| Pantingan River massacre | |
| Partof: | the Bataan Death March |
| Location: | Bataan, Luzon, Philippines |
| Date: | April 12, 1942 |
| Type: | Massacre, war crime, summary execution |
| Fatalities: | 400 American and Filipino prisoners of war[1] |
| Perps: | Imperial Japanese Army |
The Pantingan River massacre (Filipino: Pagpatay sa Ilog Pantingan) was the mass execution of Filipino and American officers and non-commissioned officers Prisoners-of-War by members of the Imperial Japanese Army during the Bataan Death March on April 12, 1942, in Bagac, Bataan.[2] Several hundred soldiers from the Philippine Commonwealth Army's 1st, 11th, 71st, and 91st Divisions on the march to the north of Mount Samat where the Pantingan River crosses the Pilar-Bagac Road were taken to the riverside. Most of them were hog tied with telephone wire, shot, bayoneted or beheaded by the Imperial Japanese Army.[3]
The atrocity was attributed to Japanese Colonel Masanobu Tsuji. Following Tsuji's abnormal order, which was considered to be a war crime and beyond his commission, the Japanese 122nd Regiment of 65th Brigade executed the US and Philippine soldiers in the Pantingan River.[4] Colonel Takeo Imai, of another Japanese regiment, doubted the authority of the order. Imai ignored the cruel order and did not execute anyone.[5] [6] [7]
Survivors of the massacre include Lt. Manuel Yan who later became the head of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and ambassador to Thailand. Another survivor, Capt. Ricardo Papa, a G-3 Officer of the 91st Division later became a Chief of Police in Manila.[8]