Benigno de Guzman Tabora (November 20, 1915 – February 17, 2008) was a

Filipino American Filipino Americans () are Americans of Filipino ancestry. Filipinos in North America were first documented in the 16th century and other small settlements beginning in the 18th century. Mass migration did not begin until after the end of the Sp ...

veteran A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in an job, occupation or Craft, field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in the military, armed forces. A topic o ...

of both

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

. Tabora was one of the last of an increasingly dwindling group of veterans who survived the

Bataan Death March The Bataan Death March was the Death march, forcible transfer by the Imperial Japanese Army of around 72,000 to 78,000 American and Filipino prisoners of war (POWs) from the municipalities of Bagac and Mariveles on the Bataan Peninsula to Camp ...

in May 1942 after the Japanese captured the Philippines during World War II. He spent eight months as a

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

in a Japanese

internment camp Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without Criminal charge, charges or Indictment, intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects ...

. Tabora served in the

military intelligence Military intelligence is a military discipline that uses information collection and analysis List of intelligence gathering disciplines, approaches to provide guidance and direction to assist Commanding officer, commanders in decision making pr ...

during his 31 years in the Army.

Early life

Tabora was born in

Lingayen Lingayen, officially the Municipality of Lingayen (; ; ; ), is a municipality of the Philippines, municipality and capital of the Philippine Province, province of Pangasinan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 10 ...

in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

on November 20, 1915, to parents Benigno and Felipa (de Guzman) Tabora. He joined the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

when he was 21 years old and served in the 45th Infantry Regiment of the

Philippine Scouts The Philippine Scouts ( Filipino: ''Maghahanap ng Pilipinas''/''Hukbong Maghahanap ng Pilipinas'') was a military organization of the United States Army from 1901 until after the end of World War II. These troops were generally Filipinos and ...

, rising to corporal by the time of the

Japanese invasion of the Philippines Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

World War II

Tabora and thousands of other American servicemen were captured by the Japanese following the outbreak World War II and the occupation of the Philippines. He survived the infamous

in April 1942, in which hundreds of other prisoners died. For the following eight months, Tabora was held as a POW at the

Camp O'Donnell Camp O'Donnell is a current military base and former United States military reservation in the Philippines located on Luzon island in the municipality of Capas in Tarlac. It housed the Philippine Army's newly created 71st Division and after t ...

internment camp at the end of the Bataan Death March. Tabora was starved and tortured by the Japanese soldiers who guarded the

POW camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured as prisoners of war by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, internment camps, an ...

. He was also stabbed with a

bayonet A bayonet (from Old French , now spelt ) is a -4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ... , now spelt ) is a knife, dagger">knife">-4; we might wonder whethe ...

and beaten with

rifle butt A gunstock or often simply stock, the back portion of which is also known as a shoulder stock, a buttstock, or simply a butt, is a part of a long gun that provides structural support, to which the barrel, action, and firing mechanism are attache ...

s when nine of his men escaped the camp. Japanese soldiers also held Tabora's head in water as a form of torture. The abuse and torture took its toll. At the worst point in the camp, Tabora weighed less than ninety pounds and lost nearly all his hair. Tabora later wrote of his experience in the camp, "I planned to escape several times, but my physical condition prevented me from doing so." Tabora's brother, as well as his commanders and many of his men from his

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...

, died as a result of the Baatan Death March and the maltreatment in the POW camp. Tabora managed to make his way out of the camp. He was later commissioned as a United States Army

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

for fighting the Japanese behind enemy lines. Tabora was later promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

by the time he left the army after the war.

Korean War

Tabora re-enlisted in the army at the start of the

. However, after the torture he experienced during World War II as a POW, he promised himself that he would never be taken prisoner again. When Tabora's unit landed in

Inchon, Korea Incheon is a city located in northwestern South Korea, bordering Seoul and Gyeonggi Province to the east. Inhabited since the Neolithic, Incheon was home to just 4,700 people when it became an international port in 1883. As of February 2020, ...

, he reportedly saved one

bullet A bullet is a kinetic projectile, a component of firearm ammunition that is shot from a gun barrel. They are made of a variety of materials, such as copper, lead, steel, polymer, rubber and even wax; and are made in various shapes and constru ...

, intending to take his own life if he was captured in

combat Combat (French language, French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent Conflict (process), conflict between multiple combatants with the intent to harm the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed (Hand-to-hand combat, not usin ...

. Fortunately there were no U.S. casualties during the Inchon landing and Tabora was never captured.

Late life

Tabora remained in the Army following the Korean War. He retired from active duty in 1968 with the rank of

sergeant major Sergeant major is a senior Non-commissioned officer, non-commissioned Military rank, rank or appointment in many militaries around the world. History In 16th century Spain, the ("sergeant major") was a general officer. He commanded an army's ...

. Tabora spent a total of 31 years in the Army. Tabora took a position with the Cutler Hospital in

Fort Devens Fort Devens is a United States Army Reserve military installation in the towns of Ayer, Massachusetts, Ayer and Shirley, Massachusetts, Shirley, in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Middlesex County and Harvard, Massachusetts, Harvard in Worcester ...

. He moved to

Leominster, Massachusetts Leominster ( ) is a city in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the second-largest city in Worcester County, with a population of 43,222 at the 2023 census. Leominster is located north of Worcester and northwest of Boston. Bo ...

, and remained a resident of the area for over forty years. Massachusetts veterans groups tried in vain to have Tabora awarded the

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the president to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...

for the injuries he sustained as a POW. However their requests were turned down. Tabora, himself, never asked for the award. He remained active in veterans organizations such as the

Veterans of Foreign Wars The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), formally the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, is an Voluntary association, organization of United States Armed Forces, United States war veterans who fought in wars, Military campaign, campaig ...

and the

Disabled American Veterans The Disabled American Veterans (DAV) is an organization created in 1920 by World War I veterans for disabled military veterans of the United States Armed Forces that helps them and their families through various means. It was issued a federal ch ...

Death

Benigno Tabora died of an illness at the Life Care Center of Acton in

Acton, Massachusetts Acton is a New England town, town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, approximately west-northwest of Boston, Massachusetts, Boston along Massachusetts Route 2 west of Concord, Massachusetts, Concord and about southwest of Lowell ...

, on February 17, 2008. He was survived by his wife, Mae T. (Fontaine) Tabora. The couple had been married for 32 years. His first wife, Emelia Caranto, died in 1974. Tabora was also survived by four children—Cara, Merlene, Elden and Napoleon—and two stepdaughters, Gail and Linda.

References