The Bataan Memorial March is an annual event to honor veterans who were victims of the original Bataan Death March, a war crime in which 78,000 individuals were forced to march over 55 miles from the Bataan Peninsula to be held as prisoners of war at Camp O’Donnell following the surrender of Allied Forces in the Philippines in 1942.
Along the harsh journey, troops were beaten at random, denied food and water for days at a time and executed if they became weak and fell out of the march. As a result of the cruel treatment by the Japanese, who had not counted on transporting such a large number of POWs, nearly 20,000 individuals lost their lives.
The proud organizers of the event, the 1st Battalion, 194th Armor Regiment from Brainerd, Minn., hold a deep connection to the veterans of the Bataan Death March. In 1941, Soldiers from the Brainerd Army National Guard’s 194th Tank Battalion deployed to the Philippines and were attacked on the Bataan Peninsula by the Japanese. Those heroes fought for five months in sustained combat and experienced first-hand the atrocities of the Bataan Death March. Those who survived then suffered in POW camps for three years.
Soldiers from the 34th Red Bull Infantry Division and 10th Mountain Division stationed in here showed their respect to fallen heroes and surviving veterans of the Death March by competing in 10 and 20-mile races in both light and heavy divisions.
Maj. Thomas Sutton, 10th Mountain Division Soldier and winner of the 20-mile light division race, was one of the more than 80 Soldiers who marched on in the sand and sun to participate in the event.
“This was a great opportunity,” said Sutton. “I just wanted to finish! But I went slow and kept a steady pace, and everything worked out.”
Winners of the Bataan Memorial March, COB Basra are: Lt. Col. Christopher Tatarka, 20-mile Heavy Division; Maj. Thomas Sutton, 20-mile Light Division; Maj. Gerald Bohl, 10-mile Heavy Division; 1st Lt. Eric Lewanski and 1st Lt. Matthew Rose, 10-mile Light Division.
