NM BATAAN-CORREGIDOR MEMORIAL FOUNDATION
Bataan Memorial Park
Filed as a park site on April 18, 1941 with the city of Albuquerque, Bataan Memorial Park received its name on March 2, 1943 when the Albuquerque City Commission passed the official resolution naming it Bataan Memorial Park, “For the super-human sacrifices endured by the men of the 200th Coast Artillery Anti-aircraft Regiment on Luzon, Philippine Islands, that freedom and liberty of mankind shall be preserved.”
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In 1945, those who survived Bataan and Corregidor returned to their loved ones and to the hometowns they had left as young men — many in poor health and haunted by memories of their time spent in prison camps. Although the beautiful open spaces of New Mexico were a welcome sight, it was still difficult to adjust to life back at home.
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Some returned to Albuquerque, a growing city of 40,000, with suburbs quickly expanding into the east mesa area.
As the vets rejoined their families and communities they needed a common place to share their experiences and memories. Many veterans settled in the McDuffie Place Addition (now Summit Park neighborhood) and used Bataan Memorial Park not only as a living memorial, but also as a place to enjoy the company of family and friends.
Family members and neighbors helped to establish and maintain this sacred place by erecting a stone memorial in the park in 1960.
A resolution was read during a regular meeting of the City Commission at City Hall on March 2, 1943. The resolution was passed, adopted, signed and approved and the seal of the City of Albuquerque was affixed on that day, March 2nd, 1943.
The following day, the Albuquerque Tribune reported: “The city is planting 200 trees, termed by Mayor Tingley ‘as a living monument to the men’ around the outer edges of the five-acre tract.”
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