National Archives: A marine wears the grim face of battle

"We've been here with few supplies, fighting a never ending wave of Japanese for months. Japan is the most modern war machine in the Pacific and we're here with left-over WWI weapons! Jap's are consuming the entire South Pacific! Washington has promised to send a convoy of troops and supplies. We watch the shore everyday, hoping to see it on the horizon.
        Word is that the Japanese are regrouping and coming this way. But General MacArthur is a good man. He'll lead us to victory!
        We've been fighting a steady stream of Japanese ever since Pearl Harbor. 80,000 of us were driven to the Bataan Peninsula as the Japanese took control the main Philippine Islands. Japanese General Homma called off the attack a week ago, February 8, 1942 (Two months after they had landed) after losing 7,000 men. With temperatures exceeding 110°, more men died of disease than battle. We, American & Philippine troops, under trained and under supplied, were expected to crumble in less than 30 days…we didn't! But the attack can, and probably will, resume any time.
        My closest friends are all dead, killed in a surprise bombing last month. We have no food, supplies, or fresh water. Look around you; all you can see is jungle, bugs, & the dead that are scattered along the ground. If ever there was hell on earth, it's here."