Cadets Participate in Bataan Memorial Death March
Jason Kadah
Jason Kadah
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Jason Kadah
Mar 30, 2016, 11:00 AM
Nine Prescott Air Force ROTC cadets recently participated in the Bataan Memorial Death March, held at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. The event was challenging both mentally and physically, as the cadets marched 26.2 miles and carried 45 pounds of weight on their backs.
The annual event is conducted in honor of the roughly 75,000 Filipino and American troops who were forced to make an exhausting 65-mile march to prison camps following the surrender of the Bataan Peninsula on the main Philippine Island of Luzon during World War II. The troops sacrificed their freedom, health and in many cases, their lives, hence becoming known as the Bataan Death March.
“You forget all about the pain when someone who is missing a leg walks up next to you and gives you words of motivation,” said AFROTC Cadet Christopher DeVries. “Bataan is one of the most rewarding things I have done and I highly encourage those that are interested, to try.”