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Friday, April 9,
2021: The
Brainerd Honor Guard was on hand for the annual Bataan Memorial
Service. |
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The event, on this rainy day,
commemmorated the
Bataan Death March in 1942. Some 64 members of the 194th Tank Regiment from Brainerd were sent to the Phillipines before World War Two. |
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Troops held off a Japanese invastion
until they ran out of ammunition, food and medical supplies. Only
three died in the battle. The rest were taken prisoner by the
Japanese and forced to walk 65 miles without food or water. Many
were killed by Japanese before reaching a prison camp. It was the
"death march" at the hands of their exrtremely cruel captors. |
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The only remaining Brainerd man is
Walt Straka. He was brought to the ceremony by his son. |
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The names of those who died were read
by Historian John Erickson. |
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Crow Wing County Veteran Service
Officer Erik Flowers and Baxter Mayor Darrel Olson were there too. |
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Of the 64 men who left Brainerd in
1941, only 29 returned after the war. Some 32 died on the death march or in slave labor camps. |
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| A 21-gun salute and Taps were played. |
Quote of the day:
 Spring
is here! Mark
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Questions, Comments? Email Mark Persons teki@mwpersons.com |
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More about Gilbert Lodge |
page last edited 04/13/2021
