Throughout history, the Holocaust is considered the epitome of cruelty. Yet this often overshadows the examples of cruelty found in our American history. The Bataan Death March is one such overshadowed event. The Bataan Death March began on April 15, 1942 after American forces surrendered at the Battle of Bataan on April 9, 1942 in the Philippines. Seventy-eight thousand American and Filipino soldiers were forced to evacuate Bataan to Camp O'Donnell, "a prison camp in central Luzon." Of these 78,000 soldiers, 500 Americans and 10,000 Filipinos died on the march to the prison camp. (Falk 3) These soldiers were subjected to the unusual cruelty of the Japanese, whose military leaders were largely responsible for the events of the Bataan Death March, although the Americans also contributed to the horror that occurred. American military leaders were responsible for carrying out the Bataan Death March due to their actions preceding the march, while the Japanese contributed to the horrors during and after the event. American military choices prior to the Bataan Death March led to the abandonment of the Bataan Death March. troops, allowing the Japanese to easily conquer and subdue American and Filipino soldiers. For example, during World War II, the United States was fighting a war on two fronts, one against Germany and Italy and one against Japan. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Secretary of War Henry Stimson soon came to support a European policy, leaving the situation on Bataan as a lost cause in December 1941. Hampton Sides, the best-selling author of the book Ghost Soldiers, whose articles are also published in periodicals such as National Geographic, the New Yorker and the Washington Post, recorded that Henry Stimson had even proclaimed that the government... in the middle of the paper... permissible step.'” MHQ: The Quarterly Newspaper of military history 17.4 (2005): Web. 9 May 2010. . Pp 1-10. Van der Vat, Dan. The Pacific Campaign. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1991. Print. Pp 138-139.Wainwright, History of General Wainwright by Jonathan M.. Ed. Roberto Considine. Garden City: Doubleday, 1945. 1-304. Press. Pp 1-304. Whitman, John W. “Remaining Filipino Guerrillas in World War II.” MHQ: The Quarterly Journal of Military History 14.2 (2002): Web. 9 May 2010. . Pp 1-10. “World Battlefronts: Return to the Rock.” Time February 26, 1945: Web. May 9, 2010. . pp 1-2.