Bataan Memorial Death March

Over spring break a group of 7 cadets traveled to New Mexico to participate in the 27^th annual Bataan Memorial Death March at White Sands Missile Range.  Cadets Csizmadia, Larson, Scholl, Syed, and Zastrow participated in the marathon while Cadets Bendler and Wells ensured their safe travel by driving the 21 hours to Las Cruces.

The Bataan Memorial Death March has been hosted each year at the White Sands Missile Range since 1989.  The march honors a special group of World War II heroes.  These brave soldiers were responsible for the defense of the islands of Luzon, Corregidor and the harbor defense forts of the Philippines.

On April 9, 1942, tens of thousands of American and Filipino soldiers were surrendered to Japanese forces. They were marched for days in the scorching heat through the Philippine jungles. Thousands died. Those who survived faced the hardships of a prisoner of war camp. Others were wounded or killed when unmarked enemy ships transporting prisoners of war to Japan were sunk by U.S. air and naval forces.

Our cadets visited the memorial in Las Cruces paying respects to the memorials erected in honor of the veterans of Bataan as well as the Vietnam War.

 

The Vietnam Memorial in Las Cruces, NM

 Cadet Wells, Bendler, and Csizmadia listening to Vietnam veterans

The Bataan Death March Memorial

The marathon began early on Sunday morning.  The course of the marathon was extremely difficult featuring sandy trail, long hills and no cover from the sun.  At the finish line finishers were able to shake the hands of several veterans that were in the Bataan Death March during WWII.  It was an extremely humbling experience.  The team finished in 4 hours and 39 minutes taking 3^rd place out of 11 in the ROTC light team competition behind Saint John’s Army ROTC and the U of M Army ROTC teams.  It was the first marathon for everyone on the team.  The overall trip was a success and a great experience for everyone on the team.

The team approaching the finish line

While talking about the race, Cadet Csizmadia said, “It started out at 35 degrees. I was shaking so badly that the people in the group behind us asked if I was okay.” Cadet Syed added, “The heat wasn’t nearly as big of a factor as the cold.”

When asked about specific memorable events of the race Cadet Syed told a short story where, “A Chief Master Sergeant came running by and asked the team if they were doing alright and they responded that they were doing just fine. He responded with ‘Well Airmen don’t walk…but since you guys are cadets I guess it’s okay’. Boy that lit a fire in us and we passed him within the last quarter mile (ironically, he was walking).”

On the same topic, Cadet Csizmadia said “the sheer number of people at the race was inspiring. There were teams from Germany, Canada, France, Australia, and even Great Britain. Seeing them all there in support was amazing. There were around 6,000 runners and the youngest was 10 and the oldest was in his mid 70’s.”

On the topic of good food, during the trip Cadet Csizmadia said they stopped at a really nice Mexican restaurant on the border in El Paso. Cadet Syed chimed in that the food was wonderful and he would definitely do it again but he “wouldn’t do the Chimichangas the day before the race.”

Driving down must have been an interesting experience. Both Cadet Csizmadia and Cadet Syed agreed that the car ride on the way down was much more comfortable and roomy compared to the ride back when they had one extra member join them.

Overall, the cadets on the trip seemed to have an amazing time and Cadet Larson and Cadet Csizmadia said they would gladly do it again. With the success of this experience, it is sure to be a new detachment tradition for years to come.