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HONOLULU — U.S. Indo-Pacific Command marked the 84th anniversary of the 1942 Bataan Death March with a wreath-laying hosted by the Philippine Consulate General at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific on April 22, 2026.
The ceremony honored the defense of Bataan during World War II and the bravery of Filipino and American troops who fought and endured the march. U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Michael Drowley, USINDOPACOM chief of staff, delivered remarks and presented a ceremonial wreath in remembrance of the fallen and those who survived.
“Hope gave those service members a reason to endure. Hope gave them a future worth fighting for. Hope carried them through battle, suffering, and loss,” said Maj. Gen. Drowley. “That hope outlived the Bataan the Death March. Hope lives on in the families who remember. It lives on in the veterans who carry our story forward.”
The Bataan Death March occurred April 9–17, 1942, after the surrender of more than 75,000 U.S. and Philippine troops on the Bataan Peninsula. Prisoners were forced to walk more than 60 miles under brutal conditions, a significant early defeat for allied forces in the Philippines.
“The only freedom these prisoners had was during their sleep, dreaming of their families and loved ones,” said James Bollich, while speaking to the combat survival training group airmen of the 336th Training Group, June 26, 2014, at Fairchild Air Force Base, Washington. Bollich, widely recognized as the last surviving U.S. service member of the 1942 Bataan Death March, celebrated his 104th birthday on Aug. 15, 2025. He served in the Philippines with the 27th Bombardment Group’s 16th Squadron and spent more than three and a half years as a prisoner of war, retiring as a sergeant from the U.S. Army Air Corps on Feb. 17, 1946. He later recounted his experiences in the 2003 memoir “Bataan Death March: A Soldier’s Story”.
While centered on remembrance and sacrifice, the observance also highlighted the continuing U.S.-Philippine alliance rooted in the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty, with shared priorities that include regional security, maritime awareness, and modernization. “Hope lives on in the alliance forged in blood between the Philippines and the United States,” added Maj. Gen Drowley. “Our alliance stands strong today because it rests on shared sacrifice. It rests on trust. It rests on shared values of freedom and sovereignty.”
USINDOPACOM is committed to enhancing stability in the Indo-Pacific by promoting security cooperation, encouraging peaceful development, responding to contingencies, deterring aggression, and, when necessary, prevailing in conflict.
