Sixty years ago April, tens of thousands of American and Filipino soldiers were forced to embark on a journey that would become one of history’s most recognized examples of the brutality of war.

An estimated 70,000 soldiers were taken prisoner following the surrender of Bataan, a U.S. commonwealth in the Phillipines, in the midst of World War II, April 9, 1942.

The POWs, already exhausted from battle, were then forced into a 65-mile trek down dense jungle roads, without food or water.

Only 54,000 soldiers survived the march. An estimated 16,950 died from conditions during the journey or randomly at the hands of their captors. Even more died in the prison camps that awaited them.

Over 1,800 New Mexicans were part of the Bataan Death March; fewer than 900 of them lived to tell about it.

The number of those who did survive is dwindling now. Time has taken its toll on this group of elderly veterans. Those who are still with us are more invaluable than ever, because they represent a living piece of our nation’s history.

Eddy County has always taken great pride in its veteran citizens. The county boasts the largest number of veterans per capita of any county in New Mexico.

Many veterans reside in Artesia specifically. However, of the survivors of the Bataan Death March, there remain only three.

George Frederick "Tony" King, Jr. was born on Feb. 14, 1917, in Trent, Texas. He came to Artesia in 1929 and was a 1935 graduate of Artesia High School. He
attended the University of New Mexico for two-and-a-half years and, being an accomplished clarinetist, played in the University Band and Orchestra and the Varsity Club Dance Orchestra.

In the fall of 1940, while at UNM, King became sure that he would be drafted into military service. In November of 1940, he joined the Military Band of the 200th Coast Artillery, Anti-Aircraft Artillery, "assuming this would be a cushy tour of duty."

King completed basic training at Fort Bliss, Texas, and was shipped to the Philippine Islands in September of 1941 and stationed at Fort Stotsenberg on the island of Luzon.

On December 8, 1941, King was standing in line after lunch, waiting to wash his mess kit.