Photo By Sgt. Austin Hazard | A U.S. Marine with the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) sprints up the 100-yard...... read more read more
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U.S. 5TH FLEET AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY – Thud thud thud thud thud. The soft, quick bangs echoed throughout the medical workspaces. Thirty here, fifty there. But the ship’s corpsmen pay it no mind and go about their business.
Above, a thunderous cycle of action endlessly repeats. Muscles tighten, expand, exert; tendons and ligaments stretch, contract, flex; explosions of movement that propel the runners up the 45-degree ramp in bursts and spurts.
Over and over, they sprint its 100-yard length. Once, five times, 10 times, 21.
Some run it for the challenge, the test of will and fitness, others run it solely for the exercise, still others run it for the camaraderie, but all run to commemorate and to remember.
The day, April 9, 2014, marked the 72nd anniversary of the start of the Bataan Death March, the forced transfer of 60,000-80,000 Filipino and American prisoners of war by the Imperial Japanese Army, following the Battle of Bataan.
It is for that battle that the USS Bataan (LHD 5) was named, the second U.S. Navy ship to bear the name, and for that fatal march that U.S. Marines and U.S. Navy Sailors of the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) and the Bataan ran this challenge.
“We wanted to do something that was representative of those that we were honoring,” explained U.S. Navy Lt. Karsten Hain, 22nd MEU dental officer and native of Reed City, Mich. “We noticed that many Marines and Sailors liked to run the ramps, and ramp running lends itself well to a team relay. It’s very arduous, but scalable for people of all ability levels.”
In memoriam of the men, battle worn and emaciated, who were forced to march the 63 miles from Mariveles to Camp O’Donnell in Capas, Marines and Sailors ran the ramps 63 times in three-man teams, splitting the total between them.
“Me, personally, I took it as a challenge to complete it as fast as possible,” said Sgt. Jerel Thompson, Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 22nd MEU, platoon sergeant and native of Tallahassee, Fla. “I did get fatigued, I did feel the hurt, so it was a good challenge.”
Teams had 24 hours to complete the event, though it was not a race and there were no winners.
“My thought process was to put myself in their shoes as much as possible without actually doing a 63-mile death march,” said Thompson.
“When I participated, I was overwhelmed by the spirit of those I saw participating,” commented Hain, who organized the event. “Marines and Sailors alike, running side-by-side, working hard together and focusing on a shared challenge. To me, that’s very emblematic of what it means to serve in our blue/green team, Navy and Marines.”
According to Hain, several hundred Marines and Sailors participated in the event, though exact participation is difficult to judge since there was no sign-up and many teams did not report their completion times.
“You’re aboard the ship that shares the name, pushing your limits in memory of those men who were pushed to theirs,” said Thompson. “It’s a great way to commemorate their sacrifice.”
The 22nd MEU is deployed with the Bataan Amphibious Ready Group as a theater reserve and crisis response force throughout U.S. Central Command and the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility.
| Date Taken: | 04.09.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 04.23.2014 07:40 |
| Story ID: | 127189 |
| Location: | U.S. 5TH FLEET AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY , USAFRICOM, AT SEA |
| Hometown: | REED CITY, MI, US |
| Hometown: | TALLAHASSEE, FL, US |
| Web Views: | 360 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
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