CSC COURSE RECALLING, EXPERIENCING THE BATAAN DEATH MARCH

Front row - Mario Brown ,Williamsburg, Va.; Justin Dekok, Kearney, Neb.; William Jeffery, Rapid City, S.D., Austin Welke, Battle Creek, Neb.; Kassie VanDiest, Dunning, Neb.; Casey Stiles, Denver, Colo.; Daniel Hogsett, Lamar, Neb., and Evan Baker, Ord, Neb. Back row - Jessica Koch, Basin, Wyo.; Nakaya Fester, Hemmingford, Neb.; Amanda Gibbs, Gering, Neb. and Sarah Polak. (Franklin Annis not pictured) — Front row – Mario Brown ,Williamsburg, Va.; Justin Dekok, Kearney, Neb.; William Jeffery, Rapid City, S.D., Austin Welke, Battle Creek, Neb.; Kassie VanDiest, Dunning, Neb.; Casey Stiles, Denver, Colo.; Daniel Hogsett, Lamar, Neb., and Evan Baker, Ord, Neb. Back row – Jessica Koch, Basin, Wyo.; Nakaya Fester, Hemmingford, Neb.; Amanda Gibbs, Gering, Neb. and Sarah Polak. (Franklin Annis not pictured)

One of the greatest war crimes of WWII was the Bataan Death March in the Phillipines, where some 80,000 American and Filipino soldiers were marched by their Japanese captors 80 miles over 3 days in April 1942 with no food or water. As many as 10,000 died or were executed along the way.

Two Chadron State College programs…ROTC and Museum Studies…have joined forces this spring to offer a Military Science Leadership course it, and all 11 students will get a taste of what the soldiers went through by taking part in next month’s 24th Annual Bataan Memorial Death March at White Sands Missile Base, N.M.

ROTC instructor 1st Lt Franklin Annis says 2 of the students will attempt the 14-mile short course at White Sands while the other 9 will take the full 26.2-mile course carrying 35-pound packs. While Annis admits they “will never actually know the fear of death” of the Death March, he says the student will get a taste of the suffering they experienced.

Sandoz Center director and Museum Sciences instructor Sarah Polak says the students in the course…both ROTC cadets and civilians…are having their mental, emotional, and physical capabilities stretched by what they’re learning in the classroom and in the intense training for the March 17 exercise in New Mexico.

One of the students is junior Amanda Gibb of Gering. She says learning about the Bataan Death March has opened her eyes and inspired her to get involved…with the Memorial March a way to both honor the soldiers who suffered in the Philippines and to inspire the next generation of Americans.

The students are also trying to raise at least 350 pounds of food to be carried by the 11 of them attempting the full Memorial March course. The food carried on the march will be donated to a New Mexico shelter, while any raised above 350 pounds will go to local veterans in need.

Both human food and pet food are being accepted at three locations in Chadron: the CSC Student Center, the Bean Broker, and Wreckers Roadhouse.

Videos of the students in the Chadron State class training for the Bataan Memorial Death March are posted weekly at www.gofundme.com/bataan.