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Best wishes and warmest regards. Abie Abraham
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"!ERITAGE LIBRARY.
GHOST OF
BATMN SPEAKS By
M/Sgt. Abie Abraham, U.S. Army - Retired
A Beaver Pond Publication Greenville, Pennsylvania
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SECOND EDITION All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.
© 1971 First Edition, by Abie Abraham
Layout and printing by Beaver Pond Publishing P.O. Box 224, Greenville, PA 16125
The story of Bataan's fall to the Japanese has been told many times. Eye witness accounts, military records, and a few score of photographs in the Official Files have supplied material for the countless stories on the hopeless stand made by Philippine-American defenders on the Peninsula. But for many more years to come, new light will continue to be shed on the gallant, heart-breaking story. While the substance of the tale has already been reared for the world to see, many rare obscure sources have yet to be tapped. A true story will bring home closer in all their starkness the sufferings endured by Filipino and American troops, from the crucial days in late March 1942, when the final Japanese offensive was launched, to the Death March which precluded interment in the "Hell-hole" of Capas and Cabantuan. A true story will be told one of these days. A story will be told on what really happened on the Death March, what happened at Camp O'Donnell, and Cabanatuan, and other areas. Yes, when the time is ripe, this American soldier will come forth and tell a story that has been locked in his memory. -Charlie Leith, Pittsburgh PressButler Eagle.
MISgl. Abie Abraham¡ 5
"Through the bloody haze of Corregidor's last reverberating shot, I shall always seem to see a vision of grim, gaunt, ghostly men still unafraid." -General Douglas MacArthur.
"Your worst day is a prisoner's best day. Enjoy each day offreedom." -G.R. W.
6 â&#x20AC;˘ Ghost of Batoon Speaks
Republic of the Philippines "Dam Bana Ng Kagitingan" (Altar of Courage) Mount Samat, Bataan. "Let all men of all lands and all ages know that this Honorary Title is hereby awarded to: ABlE ABRAHAM His heirs and successors: That they may for all times be entitled to the honors, rights and privileges arising out of these hallowed shrines and grounds dedicated to the living and missing warriors who fought on Bataan and Corregidor for having demonstrated to the world a courage and heroism beyond the call of duty as they fought to death and even in defeat remained defiant and thus reaped the fruit of ultimate victory." Given on this 25th Bataan Day, the 9th of April 1967, At Manila, Philippines. Ferdinand A. Marcos, President of the Philippines.
MISgt. Abie Abraham¡ 7
POLITICAL NOTEBOOK State Rep. Guy Travaglio, D-ll, joined the entire Pennsylvania House of Representatives Wednesday in honoring World War II hero Sgt. Maj. A. B. Abraham. Abraham of Butler and other U.S. troops were forced to make the infamous Bataan Death March after the peninsula fell to the Japanese on April 9, 1942. About 10,000 sick and battle-weary American soldiers, forced to march with almost no food, water or rest, died before making it to the Japanese prison camp. Abraham remained behind for two years after the war ended to help locate and disintem the bodies of all the American servicemen who had fallen along the infamous Bataan Death March trail. He earned the Purple Heart, the Bronze and other medals of valor. "Sgt. Major Abraham is a man held in highest regards by people in the Butler County area, not only for his inexhaustible volunteer efforts, but for his heroism and undying compassion for his fellow servicemen during and after World War II," Travaglio said. He noted Abraham has volunteered more than 20,000 hours at Butler County's VA Hospital. After the citation was awarded, House Speaker Matthew Ryan, RDelaware, asked Abraham to say a few words. Known for his modesty, Abraham declined.
8 â&#x20AC;˘ Ghost of Bataan Speaks
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Japanese struck, his battalion was immediately embroiled in one of the most terrible and glorious actions in United States' history. Though they soon found themselves " ... the battling bastards of Bataan, No momma, no poppa, no Uncle Sam," they never let their sudden orphanhood conquer their spirits. For months they fought an impossible holding action that indubitably altered the course of the war in the Pacific theater. Then in an unsurpassed epic of carnage and heroism, of torture and sadistic murder faced with grim defiance and even a touch of macabre humor, these spiritually unbreakable men underwent a grim "Death March" to prison hell-holes that could have been devised only by , at ic Oriental minds. M y fragmented stories have been told i of he eath Marc. lihe complete story, until ow, has belonged to one ....