Bataan Death March survivor passes away

One of the few dozen remaining survivors of the Bataan Death March has
died.

Leo Padilla, 88, died on Tuesday in his Albuquerque home. He joined the
National Guard when he was only 14 after becoming frustrated by getting
wet while helping his father irrigate fields.

"At that time, the National Guard-- which was called the 111th Calvary--  
wore knee-high boots, so he figured if he could get a pair of those
boots, he could keep dry while he was irrigating," said Bernadett
Gallegos, from the Bataan-Corregidor Memorial Foundation.

According to the New Mexico Department of Veterans, during World War II
more than 1,800 New Mexicans were forced to march 60 miles to an
uncertain fate controlled by brutal captors at Japanese Prisoner of War
camps. By the time Japan surrendered to Allied Forces in August of 1945,
less than half of the prisoners survived their captivity.

A funeral mass for Mr. Padilla will be held 10 a.m. Monday at St.
Charles Boromeo Church in Albuquerque.