On the wall of the mountain behind the Colonnade. This is the first among the seven plaques on the wall.

Plaque

A rectangular plaque containing the insignia and a commemoration message for the 27th Bombardment Group (L) of the US Army Air Corps. The inscription is written in English in raised lettering. 

Arriving at Fort William McKinley in the Philippines on 20 November, the 27th BG (L) readied itself for delivery of its A-24 Dauntless aircraft. Concern grew as days turned into weeks and still, the planes had not arrived. When the Imperial Japanese Army attacked the Philippines on 9 December 1941, the situation had not changed. Unknown to the 27th BG (L) Airmen, to avoid capture or destruction, the ship carrying the planes was diverted to Australia when the war escalated.

On 18 December Major John H. Davies, 27th BG (L) commander, and an aircrew of 20 flew from Clark Field on Luzon in two B-18s and one Douglas C-39 of Transport Command to Tarakan Island in the Dutch East Indies to Darwin Australia arriving on 22 December. Flying from Darwin, the group arrived in Brisbane on 24 December to pick up their A-24s off the ship USAT Meigs. However, as a swift Japanese advance prevented his group from returning to the Philippines, the air echelon of the 27th was ordered to operate from Brisbane.

The ground echelon of the 27th still in the Philippines was evacuated south from Luzon on 25 December to the Bataan Peninsula, arriving to form the 2nd Battalion (27th Bombardment Group) Provisional Infantry Regiment (Air Corp). For the 99 days following the attack on Pearl Harbor until their surrender to the Japanese after the Battle of Bataan, the men of the 27th BG became the only Air Force unit in history to fight as an infantry regiment, and were the only unit to be taken captive in whole. After surrendering, they were forced to endure the infamous Bataan Death March. Of the 880 or so Airmen who were taken, less than half survived captivity.

However, a number of officers and enlisted men of the 27th Bomb Group were evacuated out of the Philippines in five U.S. Navy submarines just before it was overrun by the Japanese during April. USS Seawolf, USS Seadragon, USS Sargo, USS Swordfish and USS Spearfish, on the night of 3 May 1942 managed to sneak into Manila Bay and evacuate American personnel from Corregidor to Java and Fremantle, Western Australia.

Source of information: en.wikipedia.org

27TH BOMBARDMENT GROUP (L)

U.S. ARMY AIR CORPS

COMMANDER MAJ. JAMES H. DAVIES

HQ. AND HQ. SQUADRON

16TH BOMBARDMENT SQUADRON

17TH BOMBARDMENT SQUADRON

91ST BOMBARDMENT SQUADRON

48TH MATERIAL SQUADRON

454TH MATERIAL SQUADRON

THIS PLAQUE IS DEDICATED TO THE AIRMEN

OF THE 27^TH BOMB GROUP. THE 27^TH FORMED

THE BACKBONE OF THE 2ND PROVISIONAL

INFANTRY REGIMENT AND FOUGHT WITH

DISTINCTION AS INFANTRYMEN ON BATAAN.

WE WHO SURVIVE HUMBLY SALUTE OUR

FRIENDS AND COMRADES WHO DIED

STARVING BUT FIGHTING GALLANTLY WITH

NO HOPE OF QUARTER DURING THE BITTER

BATTLE ON BATAAN IN THE BRUTAL

HORRORS OF DEATH MARCH AND DURING

THE PRIVATIONS AS PRISONERS OF WAR.

MAY YOU REST IN PEACE WITH GOD.