Unit Citations

General Douglas Mac Arthur

Kudos from the General of the Army

"There is no unit in the American Army which has served with greater distinction both in peace and in war, than the 31st Infantry. Never stationed within our continental limits, as the advanced element in our Pacific Defense, the Regiment has always performed its assigned mission with marked gallantry and commendable precision. At Bataan, it achieved its greatest glory as its lines held firm time and time again against the assault of overwhelming superior forces. As it now faces a future of continued service in our country's cause, its regimental colors fly under a halo of tradition, of honor, duty and sacrifice, which will be an inspiration for American Armies for all time to come."

General Douglas Mac Arthur

4 August 1946

Presidential Unit Citation

Major O'Donovan's outfit, the 31st Infantry Regiment, was awarded three Presidential Unit Citations:

  • Luzon 1941-1942 (31st Infantry Regiment)
  • Bataan (31st Infantry Regiment)
  • Defense of the Philippines (31st Infantry Regiment)

Philippine Presidential Unit Citation

Major O'Donovan's outfit, the 31st Infantry Regiment, was awarded a Philippine Presidential Unit Citation:

  • 7 December 1941 10 May 1942 (31st Infantry Regiment)

The Presidential Unit Citation may be awarded to units of the Armed Forces of the United States and co-belligerent nations for extraordinary heroism in action against an armed enemy occurring on or after December 7, 1941. The unit must display such gallantry, determination, and esprit de corps in accomplishing its mission under extremely difficult and hazardous conditions so as to set it apart from and above other units participating in the same campaign. The degree of heroism required is the same as that which would warrant the award of a Distinguished Service Cross to an individual.

Additional awards of the Presidential Unit Citation are denoted by oak leaf clusters.

The Philippine Presidential Unit Citation Badge is a unit decoration of the Republic of the Philippines. It has been awarded to certain units of the United States military and the Philippine Commonwealth military for actions both during and subsequent to the Second World War.

Notable Quotations regarding the Battling Bastards of Bataan

"I should like to express...my admiration of the splendid courage and quality which the small American army, under General MacArthur, has resisted brilliantly for so long, at desperate odds the hordes of Japanese who have been hurled against it..."

- Winston Churchill speech to the House of Commons