PORT ANGELES — Gerald Staudenraus remembers his experiences during the infamous Bataan Death March 61 years ago as if they were yesterday.
Although as many as 10,000 soldiers died during the 60-mile jungle march by their Japanese captors, Staudenraus used his strong will to survive.
Staudenraus was a corporal in the 28th Materiel Squadron of the U.S. Army Air Corps, stationed at Clark Field in the Philippines, when he was captured April 9, 1942, after the Japanese overran the American territory.
Then began one of the most horrifying ordeals of World War II.
———