Filipino survivor of Bataan Death March dies in Arizona at 103

Bataan Death March survivor Thomas Mayor died at 103, last May 13, in Mesa, Arizona. SCREENGRAB/Fox 10

MESA, Arizona – A Filipino veteran and longtime resident of Mesa, who may be the last survivor of the Bataan Death March during World War II, has passed away at the age of 103.

Mayor’s descendants said he told them about his harrowing experience during the Death March, where some 2,500 Filipinos and 500 American POWs may have died. An additional 26,000 Filipinos and 1,500 Americans died at the march’s POW camp destinatio

The Mayor clan remembers the life and legacy of a 103-year-old veteran who recently passed away. SCREENGRAB/Fox 10

Mayor  moved from the Philippines to the United States, and by all accounts, “lived his American Dream,” said Fox 10’s Marissa Sarbak.

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Mayor had six children, 23 grandchildren, 19 great-grandchildren, and two great-great-grandchildren. Two of his grandchildren are in the US armed services..

Recently, a Phoenix-area non-profit named Veterans Affinity awarded Mayor a medal and a challenge coin, meant to honor veterans and “appreciate them, and to show just how much gratitude there is in the world for their service,” Rick Kreiberg of Veterans Affinity told Fox 10.