After the outbreak of war in the Pacific on 7 December 1941, Fort Drum withstood heavy Japanese air and land bombardment as it supported U.S. and Filipino defenders on Bataan and Corregidor until the very end on 6 May 1942. The fortress was among the last U.S. posts to hold out against the Japanese and did not surrender until ordered by superiors after Corregidor had been overrun, but not until the U.S. soldiers had sabotaged the guns and ordnance to prevent use by the Japanese. Ironically, even without the guns, the Japanese in Fort Drum were among the last holdouts when U.S. forces recaptured the Philippines in 1945.