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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.
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The Bataan-Corregidor
Memorial Foundation successfully lobbied to
establish the first Veterans Day at the New
Mexico State Legislature, held March 3, 2001. |
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