They Will Never Forget

Americans have been accused of having short memories and being ignorant of history (especially among the young--a point emphasized by Dennis Prager last night at the University of Minnesota). At the same time, there is an undercurrent of American thought that believes that many other countries don't properly recognize and appreciate the sacrifices that we've made for them in the past.

I've recently spent a fair amount of time working with some guys from the Philippines. Through this contact, I've learned that April 9th is a national holiday in their country called, "Araw ng Kagitingan." In English, that's "Day of Valor" also known as "Bataan Day." The holiday honors the American and Filipino soldiers who were captured on April 9th, 1942 after valiantly fighting the Japanese on the Bataan Peninsula and then forced on the infamous Bataan Death March.

How many Americans know about the Bataan Death March? Or about the Filipinos who fought alongside us against the Japanese? Or that April 9th is a national holiday in the Philippines (I did not until a few days ago)?

It's also local interest to note that Minnesota is one of the places in the United States that also commemorates the event (from the Wikipedia article):

The 194th's Company A was deployed to the Philippines in the fall of 1941. To commemorate the military and civilian prisoners that were forced to march from Bataan to Camp O'Donnell, an annual Bataan Memorial March, organized by the 194th Armor Regiment of the Minnesota Army National Guard and is held in Brainerd, MN. The march is open to anyone who wishes to participate with ten and twenty mile distances. The march has different categories consisting of teams, individuals, light pack, or a heavy pack. A closing ceremony is held at the end to award the finishers and pay tribute to the survivors and their comrades who did not survive the death march.

It's important to know and honor our past. And to know that other countries do as well.