News
Benson man is Bataan Death March survivor
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| Bataan Death March survivor Paul Kerchum speaks during recent Memorial Day observance in Benson. (Chris Dabovich/Wick Communications) |
By Chris Dabovich/Wick Communications
"The Battling Bastards of Bataan
No Mama, No Papa, No Uncle Sam,
No aunts, no uncles, no cousins, no nieces,
No pills, no planes, no artillery pieces,
And nobody gives a damn!"
- Frank Hewlett, 1942
Freedom is not to be taken lightly, just ask Benson resident Paul Kerchum. He knows Independence is ours only because of the many veterans who answered the call to battlefields on foreign lands to fight tyranny and oppression. He also knows first-hand what it is to be held captive, to be pushed to the absolute limit of human endurance, and to face insurmountable odds, and persevering through it all.
Kerchum, 89, enlisted in the Army on Jan. 6, 1938, and was assigned to the 27th infantry in Hawaii. Following that stint, he reenlisted and was assigned to B Company, 31st Infantry in Sept. 1940. Little did he know what would follow in two short years.
A Benson resident since 1976, Kerchum is a survivor of the Bataan Death March, one of the most atrocious acts recorded in the annals of warfare, and prelude to what would be 42 months of captivity.
Their ordeal began April 9, 1942, when about 76,000 Filipino and American troops, commanded by Maj. Gen. Edward King Jr., surrendered to the Japanese under Lt. Gen. Masaharu Homma, the largest such relinquishment of a military force in American history.
As if contending with enemy captors was not enough, the Bataan Peninsula was in one of the most malaria-infested lands in the world. Many lives were lost to malaria, along with dengue fever, dysentery, scurvy and severe malnutrition, said Kerchum.
"After 99 days of fighting, on less than half rations, obsolete weapons and overwhelming odds, the men were completely exhausted," said Kerchum. Following the surrender, soldiers were placed in groups of 300 to 500, under heavy guard for the 55-mile march from Mariveles to San Fernando in the Philippines, a strategic location for the Japanese in their effort to capture Corregidor after the fall of Bataan.
"Men were shot, bayoneted, beheaded or beaten to death for no reason," said Kerchum. "There were instances of Philippine men and women shot or beaten to death when they tried to give food and water to the men," he said, describing in painstaking detail what occurred during the march from Mariveles to San Fernando.
"You were just numb to the whole thing; you just went with the flow. You couldn't think about what was happening," said Kerchum. "You just took it day by day, not knowing if that particular day would be the day you died.
"Ten thousand died on that dusty road, 650 of whom were American," said Kerchum.
Upon arrival in San Fernando, captive soldiers were packed into railroad boxcars for the four-hour trip to the village of Capas.
"A lot of the men suffocated because they were packed in like sardines," said Kerchum.
Upon arrival at Capas, the prisoners embarked upon a six-mile hike to Camp O'Donnell, a prison camp.
"They would make you stand bareheaded in the sun for half an hour until a Japanese lieutenant mounted a platform and started screaming, 'you are not prisoners of war; you are captives and will be treated like captives.'
"For the next two months, 1,560 Americans and 20,000 Filipino soldiers died at Camp O'Donnell," said Kerchum.
In June, the troops were transported to the main prison camp at Cabanatuan.
A year into POW status, Kerchum found himself on a "hell ship" as men were sent on details to China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea and Manchuria and forced into slave labor.
"I spent 26 days on the Hell Ship Haro Maru, running all over the South China Sea and being chased by American submarines. I ended up working in a lead mine in northern Japan.
"When Gen. MacArthur returned to the Philippines, there were only 500 of the most desperately sick POWs left at Cabanatuan; they were rescued by an American Ranger Battalion. Of the 37,000 Americans in the Philippines when the war broke, only 15,000 returned home -- 22,000 never made it."
Following the war, Kerchum enlisted in the Army Air Corps and served with the 483rd Troop Carrier Wing in Japan and Korea in June 1952 thru November 1954.
As a corporal, Kerchum was squad leader of a 30-calibre machine gun squad and saw action in three battles. He was wounded three times, never seriously, and "never lost a day's work," he said.
He is uneasy receiving accolades. As far as Kerchum is concerned he just did what he was supposed to do. He speaks at various engagements, ending often with the limerick posted above.
Kerchum retired from military service Aug. 1, 1966 as a Chief Master Sergeant. His military decorations include: Combat Infantry Badge; Purple Heart Medal; three Bronze Stars; POW Medal; Air Force Commendation Medal; American Defense Medal; Asiatic Pacific Service Medal with three Bronze Stars; Philippine Defense Medal; Philippine Liberation Medal; Philippine Independence Medal; Air Force Longevity Medal; Korean Defense Medal; World War II Victory Medal; United Nations Ribbon; POW Medal; Philippines Presidential Unit Citation; Korean Presidential Unit Citation with two Oak Leaf Clusters; U.S. Army Good Conduct Medal; and the U.S. Air Force Good Conduct Medal.
In Benson he is a member of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish and is Past Grand Knight Benson Knights of Columbus Council. He is also a life member of Veterans of Foreign Wars, Disabled American Veterans, American Prisoners of War, Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor, Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor Western States Chapter, 31st Infantry Association and Tucson Ex POW Council.
