Welcome to the American Defenders of Bataan & Corregidor Memorial Society. We recently changed our name from Descendants Group--American Defenders of Bataan & Corregidor to better reflect our mission and membership.
Our mission is to preserve and perpetuate the story of the men and women who defended the Philippines and other Allied outposts against overwhelming odds during the first months of World War II in the Pacific and later became prisoners-of-war. We will accomplish this through education, preservation of documents and artifacts, and historical research dedicated to telling the stories of the battles and the courage that allowed them to survive the deprivations of three and a half years of imprisonment and slave labor. We continue to host the American Defenders of Bataan & Corregidor at our annual conventions.
2013 Annual Convention Norfolk VA
Updates: Convention schedule now available and airport shuttle update below
The 2013 convention will be in Norfolk, Virginia, from Weds. May 22 through Sat. May 25, 2013. It will be held at the Sheraton Norfolk Waterside Hotel. Room rates are $99 per night, plus tax, and parking is included for those with cars.
Reservations can be made by calling 800-325-3589 or 757-622-6664. Be sure to mention the ADBC Memorial Society to attain our special rate. April 19, 2013 is the cutoff date for our guaranteed rate. Please note, the hotel does
not have an airport shuttle service so you will arrange transportation from the airport. Shuttle update: Shuttle service may be arranged through Orange Peel Transportation 757-463-7500, click on reservation link at www.
(The discount is better if there are more in your party.)
Final Convention Schedule available. Click here to view event schedule or go to "Conventions" link in the left panel to go to the Norfolk 2013 page.
Past ADBC conventions in Norforlk were very enjoyable as Norfolk is a lovely city with numerous attractions including: the MacArthur Memorial Museum, one of the world's largets Navy bases, the Chrysler Museum of Art and the Hampton Roads Naval Museum. A group tour of the MacArthur Memorial Museum and the Naval Base are planned.
NEW Documentary Film: NEVER THE SAME: The Prisoner-of-War Experience.
Produced and directed by Jan Thompson, an ADBC descendant, will have its World Premiere at the Gene Siskel Film Center in Chicago April 6 and 7. The film will be shown in Norfolk during the convention on Saturday, May 25 at 1 pm.The all-star cast includes: Alec Baldwin, Ed Asner, Sam Waterston, Kathleen Turner, Robert Wagner, Don Murray, Jamie Farr, Mike Farrell and many more. The film is narrated by Loretta Swit.
Gene Siskel film center "Never the Same"
Documentary Film--"The Tragedy of Bataan"
Tragedy of Bataan website Jan Thompson's "Tragedy of Bataan" has received three awards at the Broadcast Education Association Festival of Media Arts. The documentary film received "Award of Excellence" in the faculty documentary short form competition, the accompanying five-part radio series received the "Best of Festival" in faculty audio competition, and the Tragedy of Bataan website was awarded "Best of Competition Website" in the Faculty Interactive Multimedia Category. Please ask your local PBS stations to broadcast Tragedy of Bataan. DVDs of the program may be purchased from the PBS shop.
The DG continues to fund competitive grants.
For 2013 there will be $5,000 in grant money available for a limited number of grants. Projects that tell the stories of the Japanese Invasion of the Philippines and other Pacific islands and the POWs that were held there or in other locations, or those that develop school curricula, or for development of a play, video production, art display or civic monuments depicting the experiences of the POWs of Japan are eligible for funding.
Links to the 2013 application form and guidelines can be found on our Grant Applications page.
Banner drawing by former POW Ben Steele.