GAINESVILLE - A retired Army colonel, who survived World War Two's "Bataan Death March," says he came close to dying during the 6-day, 7-night ordeal in the Phillipines but "thinking positive" helped pull him through.
Col. Glenn D. Frazier told the WDUN Bill & Joel Morning Show audience and the Gainesville Kiwanis Club Tuesday he almost died during the forced march of allied prisoners-of-war by the Japanese.
"When I got to the end my tongue was beginning to swell and my throat hurt," Col. Franzier said. "I could hardly walk. I was sliding one foot in front of the other instead of picking them up."
Frazier, who has written a book about his experience, titled "Hell's Quest," said 3,000 of the 15,000 POWs who started the march either died or were killed during along the way. Frazier spent three-and-a-half years as a Japanese POW.
He also said that he had nightmares for 30 years and it took him that long to forgive the Japanese and "I did not get rid of the nightmares until I got rid of the hatred."
Saturday
June 28th, 2025
7:55AM
