Honoring heroes: 5,000 people participate in 2023 Bataan Memorial Death March
Leah Romero
WHITE SANDS – Nearly 5,000 marchers hiked the high desert of White Sands Missile Range Sunday in the first in-person Bataan Memorial Death March since 2019.
People from all over the world traveled to New Mexico this past week to complete the courses, including military members, marathon athletes and descendants of Bataan prisoners of war. About 3,400 people registered for the 26.2-mile-long course while 678 completed the honorary 14.2-mile course. About 500 other people completed the mileage virtually.
This year was the 34th annual memorial march and the 81st anniversary of the Bataan Death March in the Philippines during World War II. Approximately 75,000 U.S. and Filipino military members were forced to surrender to the Japanese in April 1942 and march 65 miles through the jungle to prison camps.
Soldiers, including members of the New Mexico National Guard, were tortured, given little to no food or water and some were executed along the way. Thousands of people died.
Participation in the memorial march reached about 10,000 people in 2019 before it was canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was held virtually in 2021 and 2022.
People arrived to White Sands Missile Range early Sunday morning or camped out on the installation in preparation for the early start. Former POW Valdemar De Herrera, 103, was present at the opening ceremony and was recognized by WSMR Commander Brig. Gen. Eric Little.
“While you're marching through the high desert this morning, likely into the afternoon, remember those who were forced to participate in a very different march 81 years ago, many to the death. When your feet hurt, knees, hips, whatever the body part think about them. Use that as fuel to reinforce your remembrance of these great heroes. We, everyone marching, really are privileged with the opportunity to honor sacrifice today,” Little said.
It was still dark and near freezing temperatures when marchers set off along the course.
Luciano Valerio, 70, and his son-in-law, Robby Frondozo, 45, marched together Sunday in honor of Valerio’s uncle, Leonardo Aguilar. Aguilar, a private first class, died in the Philippines on May 15, 1942. He was 23.
Scott and Tom Maddux, 41 and 73, also signed up together for the march. Scott said his father has participated in the memorial march for around 20 years. He’s a retired Air Force major and former marine from Albuquerque.
“This is his favorite race to do and, you know, he's getting a little older and so this is probably his last time that he's going to be able to do this,” Scott Maddux said of his father.
Valentine Roberts traveled to Las Cruces from Hawaii for the marathon. He is a member of the National Guard’s All Guard Marathon Team and completed his first full-length Bataan march Sunday.
“The folks that had to conduct the real Bataan, you know, they’re in so much harsher conditions than we are,” Roberts said. “We got water and bananas and all kinds of stuff on the course. I mean, they didn’t have anything. They were already like skin and bones, hungry, dehydrated to begin with. So, you know, just kind of playing that in your head while you’re running its’s like ‘well, this isn’t so bad if you think about it,’ you know what I mean. So definitely eye opening.”
Sean Conejos ,37, was one of many people who chose to wear similar military uniforms worn by POWs from 1942. He explained that his grandfather was a guerilla in the Philippines and taught him about the scouts who served, including cousins of his. One cousin died during the Bataan Death March while another survived Bataan but died in a prison camp.
Canejos wore a scout uniform like his family members would have worn. He also had a helmet attached to the back of his bag which was signed by Bataan survivors.
“This is in memory of (my family),” Conejos said. “This is kind of in memory of (those veterans who signed the helmet) too.”
Since the 2019 march, about 20 Bataan veterans had passed away. Their names were read aloud during the opening ceremony and a moment of silence was observed.
“We are all marching to honor some of the most heroic and courageous men and women imaginable. Our greatest generation,” Little said.
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Leah Romero is the trending reporter at the Las Cruces Sun-News and can be reached at 575-418-3442, LRomero@lcsun-news.com or @rromero_leah on Twitter.