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April 8, 1942

The aerial attack on Bataan is heavy and constant. During the past two weeks, bombers and fighter planes have been flying in small squadrons. These last four days the bombings were concentrated on the mountains of Mariveles, according to Radio Bataan. Corregidor is tentatively left alone for the moment, maybe because it is a tough bone to gnaw, or because they are reserving it for dessert later on. An official report from the USAFFE stated that very superior forces are exerting a strong pressure on the center of the line of defense, and are gaining grounds. This is a bad sign.

Bataan is very well-fortified. For more than three years, military engineers worked to convert it into an impregnable fortress. It is said that the frontal lines of defense are equipped with hidden high tension electric wires and that many Japanese soldiers had been electrocuted during the invasion. Consequently, the Japanese are afraid of Bataan.

But Japanese tenacity is unyielding. Their pride, like a sharp spur, was sharpened further by American propaganda which unceasingly weaves a historic heroism, an epic, a symbol around the resistance of Bataan. Day in and day out, the American press and radio networks intone laudatory hymns and chant the heroic exploits of the brave defenders of these mountains, picturing them as proofs that the forces of the Mikado are not invincible. This infusion of autosuggestion boosts the American morale even after the great losses they have suffered.