Bataan Survivor Dies at Age 86
Las Cruces - Weldon C. Hamilton, a longtime Las Cruces resident, who survived the Death March in world War II has died in California. Hamilton, 86, passed away peaceful on April 16th, at his sons home in Sebastopol, California, about 50 miles north of San Francisco. Cremation has taken place and a private family burial of Hamilton's ashes will be conducted in Las Cruces at a later time to be determined by the family.
Hamilton moved to Las Cruces in 1971 and lived there
until 6 months ago when moved
family members moved him to California after his health began to decline.
"He was one tough man", said Gerald Schurtz, a Las Cruces resident whose father died aboard
one of the Hellships used to transport prisoners of war who were surrendered at Bataan. "Weldon was
an exceptional man to have been through everything he experienced. To me his friendship meant a lot
and I am going to deeply miss him."
Hamilton's experiences during the 65 mile infamous Bataan Death March and almost 3 1/2 years as a prisoner of war, has been chronicled his book, "Late Summer of 1941 and My War With Japan".
Hamilton joined the U.S. Army Air Corps on October 5, 1940 and was sent to the Philippines in November of 1941. He fought the Battle of Bataan, a battle that the Japanese planned to win in three weeks, but it took four months instead because of the resilience of the U.S. and Filipino forces. Only when food and ammunition and ran out and Bataan was overrun by the Japanese military were U.S. military personnel surrendered on April 9, 1942.
On the Death March more than 10,000 soldiers died, including approximately 1,800 members of the New Mexico National Guard. It was miserable, said Hamilton in a 2002 interview with the Sun- News. I was so tired I felt like I could not take another step. But then I would hear someone being shot. It was like the Angel of Death was right behind me. But Weldon willed himself to keep going. It was like that for each of the 1,256 days he was a prisoner of war. "I was determined to survive. I did not make it through that Death March to die in a prison camp."
He was imprisoned in the Philippines for more than
two years, first in Camp O'Donnell, where more than 25,000 men died in a little over two months.
Arriving at Camp O'Donnell after the gruesome death march, Hamilton often told a chilling story of
the prisoner's first encounter with the camp commander.
"He came out in a nice white uniform with his saber dragging on the ground," Hamilton recalled. "I
will never forget what he said. 'If you think you are lucky enough to have escaped with your lives,
I tell you the lucky ones are already dead. We are enemies. we will always be enemies. My only
interest is how many of you are dead each morning.' "
Hamilton was later sent to Campo Cabanatuan were over 3,000 Americans died. He was then taken to
Japan on one of the notorious "Hell Ships".
At the end of the war he was enslaved at a cola mine 30 miles from Nagasaki where he saw the
cloud from the atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki. My father said it looked like it was pink and
purple, said son Donald Hamilton.
After liberation Hamilton continued his career in the
Air Force, retiring as a Chief Warrant Officer in 1969. His military decorations include the
Presidential Unit Citation with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters, and the Bronze star.
Always gracious and humbled by the tribute given to Death March survivors, Hamilton often
downplayed any notions that he was a hero. "I am made of tough stock" was Hamilton's explanation.
"I really don't feel like I did anything brave. I did what most people would do in my situation. I
survived".
Hamilton's toughness was based on growing up on a small Kansas farm during the Great Depression.
"His father was an intellectual who read 'Ivanhoe' to his children." Donald Hamilton said. "Coal
dust from the years he worked in the coal mines was imbedded in his legs. for years he did not tell
us anything about his years as a prisoner of war. But interesting, he never said anything bad about
the Japanese for the way he was treated during the war. Years later we had a Japanese exchange
student staying at out house and she could not speak much English. But one day when she was riding
in our car with my mother and father she called my father grandpa. My mother said that really had
an effect on dad, it was the first time he showed any personal feelings for someone from Japan.
Weldon Hamilton is survived by his wife, Audrey of Las Cruces, and his five children: sons Weldon, Irving and Donald; daughters Mary Ellen and Viona. Hamilton was preceded in death by his first wife Jean.
Credit: Steve Ramlrez, the Sun-News