In January 1941, the New Mexico National Guard was inducted into federal service, trained at Fort Bliss, and became the 200th Coast Artillery (AA). In September 1941, the unit was sent to the Philippines. In December 1941, immediately after Pearl Harbor Day, the Philippines were attacked and invaded by the Japanese. In April 1942, the Americans in the Philippines surrendered to the Japanese and endured the atrocities of the Bataan Death March. In 1945, after forty months of torture, deprivation, and humiliation in Japanese prison camps, the POWs were liberated. Approximately 900 of the 1800 New Mexico National Guardsmen had given their lives for their country.