But it was clearly the most uncomfortable!

Completed the Bataan Death March at White Sands Missile Range last Sunday. Next time these jocks that my wife hangs around with suggest another "event" for us I will do a little more background research before I sign up.

The "Death March" is a memorial to the Americans and Filipinos lost in the surrender to the Japanese in 1942. It is a marathon of 26.2 miles in the White Sands desert that is designed to suck and it does. One of the accents is over 9 miles long and climbs over 5000' much in deep sand, just one foot in front of the other.

There were a few of the remaining survivors of there. Huge respect for them.

When it seems that it was just about time to call it a day we would come up on a amputee for the wars motoring through the sand. Big hearts and tough enough.

At the end we were glad and honored to be part of this beautiful memorial but have on desire to do it again. It's one and done.

26.2 miles of double timing...

Still standing at the end and smiling because its over!

One of the last still alive. This is what it's all about. Huge respect.

I live near Harrodsburg, KY where a fairly large number of the GIs in the march originated.

Their descriptions of the march were pretty rough (mild statement).

If you had to stop to rest, get a rock out of your shoe, beg for water etc.

you took a bullet (or worse).

The Hitachi plant in Harrodsburg was not well received years ago.

...let me suggest reading "1051" by Millard Hileman. It's his story, told quite frankly, about the Bataan Death March, life in the Phillipine jungles, Japanese POW camp, and then being shipped back to Japan late in the war. He lived here in Kennewick, and I was fortunate enough to get an autographed copy before he passed away.

...

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Of the Troops & For the Troops

nt

I couldn't do it, may their sacrifices never be forgotten.

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