Remembering their valor and sacrifice
One-hundred-and-ninety-one dead were remembered in a special memorial garden at Proviso East. They were members of the local National Guard, based at the Armory in Maywood, who played a significant role in one of the most gruesome episodes of the Second World War, infamously known as the 80-mile Bataan Death March of 1942. Many young boys from Proviso Township High School (now known as Proviso East), classes of 1938 and 1939, had joined the National Guard and were part of the historic events that took place in the Philippines during the Japanese occupation. For 50 years Maywood held a Bataan Parade, ending at Maywood Veterans Memorial Park at the corner of 1st Avenue and Oak Street, where tanks memorialized the 92nd Tank Battalion, Co. B.
In 1999, two Proviso East teachers assigned a class project to commemorate the members of the unit, which included Forest Parkers whose stories are among the many recorded. Today, Bataan recognition also includes the men in companies A, C, and D, and the local Filipino community for the incredible valor, sacrifice and brotherhood shared, which has transcended generations.
Jill Wagner
