An official website of the United States government
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Home : News : Article View
NEWS | April 7, 2017

75 years ago, Guard members endured Bataan Death March

By Sgt. 1st Class Jon Soucy National Guard Bureau

ARLINGTON, Va. — When Army 1st Lt. Benjamin Morin, a tank commander with the Illinois Army National Guard's B Company, 192nd Tank Battalion, deployed to the Philippines in late 1941, he had little idea of what he and his fellow Soldiers would soon face.

Within a month of arriving, Morin's unit began fending off the advancing Japanese army along the Bataan Peninsula, giving Morin the distinction of being one of the first U.S. tank commanders to engage enemy forces during World War II.

But the Soldiers of Morin's unit could only hold off for so long against the larger and better equipped Japanese forces. On April 9, 1942 the Bataan Peninsula fell to the Japanese army after four months of fighting. More than 11,000 American and 60,000 Filipino soldiers found themselves prisoners of war and were forced to march the 65 miles under horrific conditions in what is now known as the Bataan Death March.

Many may say Morin was one of the lucky ones. He and his tank crew were captured early in the fighting and were not part of the march itself, though they still endured harsh treatment as prisoners. Other members of his unit, however, did take part, as well as Soldiers with the New Mexico Army Guard's 200th and 515th Coast Artillery Regiments and the 194th Tank Battalion, made up of units from the Minnesota and California Army Guard. Other Army Guard units came from Ohio, Kentucky, Missouri and Wisconsin.

Those who endured the march were subjected to physical abuse, lack of food and water and what many describe as unrelenting beating, torture and brutality. With hot and humid weather conditions, many prisoners succumbed to the physical demands of the march. Those who couldn't keep up were often simply executed on the spot.

Roughly 54,000 service members survived the march, though conditions didn't improve once the prisoners reached their destination. Poor living areas and overcrowding gave rise to diseases such as dysentery. Medical care was virtually non-existent and many who survived the march itself died in the days after reaching the camp.

The prisoners endured continued abuse until the end of the war and were often used as slave labor.

Morin survived and was ordained as a Roman Catholic priest in 1946, working as a missionary in Peru for 38 years. He died in 2016 at age 94 and was the last surviving officer of the 192nd Tank Battalion.

Others survived too, including Chief Master Sgt. Paul Lankford, who served with the Army Air Corps' 27th Bomb Group and was captured by Japanese forces in early 1942. After the war he served in a variety of positions within the Air Force and worked to establish the Air National Guard's noncommissioned officer academy at McGhee-Tyson Air Force Base. He was named the school's first enlisted commandant in 1968. Lankford passed away in 2008 at age 89.

 

 

Related Articles
Soldiers with Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 112th Infantry Regiment, 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team practice various close quarter battle techniques at the live fire shoot house complex at Fort Indiantown Gap, Pennsylvania, June 10, 2025. The Soldiers conducted several iterations to practice movement while firing live rounds. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Jonathan Campbell)
Pennsylvania Guard Soldiers Train at Live-Fire Shoot House
By Staff Sgt. Jonathan Campbell, | July 17, 2025
FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, Pa. – Soldiers from Pennsylvania Army Guard’s B Company, 1st Battalion, 112th Infantry Regiment, 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team conducted training at the live-fire shoot house here during the unit’s...

New York Air and Army National Guard medical personnel examine a “casualty’s ” triage tag before loading victim into the  cargo bay of a 105th Airlift Wing Globemaster III airlifter at Stewart Air National Guard Base in Newburgh, New York, on June 6, 2025 during a medical evacuation training exercise. The Army Army and Air Guard medical personnel joined Active Soldiers from Keller Army Community Hospital at West Point in conducting a “tail-to-tail” drill in which casualties were off-loaded directly from an Army Medevac helicopter into the C-17.
N.Y. Army, Air Guard Partner for Medical Evacuation Exercise
By Eric Durr, | July 17, 2025
NEWBURGH, N.Y. — New York Army and Air National Guard medical personnel teamed up with their active component Army counterparts from West Point’s Keller Army Community Hospital for a three-day exercise that tested all parts...

U.S. Army Spc. Massan Signon, wheeled vehicle mechanic (91B) with the D.C. National Guard’s 104th Maintenance Company, stands for a photograph at the Combined Support Maintenance Shop at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, in Washington, D.C., on June 21, 2025. Spc. Signon is part of a dedicated team that performs routine maintenance, emergency repairs, and recovery operations, which are vital for keeping the Army's vehicles operational and ready for deployment at a moment's notice. Their work directly impacts the ability to respond to missions.
Why I Serve: D.C. Guard Wheeled Vehicle Mechanic Excels in Operational Relevance
By Ayan Sheikh, | July 17, 2025
WASHINGTON — From Togo to the nation’s capital, U.S. Army Spc. Massan Signon of the 104th Maintenance Company has embraced every challenge with determination and a commitment to service.A wheeled vehicle mechanic with the...