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                         May 3, 2002

West Point soldiers take 2nd at Bataan Memorial

By Jim Fox
Staff Writer

Five U.S. Military Academy soldiers took part in the Bataan Memorial Death March at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., April 14.

The event featured 14 team categories. The West Point team finished second in the Coed Military Light Division with a time of 5:33:07, fifty-four minutes out of first place. The five-person USMA squad was the 205th team to finish.

Military Police Company Commander Capt. Brian Locke, Protocol Sgt. 1st Class Julius Gonzales and MPs Sgt. 1st Class Marko Hakama, Staff Sgt. Tina Mendes and Sgt. Matthew Waterfield competed with more than 4,000 others in traversing the 26.2-mile march through the high desert terrain of WSMR.

This year’s Memorial March celebrated the 60th anniversary of the surrender of U.S. and Philippine forces on Bataan to the invading Japanese during World War II and the march to Japanese prison camps that ensued.

The MP team started preparing for the march in January. The soldiers put in roughly 250 hours of training for the grueling event, Locke said.

"The true reason we participate in this march is to honor the veterans of the real Bataan Death March," Locke said. "An added bonus is to be able to compete and receive recognition."

The march starts on the missile range main post, crosses hilly terrain, winds around a small mountain and returns to the finish line through sandy desert trails and washes. The elevation varies from about 4,100 to 5,300 feet.

The event, which began in 1989, is open to military (active-duty, Reserve, National Guard, ROTC, JROTC or retired) and civilian teams and individuals in either heavy or light divisions. All "heavy" division marchers must carry a 35-pound rucksack.