Camp O'Donnell

Camp O'Donnell
Sta. Lucia, Capas, Tarlac, Philippines
Facade of the Training Command, Philippine Army
TypeMilitary base
Site information
Controlled by Philippines
Site history
Built1941
In use1941–present
MaterialsConcrete and Metal
Battles/wars
Garrison information
Garrison

Camp O'Donnell is a current military base and former United States military reservation in the Philippines located on Luzon island in the municipality of Capas in Tarlac. It housed the Philippine Army's newly created 71st Division and after the Americans' return, a United States Army camp. During World War II, the reservation was used as a prisoner-of-war camp for Filipino and American soldiers captured by Japan during its successful invasion of the Philippines. About 60,000 Filipino and 9,000 Americans were housed at the camp. During the few months in 1942 that Camp O'Donnell was used as a prisoner-of-war camp, about 20,000 Filipinos and 1,500 Americans died there of disease, starvation, neglect, and brutality.[1][2]

After World War II, it became a base of the United States Air Force and the location of the U.S. Naval Radio Station, Tarlac, with the Philippine Army installation occupying its eastern side. It housed the Training Command's Philippine Army Officer Candidate School, NCO Academy, and Headquarters Service Battalion.[3]

  1. ^ The number of prisoners-of-war at Camp O'Donnell is variously estimated and in the case of the Filipinos is little more than a guess. The number of Americans dying at the camp has been calculated with some precision, but the number of Filipino deaths is only an estimate.
  2. ^ McManus, John. "Andersonville of the Pacific". The National Endowment for the Humanities. Humanities. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
  3. ^ "Official Website of the Philippine Army". Archived from the original on December 18, 2015. Retrieved March 20, 2016.