American Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor Convention
 Louisville, Kentucky May 2008

Click on photos to see full size

Author Hampton Sides, Ghost Soldier Abie Abhraham and his friend Chris Wolf	Malcom Amos and Linda Dahl	Harold Berghower and Eleanor Simmonds,daughter of Norman B. Simmonds who perished on the Oryoku Maru	Heidi Freeman, Jack Warner, William Eldrige and Oscar Bergstrom	Roger Mansell and Nori Nagasawa
River Cruise excitement-the burning bridge	Rick and Gloria Szczepanski, descendant of Joseph Szczepanski	Patty and Bill Wells, with Linda on the River Cruise	Glenda Elliot with Lauren Bothe, Granddaughter of Andy Andrews, Sr.	The ladies know how to play!
Linda and Mary Jaggers	Churchill Downs	Caroline Burkhart at Churhill Downs	Winner of race dedicated to Veterans	Veterans in the Winner Circle
Veterans are greeted with thank you's by the crowd	Veterans in the Winners Circle	Rose Mary Meredith and Randall S. Edwards	Linda and Gerry (Gerald) Chapman	Jack Warner and James Nelson
Malcolm Amos, Linda Dahl and James Hammond	Quan Party Dance	Quan Party Dance	Linda and Harry Robinson, WWII Santo Tomas internee	Memorial Service, John Oliver presiding

Reason for Being / THE ADBC  - by Robert Hudson  May 2003

2008 is a memorable year for the ADBC (American Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor). Being the largest POW organization in the U.S. representing former prisoners of the Japanese, it is a year of change, a year of rebirth and rediscovery and a changing of the guard. The new guardians are the descendents of the pillars on which rests our freedom. These pillars are men who followed the tortuous course laid out for them in battle, in defeat, and in survival during the epic battle of the Philippines. With luck, with will and courage, they came home to their families. The ADBC's primary mission was to tell the world the story of their struggle for survival as well as the stories of the men who still lay beneath those sacred grounds where they fell in defense of their country and in defense of their lives as prisoners of war. Over the years they have been active in the redress of their grievances toward the Japanese. Their goal has been to persuade the Japanese government to admit to the atrocities perpetrated against them as POW's and to apologize for the actions of their soldiers during  WWII, and to provide a means for citizens of this country and relatives of allied combatants to discover information about those engaged in this battle.

The numbers of surviving POW's have dwindled over the years and administrative duties are necessarily being passed on to descendents who have been active in their behalf over the years. As time wears on and over our remaining POW's, it becomes incumbent on we descendents to carry their torch into the future. In essence, time has done what the Japanese could not do. For those taking over the reigns of the organization it is a privilege rather than a burden.

The public at large knows little of the early battle for control of the Pacific arena except for the attack on Pearl Harbor. The Pearl Harbor attack at the onset of the war and the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the culmination of the war are well known. Everything between is merely text.

We descendents represent a father, mother or close relative who endured the unendurable. We are rich in love, admiration, respect and rich in memories left to us by our loved ones. Their struggles are carved into our minds and hearts and we shall never rest in keeping their memories alive in the public perception until the events of time take us to our fate as well.

Best of Luck to you, ADBC!