VOICEOVER: ERNEST MONTOYA 515th Coast Artillery (AA) [2007]   BELOW / NECN.com — MAY 30, 2009 — Japanese Ambassador, Ichiro Fujisaki, apologizes for treatment of prisoners of war to Survivors gathered in San Antonio, TX for last ADBC Convention.

When the Japanese bombed Clark Field and Fort Stotsenberg, Philippine Islands, on December 8, 1941 — December 7th in the US — just hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor, New Mexico’s 200th Coast Artillery (Anti-aircraft) was the “first to fire” on the enemy. That night, in order to provide protection for Manila, the Regiment was split, forming the 515th Coast Artillery, the first battle-born unit of World War II.

Starving and diseased, the men held out for four months against an overwhelming enemy until Bataan was surrendered on April 9, 1942, and Corregidor on May 6, 1942. Except for the few who escaped to fight as guerrillas, the survivors of those bloody battles were to suffer 3-1/2 years of the most inhumane treatment known to mankind as prisoners of war. Eight hundred of the 1,800 men originally deployed would perish in prison camps or on Hell Ships.

In 1943, while the men were suffering as prisoners of war, the City of Albuquerque vowed to build a Memorial to New Mexico’s 200th and 515th Coast Artillery (Anti-aircraft) units.

The Bataan Memorial, dedicated on April 7, 2002, is now a reality because of the hard work, persistence, and cooperation of many individuals and organizations. The Bataan Veterans Organization, Albuquerque Chapter, never forgot the City’s promise. Leo Padilla, Agapito Silva, William Overmier and Ernest Montoya, survivors of Bataan and Corregidor and slave labor camps in Japan and Manchuria, for many years lobbied the City of Albuquerque and some State legislators for the Memorial. They persevered against many adversities, never losing sight of their dream of having their and their comrades’ contribution to freedom be remembered by generations of New Mexicans to come.