The Bataan Memorial Death March is held every April at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico. 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. The conditions they encountered and the aftermath of the battle were unique. They fought in a malaria-infesterd region, surviving on half or quarter rations with little or no medical help. They fought with outdated equipment and virtually no air power.

On April 9, 1942, tens of thousands of American and Fillipino soldiers surrendered to Japanese forces. The Americans were Army, Army Air Corps, Navy and Marines. Among those seized were members of the 100th Coast Artillery, New Mexico National Guard.

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.

The Army ROTC Department at New Mexico State Universtiy began sponsoring the memorial march in 1989 to mark a page in history which included so many native sons and affected many families in the state. In 1992, White Sands Missile Range and the New Mexico National Guard joined in the sponsorship and the event was moved to the missile range.

The 25-mile route starts on the WSMR main post, crosses hilly desert terrain, circles a small mountain and returns to the main post through desert trails and washes. The starting elevation is 4100 feet and climbs to 5300 feet.

Bataan Memorial Death March, White Sands Missile Range, April 19, 1998

Company H/NSGA Medina TX, combined Marine Corps/Navy Team

Before the start; 25 miles & one mountain to go.
 

Passing the missle park
 

First stop - breakfast; three miles down, 22 to go.
 

Yours truly, looking back at the dust cloud we were stumbling through.
 

Waterstop at about seven miles. Mountain yet to be climbed in the distance.

Entire team (no drops) holding finisher's keychain in front of med-tents
full of cots with IVs, and blistered and dehydrated marchers.
(Back row: Cpl (now LT) Pino, CTI1(SG/NAC) Frye, Sgt (now Mr.) Gallardo.
Front row: CTI2(SG) Skinner, Capt Vinfrido, me)

"We're the Battling Bastards of Bataan,
No mama, no papa, no Uncle Sam,
No aunts, no uncles, no cousins, no nieces,
No pills, no planes, no artillery pieces,
And nobody gives a damn!"

by Frank Hewlett, 1942.