Since 1942

Maywood Bataan Day Organization 2025

They were barely more than kids, only in their teens and early twenties. Their buddies from Proviso High School called them “Weekend Warriors”. They were members of the 33rd Tank Company, 33rd Infantry Division of the Illinois National Guard based at the Armory in Maywood, Illinois…

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Bataan Day 2015 Photos Posted

President McMahon has completed the Bataan Day 2015 photo gallery. Please view it by clicking GALLERIES above, and then MAYWOO BATAAN DAY EVENTS, Or click here.

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New picture of first Bataan Day Discovered!

MBDO Director Steve Gibson recently purchased this photo from auction website eBay. It's a photo not published in probably 35 years and shows a marching unit of sailors from the first Maywood Bataan Day parade on September 12, 1942. This parade is notable not only...

World Premiere Film Invitation

Never The Same - The Prisoner of War Experience is the new film from Professor Jan Thompson, the daughter of a POW of the Japanese and producer of the documentary The Tragedy of Bataan. Professor Thompson has extended a special invitation to all friends of the Maywood...

Bataan Day Tank Dedication – 1946

Steve Gibson, MBDO Board member and son of survivor Emmett Gibson, recently purchased a couple of newspaper photos and shares them with the MBDO. These two photos are heart-wrenching in their sadness, but uplifting in their resolve. The photos were taken during the...

Death March Boxcar Relocated (Updated)

[imagebrowser id=44] Relocation Photos Courtesy of Indira Manaay Kane [imagebrowser id=42] The New Site of the Boxcar [imagebrowser id=43] The Battling Bastards of Bataan Camp O'Donnell Memorial for the American military that died at the Japanese Camp O'Donnell POW...

Maywood Bataan Day 2015

Please mark your calendars and plan on attending the 73rd annual Maywood Bataan Day Memorial Service, September 13, 2015 at 3pm. This year's service will be held on the second Sunday in September, as it has every year since 1942. That makes this one of the longest...

Maywood Bataan Day Booklet and Programme

Click these links to download the Maywood Bataan Day booklet and programme for the event scheduled Sunday, 8 September 2019 at 2:30pm at the Veterans Memorial Park in Maywood, IL at the coner of 1st and Oak Avenues in Maywood. 2019 Maywood Bataan Day Booklet 2019...

Tenney to Abe: “I would like him to say…”

"If Mr. Abe comes here I would like him to say, 'I bring with me an apology from the industrial giants that enslaved American POWs.' He could say that very easily ..." - Lester Tenney, Co. B, 192nd Tank Battalion, former Japanese POW and slave laborer....

Who is Russell W. Cochran?

A small stone memorial sits in Maywood Veterans Memorial Park at 1st and Oak Ave. in Maywood, Illinois. Inscribed on the monument is "This tree planted as a living memorial in memory of Russell W. Cochran. American Legion 133. VFW 2193." We know that Mr. Cochran was...

Banner From The First Bataan Day 1942

Phillip Burns, brother of William Burns (HQ), was at the 71st annual Maywood Bataan Day on September 8, 2013 and donated this banner from the original Bataan Day in 1942. Both Mr. Burns and the banner are in incredible condition for their age. Many thanks from the...

PFC Silas LeGrow – 1922 – 2013

Received the sad news today that we have lost another member of the 192nd Tank Battalion. Silas LeGrow, Co. C, 192nd Tank Battalion, died on January 15, 2013. He was 90 years old. We join his family and friends in honoring his service and mourning the loss. To read...

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The Maywood Bataan Day Organization will remain well-positioned to perpetuate the memory of why Maywood marks Bataan Day on the second Sunday of September. Through the efforts of the MBDO, and the support of those who hold these memories as sacred as the MBDO does, no one will ever forget the sacrifice of these brave soldiers in WWII – or the dedication and support of their families through their long captivity.

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