Saturday, April 25, 2009

After eight months and in excess of eight hundred hours, the Bilibid departure roster is complete. This roster discovered at the National Archives in October 2008 contains the names of nearly 13,000 American Army personnel and some 300 cilvilians who were transferred aboard their "Hellships" through Bilibid Prison. Some as early as 1942, but mostly in 1944. There are names of British and Dutch soldiers who survived the sinking of the Hofuku Maru off the coast of the Philippines and were transferred to Bilibid and Cabanatuan. I only discovered the names of three Navy personnel and no Marines as far as I know.

I apologize for any incorrect information in the roster. Some of the documents were in poor condition and discerning their content was difficult at best. Names and information that contain misspellings are often recorded by me as they appeared on the documents, others are caused by my poor typing ability and haste.

The Bilibid roster in its entirety is on the Battling Bastards of Bataan website.
http://www.battlingbastardsbataan.com/bob1.htm Copy & paste this website address into your web browser, or simply click on the link and it will take you there.

If you find information that is incorrect about your relative who appears on the roster, contact me at roberthudson@alyricman.com and I will correct the roster with the information you provide me. The roster will always be a work in progress. I will no doubt discover new information or will be given new information by others about the men listed on the roster. Every few months, the roster will be updated with the newest information available.

Each and every man on this roster is a hero. What they endured on behalf of their country is beyond our poor powers of comprehension. They deserve our respect, our admiration and our devotion to their memories. No American soldier has given more, suffered more and received less attention than the brave men on this roster. We must always cherish their memories and to the best of our abilities, educate those ignorant of their sacrifices.

Robert Hudson




BILIBID PRISON

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