Grim Fate, the crafty old witch,
Was pranking with Ned's career;
She was shifting the scenes in the Philippines
In the grim and fateful year.

She should have been shot at sunrise
The furtive and fickle old hag,
She was shuffling her cards and fixing the odds
For someone to hold the bag.

MacArthur was marked for Olympus,
And Skinny was called to the Rock,
So Ned was the man to go to Bataan
And weather the withering shock.

A life-time of waiting and work
High purpose that nothing could hinder,
Cards stacked in advance and Ned has his chance
To take command....and surrender!

The fate of Democracy's General,
The lot of the hapless Defender,
The cards were stacked, the jury was packed
And Ned was the first to surrender.

On a bit of a pestilent strip
Of tropical jungle land,
Starvation, disease, and mad Japanese
Were besieging the men of Bataan.

The Jap was poised for the kill,
He'd mopped up Singapore,
He had tasted of blood and found it good
And was licking his chops for more.

The fever got half the men
In the wake of the winging pest,
Wile dysentery and beri-beri
Were doing for half the rest.

The men were willing to fight,
And all they had they'd give,
But the hollow shell where the main blow fell
Was weak as a rusty sieve.

continue.....