Memorializing the Hardships of the Past

By Sgt. 1st Class Brian Hamilton

108th Training Command (IET) Public Affairs

CHARLOTTE, N.C. —“I did my first Bataan Memorial Death March in 2008 on a whim, just to see if I could do it,” said Col. Dan Arkins, 108th Training Command (IET) chief of staff.

On April 9, 1942, the march of tens of thousands of American and Filipino prisoners of war from Mariveles, Bataan to San Fernando, Pampanga by Japanese forces began after the threemonth Battle of Bataan in the Philippines during World War II. This march is infamously known as the Bataan Death March.

In 1989, the first Bataan Memorial Death March was created by the Army ROTC Department of the New Mexico State University in an effort to pay tribute to the many Veterans who lost their lives on the 60 mile route; but also those who survived.

Since that inaugural memorial event in 1989, the number of participants has gone from about 100 to more than 10,000 from all across the country. Marchers now trek through the New Mexico desert on a 26.2 mile course that starts and finishes on the White Sands Missile Range.

“Each year is different. The one constant is actual survivors from the Bataan Death March shake hands with participants at the start. Those numbers have dwindled dramatically year after year,” said Arkins, who recently completed his sixth Bataan Memorial Death March. “It’s always humbling to think what they went through.”

It has been estimated that between 2,500 and 10,650 combined American and Filipino service members died during the 60 mile march alone, though the exact number will never be known. It was a march characterized by beatings, bayoneting, dehydration and starvation.

Those that survived faced grueling hardships in a prisoner of war camp marred by poor hygiene and a lack of food and water in a disease stricken region. Many more thousands died there after reaching Camp O’Donnell.

Arkins, a 32-year Veteran of the military, completed this year’s course in 11 hours and 12 minutes.

“There is only one way to train. Throw on a ruck and your combat boots and walk long distances. It was very difficult to train in New England this year as we had a record 5 feet of snow. There weren’t many sidewalks or clear roads to train on for the last six weeks.”

With a temperature of 81 degrees and a maximum elevation at more than 5,300 feet, many experienced marchers dubbed it the toughest event they had ever been in. One comment on the event’s message board read, “This was my 36th marathon. Although it was by far the toughest it was also the most rewarding.”

The reasons vary for those who accept the challenge to complete the march, but for Arkins it has become more about giving back.

“For the last two years, I have done it as a fundraiser for The Home Base Program at Massachusetts General Hospital. I secured over $7000 in donations this year. About $7500 last year,” Arkins said. “Like a lot of other marchers, I load my ruck with 30-pounds of rice which is donated to a local food pantry at the end of the march.”

None of us can ever fully repay these Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines for the hardships they endured in protecting our freedoms. We can only attempt to memorialize them through events like the Bataan Memorial Death March. That’s what Col. Dan Arkins does.

Col. Dan Arkins, 108th Training Command (IET) chief of staff, stops at mile 13 of the Bataan Memorial Death March to pose for a picture. Arkins completed his sixth BMDM on March 22, 2015. Courtesy photo