Each year, on the second Sunday in September, the Village of Maywood and the Maywood Bataan Day Organization host the Maywood Bataan Day Commemoration, which honors the men of Maywood who served at Bataan, in the Philippines during the Second World War. In 1942, the Imperial Forces of the Empire of Japan attacked the Philippines and forced its surrender on April 8, 1942. Out-manned and out-armed, U.S. forces stationed at Bataan and other sections of the Philippines, were forced to surrender, including Maywoodians assigned to Company B of the 192nd Tank Battalion.
The Japanese inflicted unspeakable crimes against the people of the Philippines, and were especially harsh to the American servicemen who surrendered.
The mothers of servicemen from Maywood refused to allow the American government to forget the plight of their captured sons. Action was needed because the United States was fighting the Axis Powers on two fronts, in Europe and in the Pacific; and little attention was being devoted to conditions in the Philippines. A small group of Maywood mothers were successful in garnering the support of the media and lawmakers; and eventually, the Philippines were liberated, but not before many American servicemen were tortured, brutalized and killed during their imprisonment.
The actions of those brave Maywood mothers led to the formation of the Maywood Bataan Day Organization (MBDO), and to the annual commemoration of those who suffering at the hands of the Japanese. Fighting along side American servicemen were brave Filipino soldiers who resisted the Japanese at every turn. During our annual commemoration, Maywood is proud to honor the heroism of Filipino resisters.
Each year, Maywood's Bataan Day Commemoration begins with a concert of military and patriotic music, performed by a military band. Next comes the Pledge of Allegiance, and the national anthems of the Philippines and the United States. Then there is a memorial prayer. Distinguished guests are then introduced, and speeches of remembrance are offered by the Mayor of Maywood, the Philippine Consul General in Chicago, and the keynote speaker, usually a high-ranking official of the Armed Services.
The most solemn moment of the annual commemoration begins with the playing of Echo Taps, which is followed by the wreath-laying ceremony in front of the M-3 Stuart Light Tank, which was deployed at Bataan. Red, white and blue wreathes are laid by a member of the Maywood Bataan Day Organization (MBDO), a Maywood Village Official, representatives of America's Armed Services, members of the American-Filipino Community, the Consul General of the Philippines in Chicago, family members of Men who Served at Bataan, and friends of MBDO, as well as honored guests. Shown above, in the right column, are images from the wreath-laying ceremony in 2019. We show these images to mark Maywood's virtual Ceremony in 2020.