09/09/2025
๐๏ธ Honoring the sacrifice of PVT Filimon Castillo, who tragically passed away as a prisoner in the Philippines on August 30, 1942, at the age of 22, during a harrowing time in World War II.
Filimon Chavez Castillo was born on October 15, 1919, in Lemitar, New Mexico, to Silvestre and Manuelita Castillo. A dedicated soldier, he enlisted in the Army on March 28, 1941, and served with the 200th Coast Artillery Corps in the Philippines.
After the Japanese assault rendered their artillery ineffective, the troops were rearmed with rifles and fought valiantly as infantry during the Bataan campaign. PVT Castillo was captured following the surrender of US forces and endured the brutal conditions of the Bataan Death March, ultimately succumbing to hardship at the Cabanatuan POW Camp.
His remains were recovered post-war, and he is interred at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial, Plot L Row 9, Grave 80, with a memorial marker also placed at Santa Fe National Cemetery in New Mexico. His older brother, Ignacio Chavez Castillo, also faced the horrors of war as a POW and is memorialized at the Manila American Cemetery after going missing during the sinking of the "Hell Ship" Arisan Maru.
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