Veteran to Discuss Bataan Death March at Lakeville VFW Saturday

For Brainerd native Wallace McKay, visiting the site of the Bataan Death March is like returning to somewhere he used to live.

Wallace never lived in Bataan, but the 60 mile march of terror that took place in that historic province of the Philippines shaped his entire reality.

During World War II, Wallace served with the navy in the South Pacific. However, his sister, Hortense, worked as an army nurse in Bataan. Many of Wallace’s friends and acquaintances from Brainerd were also stationed in Bataan, with the Army's 194th Tank Battalion.

At noon on Saturday, Wallace will speak about the historical significance of the Bataan Death March, the impact the military activity in Bataan had on his life and the personal experiences of his family and friends, who faced imprisonment and death while serving in the Philippines. He will give his speech at Lakeville VFW Post 210.

“It’ll really be an eye-opener,” said VFW Post 210 commander Arnold Zach.

Hortense was not forced to march when the U.S. surrendered Bataan to Japan in April 1942. She was evacuated the night before the surrender, along with several other U.S. nurses, and was taken to Corregidor, a neighboring island.

Hortense remained in Corregidor for a month, until the night before the U.S. surrendered the island. That evening, the head nurse was told to select 10 women who would travel to Australia by submarine, where they would be safe from imprisonment. Hortense was among the fortunate 10.

There was no such escape for the soldiers of the 194th Tank Battalion.

Over 60 men left Brainerd to serve in the Philippines. Most of these men took part in the death march and were imprisoned in Japanese war camps for years afterward. Approximately half of the men in the 194th returned home to Brainerd. Three were killed in action, Wallace’s childhood neighbor among them. The rest died during the march or in Japanese prison camps.

“Their actions probably saved an invasion of Australia,” said Wallace.

The war continued and Hortense eventually returned to the Philippines, where she worked as head nurse in a hospital. When the nurses taken captive in Corregidor were released from the prison camps, they were brought to Hortense’s hospital to be treated before returning to the U.S.

Hortense, who passed away in the 1980s, suffered from survivor syndrome caused by the unanswered question of why she was among those chosen to escape to safety.

Since the war ended, Wallace has traveled to Bataan and Corregidor three times, and has even brought his children to the place that so strongly impacted his life and the lives of those he loved. On these trips, Wallace has met death march survivors and heard their stories, seeking to understand his sister’s circumstances and experiences.

This April is the 70th anniversary of the Bataan Death March.

“Seventy years has gone by,” said Wallace. “It’s probably something that a lot of people don’t know very much about.”

Wallace, however, has a lifetime of knowledge regarding Bataan and the atrocities that took place there.

His speech will be presented at noon on Saturday at the Lakeville VFW Post 210 dining room.