25th Bataan Memorial Death March in US draws more than 6,000 attendees

The Bataan Memorial Death March celebrated its 25th anniversary last March 22 at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico (NM).

Begun more than 70 years after the original Bataan Death March, the event—which serves to commemorate the survivors and victims—drew in more than 6,200 participants, according to news site Carlsbad Current-Argus. Among the attendees were 13 Bataan survivors, almost all of them in their 90's.

"There was nothing to eat and nothing to drink, and you had to keep marching," Eugene Schmitz, a 96-year-old survivor, told El Paso Times.

He added, "Many fell by the wayside on that march. You couldn't help them; you just kept going, wondering if you were going to be next."

In 1989, ROTC cadet Ray Pickering suggested a memorial event commemorating World War II to his instructor at New Mexico State University.

Alamogordo Daily News reported that the memorial marathon was opened to civilians in 1993.

Military officers and ROTC candidates were placed in a separate category apart from civilians, but both trekked 26.2 miles of sand for the course. Those who could not go through the full marathon instead settled for the Bataan Honorary March, which only covered 14.2 miles.

Filipino and American forces were forced to march from Bataan to Tarlac in April 1942, after the Japanese Army beat the allied forces at the battle of Bataan. The US Army website states that civilians and prisoners alike were slaughtered during the 65 mile walk, though the exact number is still unknown. — Rie Takumi/VC, GMA News

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