At first glance, the western Chicago suburb of Maywood and the Philippine province of Bataan don’t seem to have much of a connection. Probably not at second glance, either.
One’s a proud suburban community that’s the birthplace of a famous astronaut, several sports Hall of Famers and a prominent actor. The other’s a Philippine peninsula that fronts Manila Bay, with a mountainous spine dividing dense jungle. They’re 8,100 miles apart.
But connections can arise from the most unique of circumstances: e.g., the tragic fate of a community’s young men in a prone-to-be-forgotten battle. And from such circumstances came an extraordinary commitment of community spirit that has preserved their memory for over 80 years.
Around 1940, a group of young Maywood men joined the Illinois National Guard. The youthful Maywood “Weekend Warriors” were organized into Company B of the 192nd Tank Battalion. The 89-man complement of Company B was deployed in October 1941 to the Philippine Islands, arriving on Nov. 20, 1941 — 17 days before Pearl Harbor.
War struck the Philippines by surprise. The U.S. Air Force and most of the Navy based on the islands were quickly eliminated. The Japanese Army landed on the island of Luzon, where Company B was stationed, on Dec. 21, 1941, overwhelming American defenses and destroying critical supplies. Covered in part by Company B, American and Filipino forces withdrew to the Bataan peninsula, where preexisting war plans called for them to stand until the arrival of reinforcements.
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But no reinforcements were to arrive. Much of the U.S. Pacific fleet lay in ruins. The painful but strategically correct decision was to abandon the Philippine Islands. With dwindling supplies of food and ammunition, the end came swiftly. Company B and its fellow soldiers surrendered on April 9, 1942. Yet the worst was to come. The Bataan soldiers were forced into a sadistic 70-mile “Bataan Death March” to their prisoner-of-war camp. From there, most of the Company B survivors were shipped to Japan to serve as slave labor. Only 43 of the company’s original complement survived the war.
But the ultimate Maywood Company B story is not one of war and suffering. Rather, it is one of recognition and redemption.
The Maywood community’s reaction to the loss of Company B began out of grief and frustration over a lack of information. Taking matters into their own hands, members of the community group, then calling itself the American Bataan Clan, prepared Red Cross packages they hoped would be delivered to their sons. The packages were not. But in early September 1942, the first of many subsequent Maywood “Bataan Day” celebrations was held, with a major parade. Over the next several years, the Maywood supporters drew further attention to Company B’s loss, as national memory began to fade with the war’s progress.
The efforts of the Maywood supporters continued after the war, recognizing the surviving members of the full 192nd Battalion and redeeming the honor of its POWs. In the 1950s, these efforts expanded to serve the needs of local World War II and Korean War veterans. In 1964 and again in 1992, the former POWs were guests of honor at Bataan Day testimonial dinners. A Veterans Memorial, including mementos of Company B, was dedicated in 1992 at Veterans Memorial Maywood Park, where memorial services have continued to be held on Bataan Day.
The passage of time has understandably affected the energy of the Maywood Bataan support group, today known as the Maywood Bataan Day Organization. Yet the organization’s mission remains vital: to honor the service and sacrifice of Company B and the 192nd Battalion and to pay special tribute to the Company B POWs. The latter effort unintentionally stands in stark contrast to the views of prominent politicians who publicly disrespect POW bravery.
Drawing attention to the Company B legacy isn’t an exercise in nostalgia. Rather, it’s a necessary recognition of sacrifices made and of the community spirit that preserved those sacrifices for following generations. This necessity was confirmed by President Ronald Reagan in his 1992 farewell address, where he warned of an eradication of the American memory that could ultimately result, he felt, in an erosion of the American spirit: “If we forget what we did, we won’t know who we are.”
The ongoing spirit of the Maywood volunteers has sustained for history the heroism and sacrifice of the men of Company B — and of others like it. In so doing, their spirit underscores the power of civic commitment, whether it be exercised in Maywood or elsewhere. The volunteers of Maywood help us all know more clearly who we are as a people and the exceptional good we can accomplish when we are collectively committed to doing so.
And about that Maywood Bataan connection? April 9 is celebrated annually in the Philippines as a national observance, the Day of Valor, commemorating the fall of Bataan. So maybe the third glance is indeed the charm.
Michael Peregrine is a retired Chicago lawyer who grew up in River Forest, Maywood’s neighbor to the east.
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