Maywood in Cook County, Illinois — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Bataan Drive

Photographed by Sean Flynn, May 28, 2024

1. Bataan Drive Marker

Inscription. Dedicated to the men and women who sacrificed their lives in the defense of Bataan

Erected 1954 by American Bataan Clan.

Topics. This memorial is listed in these topic lists: Roads & Vehicles • War, World II.

Location. 41° 52.261′ N, 87° 50.324′ W. Memorial is in Maywood, Illinois, in Cook County. It is at the intersection of Bataan Drive and 5th Avenue, on the left when traveling east on Bataan Drive. The marker is affixed to a concrete barrier separating Bataan Drive from the Eisenhower Expressway (Interstate 290). Touch for map. Memorial is in this post office area: Maywood IL 60153, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this memorial is in Greater Chicago.

It is also in the American Midwest

and on the Great Lakes.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Viceroyalty of New France,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

and the Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking

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distance of this marker: Native Prairie Plants (approx. 0.4 miles away); Columbia Post No. 706 (approx. half a mile away); Veterans Memorial (approx. 0.6 miles away); George Dilboy (approx. 0.7 miles away); Union Soldiers Memorial (approx. 0.7 miles away); Forest Home Cemetery Veterans Flagpole (approx. 0.7 miles away); Phil Sheridan G.A.R. Post No. 615 Memorial (approx. 0.7 miles away); Joseph Carter Corbin (approx. 0.8 miles away).

More about this memorial. Bataan Drive was dedicated on September 19, 1954, as the access road to the brand-new Congress Expressway between 1st Avenue and 23rd Avenue—the first completed stretch of the highway that was renamed after Dwight D. Eisenhower. Several other memorials dedicated to the many men of Maywood who died in Bataan can be found a mile north of here in Maywood Park.

Regarding Bataan Drive. The name of the road reflects the outsized impact of the Bataan Death March on Maywood, a western suburb of Chicago. Maywood's Illinois National Guard armory, which was located across the street from Proviso High School (now Proviso East), contributed Company B to the 192nd Tank Battalion that

Photographed by Sean Flynn, May 28, 2024

2. Bataan Drive Marker

The marker is alongside the 5th Avenue bridge over the Eisenhower Expressway (I-290). Bataan Drive is on the right side of this photo.

was sent to the Philippines in 1941. After Pearl Harbor was attacked on December 7, 1941, General Douglas MacArthur withdrew all American troops in the Philippines to the Bataan Peninsula; the 192nd provided cover for the withdrawal. On April 9, 1942, after several months of battle, the remaining American and Filipino troops surrendered to the Japanese, and the survivors endured the 70-mile Bataan Death March. Roughly two-thirds of the 10,000 American men taken prisoner in Bataan died in captivity over the next 3+ years. Of the 89 men of Company B who went to the Pacific in 1941, only 43 returned home.

The American Bataan Clan (ABC) was a group founded in 1942 by Maywood-area families who were concerned about the wellbeing of their sons who had been captured and what was being done to liberate them. In September 1942, the ABC hosted a celebration in Maywood to honor the local soldiers; Illinois Sen. Wayland Brooks, Illinois Gov. Dwight Green and Chicago Mayor Edward Kelly were among the dignitaries in attendance. The ABC's successor organization, the Maywood Bataan Day Organization, continues to this day to host an annual Bataan Day

Company B, 192nd Tank Battalion Memorial image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Sean Flynn, July 7, 2023

3. Company B, 192nd Tank Battalion Memorial

Memorials to the local men who endured the Bataan Death March can be found in Maywood Park, about one mile north of Bataan Drive. In this photo, two separate memorials to Company B of the 192nd Tank Battalion can be seen; the newer marker (visible in the foreground, between the flagpoles) was erected in 2014 and includes names that had been omitted from the 1946 original (which sits in front of the tank in the background of this photo).

celebration in Maywood every September.

In 1954, according to a report in the Chicago Tribune, Bataan Day featured a parade from Roosevelt Road (about a half-mile south of here) to Maywood Park (a mile north). Col. Theodore Wickord, a Chicago native who commanded the local men in the 192nd Tank Battalion and survived the Bataan Death March and Japanese captivity, was the grand marshal of the Bataan Day parade. At 5 p.m. that evening, the parade stopped at 5th Avenue's intersection with the brand-new Congress Expressway and dedicated the new Bataan Drive.

Also see . . .
1. About the Maywood Bataan Day Organization.

Excerpt: "Today’s Maywood Bataan Day Organization (MBDO) traces its roots back to the American Bataan Clan (ABC). This small group arose out of the anguish of mothers over the welfare of their sons who were lost when Bataan fell. After suffering through just over four months of promises of military and supply relief that was to be sent to the men fighting to slow or push back the invasion of Imperial Japan, these family members decided to take matters into their own hands."

(Submitted on May 28, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)

2. Lt. Col. Theodore F. Wickord.

"Death March Starts" image. Click for full size.

New York World-Telegram and the Sun Newspaper Photograph Collection, Library of Congress, 1942

4. "Death March Starts"

Caption from related photo, according to the Library of Congress: "This captured Japanese picture, the US Army says, shows the start of the bloody 'Death March' of American prisoners of war in 1942 from Mariveles after the Yanks surrendered on Bataan to the Japanese."

Col. Wickord was grand marshal of the 1954 Bataan Day parade, which included the dedication of Bataan Drive alongside the brand-new Congress Expressway. Born in Chicago and raised in suburban Cicero, Col. Wickord commanded the 33rd Tank Company, based out of Maywood's Illinois National Guard Armory, when it was called into federal service in 1940, and led it when it became Company B of the 192nd Tank Battalion the next year. He survived the Bataan Death March in 1942 and spent more than three years in captivity. He returned home to Maywood in 1945 and went back to his pre-war job at a public utility company. He died in 1967 at age 60; his funeral was at St. Eulalia Catholic Church, which sits alongside Bataan Drive four blocks west of this monument at 9th Avenue. (Submitted on May 28, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)

3. Bataan Project. This site was created by former teachers at Proviso East High School with information about the 192nd Tank Battalion and its World War II experiences. (Submitted on May 28, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)

Credits. This page was last revised on June 22, 2026. It was originally submitted on May 28, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. This page has been viewed 787 times since then and 114 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on May 28, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. 3. submitted on July 21, 2023, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. 4. submitted on May 28, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.