00:00Memorial Day, a time off from work and school that, for many Americans, kicks off the start of summer.
00:07A time for barbecues and sun.
00:10This summer, we celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence,
00:17and it's sure to be a summer of celebration.
00:20Still, Memorial Day is a time to remember those who paid the ultimate price,
00:25so that we can be free to celebrate.
00:29Remembering the Fallen, a story of sacrifice.
00:57Thomas Heschbeck's father had died a couple of years earlier in an accident, leaving a wife and four children.
01:05It was the middle of the Depression, and times were tough.
01:09Tom, being the oldest, worked while finishing high school to help make ends meet.
01:14After he graduated, he joined the military and, after training, was sent to Nicholas Army Air Force Base in the
01:22Philippines.
01:23There, he did what most military people do, perform their normal jobs while periodically being interrupted by various drills.
01:32Tom could see the approaching storm that would become World War II, and wrote about it in his letters home.
01:38He said that they had received a shipment of fighters, but they were in crates and needed to be assembled.
01:44They were still assembling them when the war started on December 7th, 1941.
01:51The Japanese invaded the Philippines ten hours later.
01:55Tom and the rest of the troops, along with their Filipino allies, fought valiantly.
02:01Still, after two weeks of fighting, with their base destroyed, they retreated to Bataan on December 23rd.
02:10President Roosevelt promised reinforcements, so they struggled to hold out till they arrived.
02:16Then, on March 12th, on the orders of President Roosevelt, General MacArthur left for Australia.
02:24Tom and the rest of those left behind continued to fight on till they could be reinforced.
02:29But in the end, there was no way to win.
02:34The promised reinforcements were never sent.
02:37Food and ammunition ran out.
02:40And the Japanese force was too strong.
02:44Yet still they fought to hold out.
02:47Then, their positions were overrun.
02:50And on April 10th, 1942, exhausted, starving, wounded, and sick.
02:59Most had malaria and or dysentery.
03:02They surrendered.
03:05But as horrible as their ordeal had been, the worst was yet to come.
03:10The Japanese commander had ordered provisions to be set aside for the expected 25,000 prisoners.
03:15But he was unaware that the real number of captured Americans and Filipinos was more than 75,000.
03:25Nor was he aware of just how bad their condition was.
03:29They had held out as long as possible.
03:32So, when they did surrender, they were in very bad shape.
03:38In short, the provisions he ordered set aside were nowhere near sufficient.
03:43And the Japanese army command structure did not allow questioning orders, even to correct mistakes in information.
03:51To make matters worse, the Japanese viewed surrender, whatever the circumstances, as dishonor.
03:58Thus, it did not matter how valiantly they fought, how long they held out, or how low they had been
04:05on food and ammunition.
04:07They had surrendered and did not deserve to be treated honorably.
04:13Since there were not enough trucks to transport all of them, what came to be called the Bataan Death March
04:18began.
04:20Tom was not one of the lucky few whose guards, realizing how inhumane the situation was, let their captives go.
04:29Even though he was sick, he was forced to march the 30 miles in the blazing hot sun to the
04:35rail center.
04:37Most had no food or water for the march.
04:40There was no stopping, and many were beaten.
04:44Many just died on the road.
04:47Others were shot if they did not keep up.
04:50If Tom were fortunate, he would have still had shoes.
04:55Many didn't, and their feet burned as they walked on hot asphalt, which baked under the hot sun.
05:02At the railhead in San Fernando, Tom and the other prisoners were pushed into rail cars.
05:09Because of the large number of prisoners, they were packed in as tight as possible.
05:14And in the hot sun, the metal walls of the cars burned unprotected skin.
05:21Many lost consciousness from the sweltering heat inside the boxcars, with little or no ventilation.
05:29Others suffocated in the cramped space, yet they were packed in so tightly that the unconscious and the dead remained
05:37standing until the cars were unloaded at Kappa's.
05:41Tom survived the trip to Kappa's.
05:43From there, Tom was once again forced to march the last eight miles to Camp O'Donnell.
05:50Suffering from sickness, starvation, and exhaustion, Tom lasted only five days in Camp O'Donnell, dying on May 18, 1942.
06:03He was 22 years old.
06:06Later, Private Thomas A. Hushback would be posthumously awarded a Purple Heart.
06:14When people ask me what Memorial Day means to me, I think of my Uncle Tom, even though he died
06:21before I was born.
06:23For me, it is his holiday, but not his alone.
06:29There were the eight who died on Lexington Green in that first engagement of the Revolutionary War,
06:35and all the others who came after them to secure our independence,
06:40along with those who gave their lives in the War of 1812, the Civil War, the Spanish-American War,
06:48World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Gulf War,
06:56the war on terrorism in Iraq and Afghanistan, and now the war in Iran that is just to name the
07:05major conflicts.
07:07Whenever there was a need, Americans like my Uncle Tom have stepped forward, knowing what may happen.
07:14Like my Uncle Tom, many have paid the ultimate price so that we can live in freedom.
07:21Many may consider freedom is not free a cliché, just another bumper sticker slogan.
07:28But the cost for our freedom was paid by my Uncle Tom,
07:32and all the others who have in the past, or will in the future, give their lives in defense of
07:40this country.
07:42It is for them that we fly the flag on this day.
07:45It is because of them that we can enjoy the time off and relax on this day.
07:53They have given all that they had and suffered in ways we can never imagine,
07:58so that we might live in freedom.
08:02So, while I enjoy the day, I will remember them,
08:07for they deserve to be honored and remembered.
08:13What does Memorial Day mean to you?
08:15Do you have a fallen loved one?
08:18Share their story in the comments.
08:20We would love to read it.
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08:39You
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