Chapter XXVI 1 Collier, Diary, III, 80. 2 Ibid., IV, 2. 3 Rad, Wainwright to MacArthur, No. 199, 8 Apr 42, USFIP G-3 Journal, AG 461 (1 Apr 42) Phil Rcds. 4 Rad, MacArthur to Marshall, No. 116, 8 Apr 42, Msgs from Gen MacArthur, OPD Exec O. A note on this copy states that only one copy of the radio exists, in the Chief of Staff files. 5 Wainwright, General Wainwright's Story, p. 79. See also Funk, Comments on Draft MS, p. 16, OCMH. 6 Rad, Wainwright to MacArthur, No. 398, 4 May 42, AG 384.1, GHQ SWPA. This message was written almost a month after the surrender in answer to MacArthur's request for a complete explanation of King's action. 7 Rad, MacArthur to Wainwright, No. 68, 4 Apr 42, AG 384.1, GHQ SWPA; Wainwright, General Wainwright's Story, p. 79. 8 Rad, MacArthur to Marshall, No. 56, 1 Apr 42, AG 384.3, GHQ SWPA. In this message MacArthur had explained that he had "long ago" prepared a "comprehensive plan," and that he had not told Wainwright about it "as I feared it might tend to shake his morale and determination." He offered also to attempt to return to the Philippines "to rejoin this command temporarily and take charge of this movement." General Marshall's reply was noncommittal. He stated that "we were interested to learn of your intentions in the event that efforts to supply the Philippines should prove inadequate," and agreed that any action was preferable to surrender. In answer to MacArthur's offer to lead the last desperate attack himself, Marshall wrote: "Should it become necessary for you to direct a last resort attack with the objectives you outline, we feel sure that Wainwright and his forces will give a good account of themselves." Rad, Marshall to MacArthur, No. 1087, 4 Apr 42, AG 384.3, GHQ SWPA. 9 Rad, Marshall to Wainwright, No. 1234, 24 Mar 42, Msgs to Gen Wainwright, OPD Exec O. 10 Rad, Wainwright to Marshall for the President, No. 598, 26 Mar 42, Msgs from Gen Wainwright, OPD Exec O. 11 Rad, Wainwright to MacArthur, No. 398, 4 May 42, AG 384.1, GHQ SWPA. 12 Wainwright, General Wainwright's Story, p. 79; Intel Rpt, Lt Comdr Denys W. Knoll, Intel Officer, 16th Naval Dist, to Director of Naval Intel, p. 12, Off of Naval Rcds. 13 Wainwright, General Wainwright's Story, p. 83. 14 Rad, Wainwright to MacArthur, No. 398, 4 May 42, AG 384.1, GHQ SWPA; interv, Lt J. C. Bateman with Maj Tisdelle, aide to Gen King, 22 Jan 46, copy in OCMH; Tisdelle, Diary, entry of 8 Apr 42. 15 Rad, Wainwright to MacArthur, No, 398, 4 May 42, AG 384.1, GHQ SWPA. Colonel Irwin states that he made only one trip to Bataan during the last days before its surrender and that was on 7 April to request General King to release the 31st Infantry (US) for movement to Corregidor. At that time, he asserts, General King told him that it might be necessary to surrender. Wainwright, when informed of this, "was not surprised or interested." Irwin, Comments on Draft MS, p. 6, OCMH. 16 Collier, Notebooks, IV, 2; Luzon Force Rpt of Opns, p. 6; intervs, author with Gen King, 12 Feb 47, and Col Collier, 20 Nov 46, OCMH. Colonel Alexander, who was in King's command post that night, states that as soon as General King finished his telephone conversation with Jones, presumably in connection with Wainwright's order to counterattack, he sent for General Parker and his chief of staff. Parker, therefore, may have been present at the conference. Alexander, Personal Recollections of Bataan, p. 122. 17 Intervs, author with Gen King, 12 Feb 47, Col Collier, 20 Nov 46, and Maj Tisdelle, OCMH. Times differ in all accounts and no participant presents exactly the same version as the others. Under tremendous emotional strain men's memories are not too reliable. King, for example, did not mention the meeting with Funk and Collier but spoke of a staff meeting; Collier did not mention what had happened at the meeting but fixed the time and circumstances. The account of this meeting, as well as of the negotiations for the surrender which follows, is based on these interviews and on numerous informal conversations, diaries, and scattered accounts. Differences in time and in substance have been adjusted on the basis of internal evidence. 18 Collier, Notebooks, IV, 3-4. There is no copy of King's remarks in existence and the present version is taken from Collier's notes. The substance is corroborated by General King and other officers. Colonel Alexander states that when King made his decision to surrender he telephoned Corregidor and spoke to General Beebe, Wainwright not being available. "Tell General Wainwright," Alexander reports King as saying, "that I have decided to surrender Bataan. . . . This decision is solely my own, no member of my staff nor of my command has helped me to arrive at this decision. In my opinion, if I do not surrender to the Japanese, Bataan will be known as the greatest slaughter in history." Alexander, Personal Recollections of Bataan, p. 123. This statement conflicts with the statements of the principals that the decision to surrender was not communicated to Wainwright. 19 Collier, Notebooks, IV, 4. 20 Memo, King for Williams, 8 Apr 42, sub: Instructions for Col E. C. Williams, copy in OCMH. 21 Bluemel, 31st Div (PA) Rpt of Opns, p. 33. 