NBC White Paper (TV Series) Bataan, the Forgotten Hell (1982) User Reviews

Bataan not part of our governments finest moments

[thackett-67-73117 · 10/10 · 30 May 2011]

This documentary allowed the men of Bataan and Corregidor to express themselves and allow the mental torture of the Japanese to finally be released from the hidden places in the minds of the POWs. Honest History from those that created it directed by Loyd Dobbins who was the son of a defender of Bataan and Corregidor. While there are numerous books and a few movies about the defense of Bataan and Corregidor few capture the true reality of the campaign because it is not our countries proudest moment. It is however a testimony concerning the will to live and the deep faith and hope in the United States of America these veterans shared. It is a true study in contrast concerning the difference in the east and west cultures with respect to the fundamental value of life that is seldom written about with clarity so that all will understand. You see in America we do value the life of each human being while in Japan and we now see in the Middle East and many Muslim countries the culture teaches that some or many may have to sacrifice for the good of the whole. For this reason the Japanese crashed their planes into US Navy warships and for this reason they slaughtered tens of thousands on the Death March. They told POWs they were worthless because they allowed themselves to be captured over and over again they told them this and treated them as such – worthless. We must learn and understand from the real history of this war and the true challenge of how to reach peace accords between the east and west. The suffering and pain these survivors faced from the time of their liberation can not be explained but only experienced. For this reason I encourage each to watch this documentary and to support the Veterans Administration. The effects of war change a person, from the shell shock from massive bombing to the mental torment of guilt for having survived or loss of a "buddy" that is most difficult to overcome, to the brutal torment of being told you are worthless for year after year . They had many memories that were only shared among themselves. Not even their families were told. Only their "Buddies". My Father told me "how can I explain these things, one had to have been there to understand. You had to have walked in my shoes" A few attempted write and to tell about the war but few have been able to capture the true essence of the lack of humanity that survives in the memory of a Veteran in the books they have written. This documentary captures these thoughts and truths and preserves them for us to know the truth about the history of this part of world war II. In memory of Major Thomas Hackett, Buddies no matter what. We will not forget the sacrifice made in the defense of Freedom. The sacrifice for The United States of America: one nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

Moving and unforgettable survivors of the worst of the worst

[mmille-53993 · 10/10 · 17 April 2016]

I first saw this in 1982 and never forgot it; and with a teenage daughter now, I wanted her to see it, so I had to launch a pretty extensive search to find a copy. I don't know why it isn't better known and available; I have watched many war documentaries but this episode of all of the misery of World War II, in either theater, the most extreme suffering next to the concentration camps. How these men managed to survive is impossible to understand. But to watch their faces as they told about it 40 years later was, as I say, unforgettable. I expect they are all dead now, but Bataan should not be lost in the mists of war history. Grim, perhaps, but profound. I cannot recommend it enough.