Memorial march a new tradition

SDSU cadets honor history by participating in Bataan Memorial Death March

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BROOKINGS – Cadets in the U.S. Air Force ROTC detachment at South Dakota State University have developed a new post-spring break tradition – participating in the Bataan Memorial Death March at White Sands Missile Range near Las Cruces, New Mexico.

This year, a record 16 cadets made the one-way, 22-hour drive to the military installation to participate in the March 25 event with 8,470 marchers, which was an 18 percent increase over the record set in 2017. Participants could choose either the 14.2- or 26.2-mile course. The SDSU participants covered the full marathon, which had 4,471 finishers.

Three SDSU cadets took part in the 2015 march. Numbers rose to six in 2016 and 10 last year.

“This year, we had a lot of eager freshmen who wanted to try something new and some seniors who wanted to give it a try before they graduated,” said Jordyn Berg, a junior from Waseca, Minnesota, who participated in her third Bataan March. Senior Chandler Bauer of Owatonna, Minn., also has participated three times.

Returning for a second year were Andrew Finch, Brandon; Coral Franklin, Dolliver, Iowa; and Graysen Trandem, Custer.

Memorializes 1942 march in Bataan

While the trip was two weeks after spring break, it did have some attributes of a spring break trip – four carloads of collegians driving a long ways to find a warm destination and bringing home some sunburns.

But that’s about where the connection ends. “This honors those veterans who took part in the original Bataan Death March. After the opening ceremony, you get to shake hands with some of the men who survived the Bataan Death March,” Berg said. This year there were seven, including a 98-year-old man who walked more than 8 miles.

However, many are in wheelchairs. “There are less and less each year,” she said. The names of 28 survivors who died in the past year were read at the opening ceremony.

The U.S. Army organizes the Bataan Memorial Death March to honor the World War II soldiers who suffered during the April 1942 march after some 70,000 American and Filipino service members surrendered to Japanese forces. Thousands died during the 80-mile march due to brutal treatment and conditions.

“It’s important to remember what this is truly all about and that’s about those survivors and those that aren’t here with us any longer,” Eric L. Sanchez, brigadier general at White Sands Missile Range, said during the opening ceremony. 

Sand trail makes for challenging course

Some participants compete in the military division, meaning they carry a 35-pound rucksack. SDSU’s participants were in the civilian division and dressed in shorts and T-shirts or tank tops with sun hats. “It was challenging. There were a lot of blisters at the end. Everyone was very sore. The next two days afterward it’s hard to walk,” Berg said.

Five in the SDSU group ran a good portion of the marathon and finished in six hours. The walkers finished in 10 hours after starting at 8:20 a.m.

To underscore the difficulty of the event, only eight people finished in under four hours, a fairly common finishing time for traditional marathons.

Of the course, Berg said, “For a while, it’s on pavement. It starts out nice. You don’t realize how hard it’s going to get. Then you hit sand and you take one step forward but it feels like you’re taking three steps back. There also a small mountain to scale.” She said the weather was cooperative – highs in the upper 70s and cloudy.

Some local military groups helped underwrite a portion of the trip. The cadets paid for the rest out of their pockets. Unlike past years, the group choose not to jump right into the cars to head home. After letting their weary bodies recover some by staying another night at a motel, they hit the road early Monday morning, their bodies creaking a bit when they unfolded and exited the cars at rest stops.

Sore but thankful to help keep a bit of history alive and create some history of their own as well as further the detachment’s new post-spring break tradition.

Courtesy photos: Above, rejoicing at the final mile marker in the 29th annual Bataan Memorial Death March at Las Cruces, New Mexico, March 25 are Kathryn McClure, Brooke Balfe, Sophie Cole, Andrew Finch, Gavin Doering, Coral Franklin and Emily Johnson. They only had one-fifth of a mile to go to finish their 10-hour walk.

Below, posing before the start of the 29th annual Bataan Memorial Death March at Las Cruces, New Mexico, March 25 are 16 members of the U.S. Air Force ROTC detachment at South Dakota State University. They are, from left: front row, Coral Franklin, Dolliver, Iowa; second row, Sophie Cole, Watertown; Jacob Carlson, Mayer, Minnesota; Cole Jorgensen, Hartford; Kathryn McClure, Hoven; and Meghan Ulmer, Marion, Iowa; third row, Brooke Balfe, Kilkenny, Minn.; Ashley Menor, Ramona; Gabe Lamb, Rapid City; Jordyn Berg, Waseca, Minn.; Emily Johnson, Canton;  and Chandler Bauer, Owatonna, Minn.; fourth row, Averill Sorensen, Rapid City; Graysen Trandem, Custer; Gavin Doering, Alcester; and Andrew Finch, Brandon.