Adjacent to the Philippine Army dead memorial.

Monument

A stone cross monument with a rectangular plaque on the ground that details the history of the Cement Cross. The monument commemorates the American prisoners of war who suffered and died at Camp O'Donnell as Japanese captives in 1942. After the war, the cross erected by the Bataan prisoners was preserved by the American Battle Monuments Commission. The Cement Cross plaque is a replica of the original created by the POWs. Surrounding the monument is a memorial wall etched with the names of fallen soldiers. The memorial was established by the Battling Bastards of Bataan organization to commemorate their sacrifice.

The 75,000 American and Filipino troops under General Douglas MacArthur in Bataan and Corregidor, known as the "Battling Bastards of Bataan," faced overwhelming odds with limited training, resources, and poor communication. After surrendering to the Japanese, these soldiers endured the deadly Bataan Death March to Camp O'Donnell, where nearly 10,000 perished along the way, and over 22,000 more died shortly after arrival due to disease, exhaustion, and abuse. Although they were eventually liberated in August 1945, many survivors continued to suffer, with one-third dying within a year due to the long-term impacts of their ordeal.

Source of information: www.trekkingpinatubo.com, commons.wikimedia.org, facebook/Andersonville National Historic Site

Source of photos: en.wikipedia.org, commons.wikimedia.org, todayinhistory.blog

Monument text:

IN MEMORY

of the

AMERICAN DEAD

O’DONNELL WAR PERSONNEL ENCLOSURE

1942

OMNIA PRO PATRIA

(ALL FOR THE COUNTRY)

Memorial Wall text:

BATTLING BASTARDS OF BATAAN

''COURAGE IS A QUALITY GOD HAS SEEN FIT TO DISPENSE WITH

UTMOST CARE. THE MEN OF BATAAN WERE HIS CHOSEN FAVORITES.''

MAJOR GENERAL EDWARD P. KING, JR., USA

COMMANDING GENERAL LUZON FORCES, 1942

Plaque Text:

THE CEMENT CROSS

IN WISHING TO HONOR OUR COMRADES WHO DIED SO FAR AWAY FROM HOME, THE ''BATTLING BASTARDS OF BATAAN'' COMMISSIONED THE CONSTRUCTION OF THIS REPLICA OF THE ''CEMENT CROSS'' IN THE HOPE THAT ALL THOSE WHO MAY PASS BY TO VIEW THIS MEMORIAL WILL REMEMBER THE MANY YOUNG AMERICANS WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES IN DEFENSE OF THEIR COUNTRY AND OF THE PHILIPPINES.

IN JUNE 1942, THE JAPANESE AUTHORITIES AT THE AMERICAN SIDE OF THE PRISONER OF WAR ENCLOSURE AT CAMP O'DONNELL, TWO KILOMETERS NORTH OF THIS SITE, PRESENTED THE PRISONERS WITH SOME CEMENT. THE AMERICAN PRISONERS DECIDED TO BUILD A CEMENT CROSS TO HONOR THE MEMORY OF THEIR DEAD COMRADES. COMPLETED LATER THAT MONTH. THE CROSS REMAINED HIDDEN AMIDST TALL GRASS UNTIL IT WAS DISCOVERED BY RETURNING AMERICAN FORCES IN 1945, LEFT WHERE IT ORIGINALLY STOOD, UNKNOWN TO MOST AND BATTERED BY THE ELEMENTS. THE CROSS WAS AGAIN FORGOTTEN. REDISCOVERED BY BATAAN VETERANS VISITING THE AREA IN 1961, THE CROSS BECAME THE HISTORICAL SYMBOL OF THE AMERICAN PRISONER OF WAR ENCLOSURE AND ITS DEAD. WHEN AMERICAN MILITARY PRESENCE ENDED IN THE PHILIPPINES IN 1992, THE CROSS WAS BROUGHT TO THE NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE, ANDERSONVILLE, GEORGIA, USA, WHERE IT IS NOW KEPT AND DISPLAYED. THE ORIGINAL AND THIS REPLICA STAND AS A REMINDER OF AMERICA'S UNPREPAREDNESS BEFORE THE OUTBREAK OF WORLD WAR II.

FREEDOM IS NOT FREE!