Atterbury Soldiers compete in 22nd Bataan Memorial Death March

Photo By Sgt. 1st Class David Bruce | Sgt. Joshua Chenault of Bloomington, Ind., and Staff Sgt. Tom Smith of Logansport, Ind., greet survivors of the original Bataan Death March after crossing the finish line at the 22nd Bataan Memorial Death March held at White Sands Missile Range, near Las Cruces, N.M., March 27. Chenault and Smith were part of Camp Atterbury heavy team that completed the 26-mile March in 5 hours and 42 minutes, finishing first place for National Guard heavy teams and faster than any previous Indiana National Guard team.  

WHITE SANDS MISSILE RANGE, NM, UNITED STATES

03.27.2011

Story by Staff Sgt. David Bruce 

Camp Atterbury Indiana

WHITE SANDS MISSILE RANGE, N.M. — Indiana Army National guardsmen from Camp Atterbury Joint Maneuver Training Center joined more than 6,300 people in the 22nd Bataan Memorial Death Match, held at White Sands Missile Range, near Las Cruces, N.M., March 27.

The annual event was started in 1989 by the New Mexico State University Reserve Officer Training Corps to commemorate the survivors of the Bataan Death March. The original Death March was the forcible transfer of more than 75,000 American and Filipino prisoners of war by Imperial Japanese forces during early 1942 following the three-month Battle of Bataan and the fall of Corregidor, an island-fortress at the entrance to Manila Bay in the Philippines, a month afterward. It is estimated that 6,000 to 11,000 POWs died during the march with an undetermined amount later dying due to conditions endured during the march.

The Camp Atterbury soldiers formed two five-member teams, one light and one heavy for the 26-mile course. The heavy team had a goal to finish first in their class, National Guard Heavy, which they did with a time of 5 hours and 42 minutes.

“This is the fastest time by an Indiana heavy team,” said Capt. Andrew Miller, heavy team member, of Brownsburg, Ind.

The Bataan Memorial Death March consists of two distances, a 15-mile and a 26-mile march. Participants are also classified as either ‘light’ or ‘heavy’ and further divided by military or civilian, individual or team, ROTC, and National Guard. The light marchers complete either the 15-mile or 26-mile course without a pack. In the heavy division, the marchers complete their respective course wearing a backpack weighing a minimum of 35 pounds. Many of the marchers use food, such as rice, to add weight which is donated to a Las Cruces-area foodbank.

The members of the heavy team were: Maj. Gary Blagburn, provost marshal, from Fishers, Ind.; Capt. Andrew Miller, post transportation officer, from Browsburg, Ind.; Staff Sgt. Tom Smith, of Logansport, Ind., Sgt. Joshua Chenault and Spc. Anthony Pope, both from Bloomington, Ind., all with the Range Training Team. The light team consisted of Command Sgt. Maj. Rodney Spade, post command sergeant major, from Arlington, Ohio; Sgt. 1st Class Nicholas Bruner, from Evansville, Ind., Staff Sgt. Keith Wood, from Shelbyville, Ind., Sgt. Robert Berentez, from Mitchell, Ind. and Sgt. Richard Codd, from Franklin, Ind., all, except Spade, from the Range Training Team. Sgt. Tyson Waldron, from Fishers, Ind., also with the Range Training Team, competed as an individual in this year’s March.

The event began at 7 a.m. March 27 accompanied with chilly temperatures and relentless winds up to 30 mph. As the day progressed, the temperatures rose with the sun, however the winds did not abate. The course took the marchers into the New Mexico desert, through sand, up mountains and on roads, all under a cloudless sky and beating sun.

The wind and constant exposure to the sun made for harsh conditions for the marchers. Along the route, aid stations are established with volunteers passing out water and Gatorade to keep the marchers hydrated. Medical personnel are standing by should anybody require medical treatment.

“Going out there is no joke,” said Sgt. Richard Codd, from Franklin, Ind., a light team member and a veteran of two previous marches. “It will beat you to hell and back. You get out there and surprises happen. I’ve seen teams lose to lesser teams in the past. It’s a lot of pain, but I think it’s worth it.”

The most frequently voiced environmental obstacle was the wind.

“The wind was horrible, especially up the mountains,” said Sgt. Joshua Chenault, of Bloomington, Ind., a member of the Camp Atterbury heavy team, “We would get ready to run, and the wind would hit us and we couldn’t run. Going down the mountains, the wind was at our backs, so it helped.”

“We beat our goal pace, going faster than expected,” said Chenault. “We wanted first place or at least place for a medal.

“We hit the start running and kept running,” said Chenault. “I was a little nervous. This was my second march, so I knew what was to come — sand, mountains, sun and wind — hoping I had trained enough.”

The teams were created after a series of tryouts; the five fastest composed the heavy team, the next five were designated for the light team, said Miller.

“A lot of the guys have experience with the march which helps out,” said Miller. “They know what to expect.”

The Atterbury teams arrived in New Mexico a week prior to the march to get acclimated to the harsh desert environment and higher altitudes, said Miller.

“It’s critical to get used to the altitude,” said Miller. “It also gives us time to come together as a team and focus on the event.”

Team members ran six to eight miles every other day and once a week put on the backpack and marched 12 miles in preparation for this year’s march, said Spc. Anthony Pope, a heavy team member and first time marcher, of Bloomington, Ind.

“A lot of it is mental,” said Pope. “You just keep going, everybody is hurting, but you’ve come this far, so keep going.”

The Marchers start and end the event by meeting survivors of the Bataan Death March.

“I think we shouldn’t be compared to them,” said Pope. “To look into their eyes and wonder what they went through, I wouldn’t want to relive that. We had people helping us, giving us water and making sure we were all right. They had the opposite. It’s humbling.”

While the accomplishments of all the marchers, not just the Camp Atterbury teams, are significant, the purpose of the march is to remember the ordeal that the survivors went through. It is their memory that drives the marchers to the finish line.

• Date Taken: 03.27.2011
• Date Posted: 04.22.2011 12:46
• Story ID: 69182
• Location: WHITE SANDS MISSILE RANGE, NM, US