In the year of ’41
Still fresh in my mind
On the 8th day of
December
War was declared
Around 12 noon
When the event took
place
The Japanese attack came
Clark Field was
bombarded
The airplanes left
And everything went
silent
Dead and injured were
left
In large numbers
There were so many
injured
That the total was very
large
They were picked up from
the field
And taken straight to
the hospital
Those poor pilots
My heart hurts for them
They were all killed
Right next to their
planes
The American Pilots
They were great flyers
They were caught by
surprise
They could not take off
We completed the four
months
On the 8th of April
We could no longer fight
We had to surrender
And when we finally
surrendered
I don't want to remember
They put us in ranks
and made us march
We marched from
Mariveles
Right to San Fernando
They shoved us on a
train
Right to Camp O'Donnell
We arrived at Camp
O'Donnell
Late around 2
They puts us inside the
fence
And guards around it
Ay! The ungracious
Japanese
They had no compassion
They have us here
suffering
In this concentration
camp
They worked us with pick
and shovel
All blessed day long
They did not want to
feed us
Except for a little
plate of rice
With this I say good-bye
With the pain in my
heart
And just to be thinking
How sad this prison was
If you want to know who
I am
I will give you my name
Lorenzo Ybarra Banegas
I will see you very soon
* * *
See WWII veterans recall
the Bataan Death March of 1942. Interspersed
with clips from a recording of the “Corrido
de Bataan” from the Smithsonian
Institution’s
Corridos Sin Fronteras - A New World Ballad
Tradition. Includes
the 200th’s Lorenzo Banegas, Ruben Flores,
Cash Skarda and Virgil Sherwood. (Requires
Quick Time Player) |