On the morning of February 18th, 1941, one hundred and five men of Company C, 194th Tank Battalion from the Salinas and Pajaro Valleys marched down Main Street in Salinas to begin a journey that took them to Fort Lewis, Washington, and then on September 8th, 1941 from San Francisco Bay on a voyage of more than 6,000 miles to Clark Air Base on Luzon in the Philippine Islands. On December 7th, 1941, as Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, Company C faced a sustained Japanese air attack that destroyed nearly all the planes of the U.S. Far East Air Force, after which Japanese ground forces began operations on the island. These were the first ground battles fought between American and Japanese forces during World War II, and the 194th Tank Battalion was the first United States armored unit to fight the Japanese. With other U.S. Army and Philippine units, Company C held the enemy at bay in numerous battles and skirmishes, but with no backup force or resupply capacity, half rations, and dwindling resources, they fought a 124-day running battle for control of the island and finally Bataan. With supplies, medicine, and ammunition nearly gone and their physical condition weakened by hunger, the men were ordered on April 9th, 1942 to destroy remaining workable equipment and weapons and surrender. Beginning on April 10th, 1942, they were force-marched with other U.S. Army units and many Philippine troops to San Fernando and then to Camp O’Donnell prison camp in brutal conditions without adequate food or medicine, in what became known as the Bataan Death March. Approximately 70,000 Filipino and U.S. soldiers began the march and only 54,000 reached the camp. Survivors were later dispersed around the Philippine Islands and then sent in unmarked Hell Ships to Japan and China for slave labor. After the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and Japan’s defeat, the remaining men learned the war was over and many survivors returned home by plane because of their poor physical condition. Of the 105 men who left Salinas, 6 were lost in combat and 52 died in the Death March, prison camps, Hell Ships, and labor camps, while 47 returned to their families. Six soldiers of Company C received Silver Stars, the company received two United States Presidential Unit Citations and the Philippines Presidential Unit Citation, and its members also received the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart.