Were you injured in any way on the march?
I don't remember what day it was because things were kind of hazy on the trip. On the march out of Bataan, a Japanese cavalryman was standing in the middle of the road swinging a baseball bat. He didn't care who he hit. He just kept swinging that bat! When I walked by, that bat caught me across my upper left leg. Boy, did it hurt! I kept going because I didn't let that son-of-a-gun - I could use stronger language - know he had hurt me. That was the only bad thing that happened to me personally on the march.

The Stragglers -- Drawing Courtesy of Ben Steele

The Japanese showed no mercy to anyone did they?
No. If people would fall down and couldn't go any further, the Japanese would either bayonet or shoot them. They also would bayonet prisoners who couldn't keep up.

Those who stepped out of line or had fallen out of ranks were beaten with clubs and/or rifle butts. Some American prisoners who couldn't keep up were run over by Japanese vehicles. I saw the remains of an American soldier who had been run over by a tank. I didn't see the actual event but the Japanese just left his remains in the middle of the road. We could see them as we walked by.

Once you were put in a field for the night, did you ever have to get up and march again?
Yes. They would make us march anytime! For example, we were put in the field at the end of the day.

Just after we got comfortable and settled down, they would come and tell us to get up. We would start out marching again. If they got us up in the middle of the night, we would march the rest of the night and all the next day until night. Then, we were put in a field again.

What about wounded American soldiers?
They were expected to keep up like everyone else, regardless of their condition. But, some wounded prisoners just couldn't go on. They were either bayoneted, beat with clubs, rifle butts, or shot. Some soldiers had diarrhea so bad that they couldn't keep up and the Japanese shot them.

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Did you ever see the "Buzzard Squads?"
No, I didn't see them because they were behind us. We heard them, though. It was their job to "take care of" or "finish off" any stragglers or those who fell out and couldn't continue. Each separate group on the march had their own so-called "Buzzard Squad."

They would "clean up," i.e. murder anyone who fell behind?
Yes.

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