Professor Greg Jackson

Pedro asks to be executed by gunfire, or at least to face his executioners.

All requests are denied.

It seems the offer of a last wish was only for show.

Then the order is given.

At the last of his line, the unmistakable sound of swords slicing through flesh causes Pedro to look to his right.

He watches as three of his comrades' heads tumble into the ravine.

Knowing what's coming, Pedro takes a deep breath.

A bayonet thrusts into his right shoulder, then another plunge goes through the front of his chest.

He crumples to the ground.

Another thrust goes all the way to his backbone, and then one more straight through the chest.

He falls into the ravine alongside the others, all still bound to him.

A close friend, Lieutenant Luciano Jacinto, lands nearby, riding, kicking.

And incredibly, his dear friend's thrashing body landing on top of him is just what saves Pedro from the Japanese soldiers as they look for survivors.

Hours later, after darkness falls, the bayoneted captain is able to chew through the wire and free himself.

He and four other survivors will eventually make it to safety as the last voices of those slaughtered at the Bataan Death March's Pantinan River Massacre.

We don't know how many American and Filipino men die in the Bataan Death March.

Numbers range from 5,000 to well over 12,000.

Even when the journey comes to a close at Camp O'Donnell, things don't get much better.

We'll come back to this and other such prisoner of war camps in future episodes, but suffice it to say that nearly 30,000 of these POWs, mostly Filipinos along with some 1,500 Americans, will die at Camp O'Donnell before the end of 1942.

By early summer, the Philippines are conquered by the Japanese in all but name.