Participants in the 28th Bataan Memorial Death March donate more than 27,500 pounds of food

By

Ashley Bunch

Members of the 1st Combined Arms Battalion, 194th Armor and supporting participants, honored their WWII brethren who were forced to endure a 97 kilometer (60 mile) march infamously known as the Bataan Death March. Of the 76,000 American and Filipino prisoners of war who were forced to march, nearly 10,000 of them died along the way. This is the 18th Annual Bataan Memorial March and this year, participants in uniform carry with them the names of the WWII Minnesotan veterans who were part of this piece of history. “Remember Bataan, Never Forget!”

More than 6,300 participants last Sunday commemorated the 75th anniversary of the Bataan Death March by marching 14.2 miles or 26.2 miles at White Sands Missile Range’s main post in New Mexico, reported Las Cruces Sun-News. 

Coordinators of the 28th Bataan Memorial Death March asked participants in the “Heavy Division” to pack their rucks with at least 35 pounds of non-perishable food to donate at the end of the march.

And donate they did. The event brought in more than 27,500 pound of food, which went to local food banks such as Casa de Peregrinos.

The fundraiser was a success and, “[a]part from the heat, we didn’t have any other issues,” Lisa Frankson, director of the White Sands’ Family and Morale Welfare and Recreation program, told the Sun-News.

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Ashley Bunch