This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: marcenath Surnames: Hatch Classification: obituary Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/localities.northam.usa.states.newmexico.counties.donaana/4264/mb.ashx Message Board Post: Bataan Death March veteran, POW dies at age 97 The Daily Times 04/27/2010 FARMINGTON - The 1,032 days Claude Hatch spent as a prisoner of war in Bataan, Philippines, influenced the rest of his life, his family said. Hatch, a World War II veteran and lifelong resident of Fruitland, died Friday at age 97. He was 30 when he was captured in 1942, forced to walk 60 miles in the Bataan Death March and held prisoner in various camps, according to data from American Ex-Prisoners of War, an organization chartered by Congress to represent former prisoners of war and their families. "Whenever I had trials in my life, I thought of him and what he went through," said Hatch's daughter, Rachel Hatch. "If he could go through what he did and survive, then I can get through my trials. He's made me a stronger person." Hatch did not share many of his war stories with his family, Rachel said. He was inducted into the Army in 1941 and became a member of the 200th Coast Artillery Headquarters Battery 2nd Battalion. After surviving the death march and nearly three years in captivity, he was awarded the Bronze Star for Valor. During the death march, Hatch and as many as 70,000 others were subjected to inhumane treatment, including stabbings, beatings and refusal to let prisoners eat or drink. Between 5,000 and 10,000 never made it to Camp O'Donnell. "The brutal stuff, he had a hard time dealing with," Rachel said of her father. "He dealt with it the best he could." Hatch told his three children the stories were "not for women and children to hear," Rachel said. "As we grew up, he talked some more," she said. "My mother told us if he wanted to speak about it, we were to sit there and let him talk, but we weren't to ask him any questions." Hatch talked to his younger brother and best friend, Steward Hatch, Rachel said. Steward was a confidante, and the two men talked every night. Hatch in 1981 went back to the Philippines for the 40th anniversary of the incident. "When he came home, I could just tell he had made peace with it," Rachel said. "He was a changed person. There were still stories he would not tell, and we wouldn't ask, but there were other stories he would talk to us about." Not all of the stories were negative, Rachel said. She recalled her father telling of a monkey that crept from the jungle every night to sleep with the prisoners. "He told me he was in six or seven prison camps," Rachel said. "This one was in a jungle, in the hills, and there was a little monkey that would come out of the trees and find him and he would crawl in his shirt by his neck and go to sleep. In the morning, my dad would give him whatever little bit of food he had, and the monkey would go back in the trees for the day." Hatch also worked on pottery while in captivity and taught Navajo words to some of the Japanese guards, Rachel said. After returning home, Hatch worked as a trader for various trading posts. He also was a historian and helped establish the Southern San Juan Paiute tribe. Hatch was a member of the Upper Fruitland Chapter's veteran organization and his death leaves a hole in the community, said LoRenzo Bates, the chapter's delegate to the Tribal Council. Bates said he met Hatch at age 8 or 9 when the older man had a trading post along the river. "He was part of the chapter, a member of the community," Bates said of Hatch. "He was well-known, well-liked, a true American hero." Those who knew him best remember his perspective on life, said his daughter, Nora. "I want to remember him as always being there for me and my children," she said. "Every time I was sad or something, he would always cheer me up, like it wasn't the end of the world." Funeral services for Hatch are at 1 p.m. Wednesday in the LDS chapel on U.S. 64 in Kirtland. Viewing starts at noon. Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board.