No Mama, No Papa, No Uncle Sam,
No aunts, no uncles, no cousins, no nieces,
No pills, no planes, no artillery pieces,
And nobody gives a damn!"
- Frank Hewlett, 1942
Freedom is not to be taken lightly, just ask Benson resident Paul Kerchum. He knows Independence is ours only because of the many veterans who answered the call to battlefields on foreign lands to fight tyranny and oppression. He also knows first-hand what it is to be held captive, to be pushed to the absolute limit of human endurance, and to face insurmountable odds, and persevering through it all.
Kerchum, 89, enlisted in the Army on Jan. 6, 1938, and was assigned to the 27th infantry in Hawaii. Following that stint, he reenlisted and was assigned to B Company, 31st Infantry in Sept. 1940. Little did he know what would follow in two short years.
A Benson resident since 1976, Kerchum is a survivor of the Bataan Death March, one of the most atrocious acts recorded in the annals of warfare, and prelude to what would be 42 months of captivity.
Their ordeal began April 9, 1942, when about 76,000 Filipino and American troops, commanded by Maj. Gen. Edward King Jr., surrendered to the Japanese under Lt. Gen. Masaharu Homma, the largest such relinquishment of a military force in American history.
As if contending with enemy captors was not enough, the Bataan Peninsula was in one of the most malaria-infested lands in the world. Many lives were lost to malaria, along with dengue fever, dysentery, scurvy and severe malnutrition, said Kerchum.
"After 99 days of fighting, on less than half rations, obsolete weapons and overwhelming odds, the men were completely exhausted," said Kerchum. Following the surrender, soldiers were placed in groups of 300 to 500, under heavy guard for the 55-mile march from Mariveles to San Fernando in the Philippines, a strategic location for the Japanese in their effort to capture Corregidor after the fall of Bataan.
"Men were shot, bayoneted, beheaded or beaten to death for no reason," said Kerchum. "There were instances of Philippine men and women shot or beaten to death when they tried to give food and water to the men," he said, describing in painstaking detail what occurred during the march from Mariveles to San Fernando.
"You were just numb to the whole thing; you just went with the flow. You couldn't think about what was happening," said Kerchum. "You just took it day by day, not knowing if that particular day would be the day you died.
"Ten thousand died on that dusty road, 650 of whom were American," said Kerchum.
Upon arrival in San Fernando, captive soldiers were packed into railroad boxcars for the four-hour trip to the village of Capas.
"A lot of the men suffocated because they were packed in like sardines," said Kerchum.
Upon arrival at Capas, the prisoners embarked upon a six-mile hike to Camp O'Donnell, a prison camp.
"They would make you stand bareheaded in the sun for half an hour until a Japanese lieutenant mounted a platform and started screaming, 'you are not prisoners of war; you are captives and will be treated like captives.'
"For the next two months, 1,560 Americans and 20,000 Filipino soldiers died at Camp O'Donnell," said Kerchum.
In June, the troops were transported to the main prison camp at Cabanatuan.
A year into POW status, Kerchum found himself on a "hell ship" as men were sent on details to China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea and Manchuria and forced into slave labor.
"I spent 26 days on the Hell Ship Haro Maru, running all over the South China Sea and being chased by American submarines. I ended up working in a lead mine in northern Japan.
"When Gen. MacArthur returned to the Philippines, there were only 500 of the most desperately sick POWs left at Cabanatuan; they were rescued by an American Ranger Battalion. Of the 37,000 Americans in the Philippines when the war broke, only 15,000 returned home -- 22,000 never made it."
Following the war, Kerchum enlisted in the Army Air Corps and served with the 483rd Troop Carrier Wing in Japan and Korea in June 1952 thru November 1954.
As a corporal, Kerchum was squad leader of a 30-calibre machine gun squad and saw action in three battles. He was wounded three times, never seriously, and "never lost a day's work," he said.
He is uneasy receiving accolades. As far as Kerchum is concerned he just did what he was supposed to do. He speaks at various engagements, ending often with the limerick posted above.
Kerchum retired from military service Aug. 1, 1966 as a Chief Master Sergeant. His military decorations include: Combat Infantry Badge; Purple Heart Medal; three Bronze Stars; POW Medal; Air Force Commendation Medal; American Defense Medal; Asiatic Pacific Service Medal with three Bronze Stars; Philippine Defense Medal; Philippine Liberation Medal; Philippine Independence Medal; Air Force Longevity Medal; Korean Defense Medal; World War II Victory Medal; United Nations Ribbon; POW Medal; Philippines Presidential Unit Citation; Korean Presidential Unit Citation with two Oak Leaf Clusters; U.S. Army Good Conduct Medal; and the U.S. Air Force Good Conduct Medal.
In Benson he is a member of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish and is Past Grand Knight Benson Knights of Columbus Council. He is also a life member of Veterans of Foreign Wars, Disabled American Veterans, American Prisoners of War, Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor, Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor Western States Chapter, 31st Infantry Association and Tucson Ex POW Council.
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