shared you. You are without a question, an Angel.
Keep the faith in our country: as exhibited by those men and women who fought in defense of Bataan, Philippine in 1942. Freedom is not free. (motto of Camp O’Donnell monument)
Additional links:
Back To Bataan.
Battling Bastards Of Bataan.
Richard Hibbs, Bataan Death March survivor, dies.
Twelve Hundred Days.
By The Awful Grace Of God.*(Must Read)*
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