On April 9, a small number of aging American and Filipino men, now in their 90s, will pause for a moment to reflect on a turning point in their lives that took place 74 years ago this day on the Bataan Peninsula in the Philippines.
Their descendants, and perhaps another handful of citizens who maintain an ongoing interest in significant historical events from World War II, will do the same.
On that tropical Thursday morning in 1942, thousands of American and Filipino soldiers were surrendered by their commanders into the hands of the Imperial Japanese Army following four months of intense fighting in defense of the Philippines from the overwhelming invasion of Japanese forces.