Annual Bataan Memorial Death March - a Grueling Reminder of the Past

The participants in The Bataan Memorial Death March are training for a marathon in the desert, but this is no ordinary marathon. It's a marathon through the desert outside Las Cruces, New Mexico in late March. The Memorial Death March covers the marathon standard 26.2 miles, with a shorter, 15 mile route available. Survivors of the original Bataan Death March see the runners off and greet them upon their return.

The Bataan Death March of World War II was a forced march of American and Filipino prisoners-of-war on the island of Luzan in the Philippines. The POWs were marched to a Japanese internment camp 90 miles away, under the most grueling and inhumane treatment imaginable. Thirty of those miles were traveled in tiny, hot rail cars with no room for the dead to fall. Some 72,000 prisoners began the march, and about 54,000 survived it. Some of the survivors later died from delayed effects of the march. It was later considered a war crime perpetrated by the Japanese.

The participants of the Bataan Memorial Death March are both military and civilians, marathon runners and hikers, patriots and those who simply want to test themselves. Many veterans, including 32 amputees from Iraq and Afghanistan, marched in 2008. The military marchers may choose to march dressed as civilians or in military uniform, including boots. There are categories for "heavy" and "light". "Heavy" marchers carry an additional 35 pound pack for the entire route. They are encouraged to carry canned goods and other non-perishable foods to make the weight. All the food will then be donated to a Las Cruces food bank.

The New Mexican desert can be grueling, even in late March. The marathon trail includes an area of deep, soft sand. The route's elevation varies from 4,100 to 5,300 feet, with very little of the course along flat ground. Marchers must watch out for rattlesnakes and other wildlife as well as cacti and thorny bushes. They must also watch for unexploded ordinance - this is, after all, a military training ground. The winds typically blow this time of year, sometimes whipping up vicious dust storms. There will be water stops and plenty of support for weary, blistered runners and their feet. Typically, about 25% of entrants don't finish this march - roughly the same percentage that died during the Bataan Death March in 1942.

The Bataan Memorial Death March was started by the Army ROTC at New Mexico State University. About 100 people marched in that 1989 memorial. As many as 4000 will march in the 2009 twentieth anniversary. The Memorial Death March was moved to White Sands Missile Range when the Range and the New Mexico National Guard picked up sponsorship. The march was canceled in 2003 because so many of the participants and members of the National Guard were deployed in the Middle East.

The 2009 Bataan Memorial Death March will be held on March 29th. Registration closes on March 26th. White Sands Missile Range is in southern New Mexico, not far from Las Cruces and north of El Paso, TX. Registration and more information can be found at http://www.bataanmarch.com/default.htm

Sources and further reading:
http://www.bataanmarch.com/default.htm
http://www.fourthmarinesband.com/march.htm
http://www.bataansurvivor.com/index.php