22 Extract from the Diary of Major Hurt, copy in OCMH. The section of the diary dealing with Hurt's experiences on 9 April has been published in Chunn, Of Rice and Men, pp. 5-9. Major Tisdelle states the two men started forward at 0200. USA vs. Homma, p. 2302, testimony of Tisdelle. 23 Activities of the Chemical Warfare Service in the Philippines, Sec C, CWS Hist Sec, p. 57; Luzon Force Rpt of Opns, p. 7; USFIP G-4 Journal, 8-9 Apr 42, AG 461 (25 Dec 41) Phil Rcds. 24 Collier, Notebooks, IV, 2. 25 Rad, Com 16 to COMINCH, 8 Apr 42, 081430, Off of Naval Rcds. 26 Gulick, Memoirs of Btry C, 91st CA (PS), p. 115. 27 Collier, Notebooks, IV, 6. 28 Tisdelle, Diary, entry of 8 Apr 42. 29 NLF and I Corps Rpt of Opns, p, 30; intervs, author with Gen King, 12 Feb 47, and Col Collier, 20 Nov 46, OCMH; memo, QM USFIP to CofS USFIP, 8 Apr 42, sub: QM Plan, Evacuation of Bataan, AG 401 (2 Jan 42) Phil Rcds. 30 Collier, Notebooks, IV, 7; Funk, Comments on Draft MS, p. 17, OCMH; Wainwright, General Wainwright's Story, p. 81; Redmond, I Served on Bataan, pp. 123-28. 31 Wainwright, General Wainwright's Story, pp. 86-87. 32 Hurt, Diary, in Chunn, Of Rice and Men, p. 6. The present account is based largely on this source. Colonel Williams did not prepare any notes of his experience and efforts to secure additional information from him have not been successful. 33 Ibid., p. 7. 34 Ibid., pp. 7-8; Collier, Notebooks, IV, 7-8. 35 Hurt, Diary, in Chunn, Of Rice and Men, p. 8. 36 Wainwright, General Wainwright's Story, p. 81. General King's aide states that King spoke to General Beebe, not Wainwright, at this time. This is borne out by Wainwright, who explained in a message to General MacArthur that he could not hear well because of a poor connection and had given the phone to Beebe. Rad, Wainwright to MacArthur, No. 398, 4 May 42, AG 384.1, GHQ SWPA; interv, Bateman with Tisdelle, 22 Jan 46. Colonel Alexander reports that after this telephone conversation King told his staff that Wainwright would not agree to the surrender of Bataan but that he would not interfere. King then went on to say, Colonel Alexander recollects, that if he survived he expected to be court-martialed, and he was certain that history would not deal kindly with a commander who would be remembered for having surrendered the largest force the United States had ever lost. Alexander, Personal Recollections of Bataan, p. 124. 37 Wainwright, General Wainwright's Story, p. 82. 38 In his message No. 398 of 4 May 1942 to MacArthur, cited above, Wainwright explained, "We had direct communication with General King by telephone and radio up to the time of initiation of move to surrender." There is some disagreement over this point, and many of the officers claim that communications with Bataan were not interrupted until later in the day and that they talked with other officers on Bataan after 0600. 39 Rad, Wainwright to MacArthur, No. 200, 9 Apr 42, AG 384.1, GHO SWPA. 40 Rad, Wainwright to MacArthur, No. 398, 4 May 42, AG 384.1, GHQ SWPA; Wainwright, General Wainwright's Story, p. 83. 41 This remark is attributed to King by the authors of a manuscript history of the Philippine Campaign entitled Triumph in the Philippines and prepared by the Combat History Division, G-1, U.S. Army Forces, Western Pacific, page 203. General King did not repeat it in his conversations with the present author. The quotation can be found in Douglas S. Freeman, R. E. Lee, a Biography (New York and London, 1934-1935), IV, 120. 42 Collier, Notebooks, IV, 10. 43 Ibid. 44 Collier, Notebooks, TV, 8-12; Hurt, Diary, in Chunn, Of Rice and Men, p. 8. This volume also contains an account by Major Tisdelle, pages 10-13, presumably written after the war. The present author has preferred to use Major Tisdelle's Diary, entry of 9 April 1942. 45 Interv, Bateman with Tisdelle, 22 Jan 46; Col Nakayama, Negotiations with Gen King, 26 Aug 49, ATIS Doc 50246. 46 Tisdelle, Diary, entry of 9 Apr 42. 47 The account of the negotiations is based upon: Nakayama, Negotiations with King, 26 Aug 49, ATIS Doc 50246; USA vs. Homma, pp. 2305, 3143, testimony of Homma; Prosecution Exhibit 425, deposition of King; interv, author with Gen King, 12 Feb 47; Tisdelle, Diary, entry of 9 Apr 42. 48 Nakayama, Negotiations with King, 26 Aug 49, ATIS Doc 50246. 49 Ibid. 50 Interv, author with Collier, 20 Nov 46, OCMH; Collier, Notebooks, IV, 12-13; Funk, Comments on Draft MS, p. 11, OCMH; USA vs. Homma, Prosecution Exhibit 425, testimony of King. 51 Rpt, Surg LF to CG LF, 30 Jun 42, sub: Med Aspects of the Surrender, prepared in prison camp and lent to the author. A copy is on file in OCMH. 52 The individual surrender of units and the death march are not treated in this volume since they did not affect the course of military operations on Bataan. The documents dealing with the march can be found among the prosecution exhibits and in the testimony of the trial of General Homma. The death march has been covered in an M. A. thesis prepared by the author's research assistant, Stanley L. Falk, at Georgetown University, entitled "The Bataan Death March." 53 Collier, Notebooks, IV, 18. Return to Table of Contents Return to Chapter XXVI
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