One In One Hundred

Laurel kept on urging the audience to shout, Banzai! Banzai! Banzai!
At first, only a few members of the audience were shouting the word. But as Laurel and the Filipino leaders on the stage kept chanting, Banzai!, most of the audience eventually shouted Banzai!, too.
But two men in white t-shirts refrained from following the crowd. When majority of the crowd was already chanting Banzai!, they looked at each other, afraid that patrolling Japanese soldiers or Filipino collaborators might single them out.
Still, the two men could not do it.
They heard the Japanese soldiers shout the word when Bataan fell. They were fighting against the Japanese and they had to surrender. Those who surrendered were forced to take part in the Death March on April 9, 1942. This was a long trek; about 80 miles, from Mariveles, Bataan to San Fernando, Pampanga. And then, whoever survived would be transferred from Pampanga to Camp O’Donnell in Capas, Tarlac. The number of prisoners of war was estimated to be between 60,000 to 80,000 Filipino and American soldiers. It was estimated that between 2600 to 10,650 Allied soldiers died because of physical abuse and murder by the Japanese forces before they could reach Camp O’Donnell.
The two men were guerillas. They were there on a mission to observe the future President of the Japanese Government in the Philippines. Despite having to listen to the tumultuous shouts of their countrymen, they had to imprint everything about Laurel – what he looked like, his mannerisms, the way he dressed up, and the way he talked – in their mind.