05/25/2026
On this Memorial Day, the Museum remembers the families and communities that provide support and who endure the absence, hardships, and, in some cases, the tragic loss of their loved one in the United States military.
This photograph is from the Museum Photo Archives of women packing Christmas gift boxes for service members in November 1942. The women are members of the Mother’s Service Club in Albuquerque.
On the right is Mrs. Bertha Meyer, the President of the Albuquerque chapter who was likely awaiting word of her son, William H. Meyer, serving in the Philippines with the 200th Coast Artillery Regiment who had surrendered to the Japanese after the Battle of Bataan in April. Word of the surrender at Bataan reached the United States and many New Mexicans began a wait for news of their loved ones that would last for years.
The 200th Coast Artillery Regiment was made up mostly of New Mexico soldiers and were sent to the Philippines in September of 1941, where they fought alongside Filipino soldiers in the Battle of Bataan. After the surrender, 60,000-80,000 Filipino and American prisoners of war were forced to walk 65 miles to a railroad station, where the survivors were sent to prisoner-of-war camps around the islands. The 200th Coast Artillery Regiment included 1,800 soldiers from New Mexico. Only 900 of them returned.
By the time this photo was taken, the 22-year-old son of Bertha Meyer, Staff Sgt. William H. Meyer, had died in a prisoner of war camp on July 16, 1942, in Cabanatuan, Philippines.
PA1980.061.418, Albuquerque Museum, gift of Albuquerque National Bank
