Retracing footsteps in Bataan: MRF-D Marines visit historical military sites in the Philippines

CLARK, Philippines – At a school off a bustling street in Balanga, alive with the sounds of children singing in their classrooms, a striking sign meets the eyes.

Passing through the path walk you will see the old towering mango trees which were the silent witnesses to this historic events the World War II garrison for American and Filipino captives by the Japanese Imperial Army.

In 1942, Balanga Elementary School served as the frontline headquarters of the Japanese Imperial Army in Bataan and served as a prisoner of war camp, complete with a torture chamber, for American and Filipino troops in World War II.

It was here that U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Edward P. King Jr. and Japanese Imperial Army Col. Motoo Nakayama met to negotiate the surrender of Allies forces at the end of the Battle of Bataan. This was the beginning of the Bataan Death March.

At the back of the school grounds sits the Bataan World War II Museum: a small museum dedicated to preserving the legacy of the Philippine and U.S. service members who fought and died in the Battle of Bataan.

Marines and Sailors from Marine Rotational Force – Darwin 26, who were in the Philippines for Exercise KAMANDAG 10, visited the museum to deepen their understanding of the history of the long-standing alliance between the U.S. and Philippines.

Cathy Casipe Mejia, the keyholder of the museum, guided the Marines through exhibits featuring infographics, wartime artifacts, multimedia presentations, and a large diorama all told the story of the months of fighting, the surrender, and suffering of the U.S. and Philippine service members who fought in the battle.

Upstairs from the main museum space, another room remained silent, covered wall to wall in historical photographs depicting the atrocities endured by both service members and civilians. These photographs gave the Marines an uncensored view into the hardships that their brothers and sisters in arms saw in World War II on the very ground where they continue to train together today.

“Think about what they endured to even get to this point,” said U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Col. Thomas Scovel, operations officer of MRF-D 26. “Months of fighting, malnutrition, and disease—all that to then walk 65 miles in 6 days with no food or water.”

The Marines then traveled north to Capas, where the Capas National Shrine marked the historical site of Camp O’Donnell—the final destination of the POWs who survived Bataan Death March. As the Marines rode through Luzon, the observed the distance and terrain—ranging from flooded fields to jungle-covered mountains—that the POWs had traversed at rifle- and bayonet-point.

Upon arrival, the spire at the center of the Capas National Shrine loomed ominously over the Marines, surrounded on all sides by the names of those who had died as prisoners in the years Camp O’Donnell served as a camp for U.S. and Philippine POWs. Marines inspected the names, plaques, and memorials, but didn’t speak a word.

“The silence really speaks for itself,” said Scovel.

To conclude the visit, U.S. Marine Corps Col. George Flynn, commanding officer of MRF-D 26, gathered the Marines to reflect on what they had learned and the relevance of that history to their work in the Philippines today.

“The reason we are out here, and the reason we do what we do every day,” Flynn said, “is to prevent something like this from ever happening again.”

The visit served as a reminder that the U.S.-Philippine alliance is rooted not only in shared strategic interests, but also in a shared history of sacrifice. As Marines continue to train alongside their Philippine counterparts, they do so with a deeper appreciation for those who came before them and the responsibility to preserve the peace their predecessors fought to defend.