Bataan Day


Bataan Day

April 9A national legal holiday in the Philippines in commemoration of the disastrous World War II Battle of Bataan in 1942, in which the Philippines fell to the Japanese. It is also known as Araw ng Kagitingan or Heroes Day in the Philippines. Also remembered on this date are the 37,000 U.S. and Filipino soldiers who were captured and the thousands who died during the infamous 70-mile "death march" from Mariveles to a Japanese concentration camp inland at San Fernando. Ceremonies are held at Mt. Samat Shrine, the site of side-by-side fighting by Filipino and American troops.
CONTACTS:
Philippine Tourism Center
556 Fifth Ave.
New York, NY 10036
212-575-7915; fax: 212-302-6759
www.wowphilippines.com.ph
SOURCES:
AnnivHol-2000, p. 59