By Ferrell Miller
JC Optimist Club
Nita Miller, JC Breakfast Optimist Club President, told members on Wednesday the story about her father, who was a survivor of the Bataan Death March during WWII.
She said that her father, “Juan Fabia was born in 1918 in the mountains of Pangasinan, Philippines in a nipa hut. Having always dreamed of becoming a soldier, Juan left home to join the Philippine Scouts. After lying about his age to enlist, Juan became a member of the 24th Philippine Scout Field Artillery Regiment, which was a part of the US Army’s Philippine Division.
Juan was with the Philippine Scouts fighting to hold Corrigador following the bombing of Pearl Harbor. The Filipinos had old weapons, no food, no water, low ammunition, and low morale. On April 9th, 1942, the Filipinos and American soldiers surrendered to the Japanese.
Juan was among 75,000 American and Filipino prisoners force marched 70 miles to a prison camp. This march is known as the Bataan Death March. During the march, the prisoners had no food, water, or medicine for a malaria outbreak.
Juan was so sick with malaria that he fell out of the marching column. He was shot in the leg and kicked down a hill where he was assumed dead and left behind. When he regained consciousness, the prisoners had moved past him. He waited until dark and then began his crawl back to his home village up the mountain, where his family helped him recover from his wounds and illness.
After his recovery, he joined the US Army. Juan served 23 years before his retirement.
Following WWII the US Congress had recognized soldiers from other countries than the United States for their contributions during WWII, except the Filipinos. President Obama appointed a committee to research the names of Filipinos who should have been recognized and soldiers and civilians were honored at a ceremony in Washington, D.C. for those still living and those who had passed.”
Nita shared with Optimist Club members the gold Congressional Medal of Honor awarded to her father Juan Reyes Fabia, which she received on October 25, 2017.