Paul Kerchum: Bataan Death March survivor
CHRIS DABOVICH News-Sun
Veterans Day observances have lost their luster in recent years, but that has done little to dampen Paul Kerchum's spirit.
And considering what Kerchum has endured in his 29-year military career, it's all water under the bridge.
Kerchum, 84, a J-Six resident since 1976, is among the few prisoners of war who survived the horrific Bataan Death March in the Philippines in 1942.
Kerchum, who enlisted in the Army on Jan. 6, 1938, was assigned to the 27th infantry in Hawaii. Following that stint, Kerchum reenlisted and was assigned to B Co., 31st Infantry in Sept. 1940.
What was to follow two years later remains unforgettable.
Kerchum has been a regular speaker at various Veterans Day ceremonies in Benson. He also speaks to civic organizations and schools. He last spoke in September in Ogden, Utah at a World War II reunion.
On Thursday, he will carry the Prisoner of War flag during the Veterans Memorial dedication at Veterans Memorial Park on 4th Street. The event begins a 10:30 a.m.
Kerchum was wounded three times, never seriously, he said, and "never lost a day's work."
During brief war action, Kerchum was a corporal, squad leader of a 30-calibre machine-gun squad and saw action in three battles.
Kerchum speaks about the atrocities and horrors American and Filipino soldiers endured during their 42 months of captivity.
Their ordeal was begun after Maj. Gen. Edward King ordered U.S. troops to surrender on the island of Bataan, reputed as one of the most malaria-infested lands in the world.
Malaria claimed many lives, both American and Filipino soldiers. Men also suffered and died from dengue fever, dysentery, scurvy and severe malnutrition, said Kerchum.
"After 99 days of fighting, on less than half rations, obsolete weapons and overwhelming odds, the men were completely exhausted," said Kerchum, while describing the inhumane treatment bestowed upon the captive soldiers.
After the surrender, Kerchum said soldiers were placed in groups of 300 to 500, under heavy guard for the 55-mile march known as the 'Bataan Death March.'
"Men were shot, bayoneted, beheaded or beaten to death for no reason," said Kerchum. "There were instances of Philippine men and women shot or beaten to death when they tried to give food and water to the men," he said, describing in painstaking detail what occurred during the march from Mariveles to San Fernando.
"You were just numb to the whole thing; you just went with the flow. You couldn't think about what was happening," said Kerchum. "You just took it day by day, not knowing if that particular day would be the day you died."
"Ten thousand died on that dusty road, 650 of which were American," said Kerchum.
Upon arrival in San Fernando, captive soldiers were packed into railroad boxcars for the four-hour trip to the village of Capas.
"A lot of the men suffocated because they were packed in like sardines," said Kerchum.
Upon arrival at Capas, the prisoners then embarked upon a six-mile hike to Camp O'Donnell, a prison camp.
"They would make you stand bareheaded in the sun for half an hour until a Japanese lieutenant mounted a platform and started screaming, 'you are not prisoners of war, you are captives and will be treated like captives.'
"For the next two months, 1,560 Americans and 20,000 Filipino soldiers died at Camp O'Donnell," said Kerchum.
In June, the troops were transported to the main prison camp at Cabanatuan.
A year into POW status, Kerchum found himself on a "hell ship" as men were sent on details to China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea and Manchuria and forced into slave labor.
"I spent 26 days on the Hell Ship Haro Maru, running all over the South China Sea and being chased by American submarines. I ended up working in a lead mine in northern Japan.
"When Gen. MacArthur returned to the Philippines, there were only 500 of the most desperately sick POWs left at Cabanatuan and were rescued by an American Ranger Battalion. Of the 37,000 Americans in the Philippines when the war broke, only 15,000 returned home and 22,000 never made it."
Following the war, Kerchum enlisted in Army Air Corps and served with the 483rd Troop Carrier Wing in Japan and Korea in June 1952 thru November 1954.
He retired Aug. 1, 1966 as a Chief Master Sergeant.
His military decorations include: Combat Infantry Badge; Purple Heart Medal; three Bronze Stars; POW Medal; Air Force Commendation Medal; American Defense Medal; Asiatic Pacific Service Medal with three Bronze Stars; Philippine Defense Medal; Philippine Liberation Medal; Philippine Independence Medal; Air Force Longevity Medal; Korean Defense Medal; World War II Victory Medal; United Nations Ribbon; POW Medal; Philippines Presidential Unit Citation; Korean Presidential Unit Citation with two Oak Leaf Clusters; U.S. Army Good Conduct Medal; and the U.S. Air Force Good Conduct Medal.
Local and civically, Kerchum is a member of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish and is Past Grand Knight Benson Knights of Columbus Council. He is also a life member of Veterans of Foreign Wars; Disabled American Veterans; American Prisoners of War; Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor; Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor Western States Chapter; 31st Infantry Association; and Tucson Ex POW Council.
Kerchum and wife, Gloria, have been married for 58 years.
© 2004Benson News Sun