The Remember Bataan Foundation of Las Cruces held a welcome reception to honor the Heroes of Bataan & Corregidor and their families March 14 at the White Sands Missile Range Frontier Club.
Heroes of Bataan reception honors memory of those who served
They endured the march, starvation, hell ships, slave labor, torture, and bombings, and although some were lost, and others survived, their descendants will always remember their sacrifice.
The Remember Bataan Foundation of Las Cruces held a welcome reception to honor the Heroes of Bataan & Corregidor and their families March 14 at the White Sands Missile Range Frontier Club.
The organization exists to preserve the memory of the “Battling Bastards of Bataan” and to educate this generation and future generations of their sacrifice.
During the reception family members stood up to tell stories of their loved ones who were part of the Battling Bastards of Bataan as Foundation President Bonnie Schurtz read their names.
“82 years ago, approximately 12,000 American Soldiers and 63,000 Filipino Soldiers marched 65 miles through the Philippines so that we can be free today. On Saturday, 5,000 of us will march across White Sands Missile Range to commemorate their great sacrifices,” said WSMR Commander Col. George C. Turner at the reception. “As we march, we will remember that these men were held captive so that we can be free. As we march, we will remember that these men were tortured so that we can be free. As we march, we will remember that these men were starved so that we can be free.”
Also present were WSMR Command Sgt. Maj. Michael S. Cordery, WSMR Garrison Commander Col. David A. Mitchell, WSMR Garrison Command Sgt. Maj. Jamal N. Latore, and their spouses.
As participants march along the route during the 35th annual Bataan Memorial Death March, which takes place this Saturday, March 16 at White Sands Missile Range, they will come across the images of those Soldiers in the form of banners to remind them of the sacrifice the Heroes of Bataan made for their country.
The march is conducted in honor of the heroic Service Members who defended the Philippine islands during World War II.
Among the family members at the reception were Tom and Peggy Lindsay, who were there to honor Tom’s uncles: Mel Waldrop and Y.C. Lindsay, both survivors of Bataan. Tom said he and his family have been coming to the Bataan Memorial Death March since 1997. Tom said he started doing the march in 1998 and this year will do the abbreviated march.
Also honored: Valdemar De Herrera (living), Paul Schurtz, Gerald Greeman, Evans R. Garcia, David Johns, J. Raymond Thwaits, Oscar Otero, Susano Madril, Henry Grady Stanley, Jack Lewis and Beverly “Ben” Skardon, and several others.
Miriam Rodriguez
WSMR Public Affairs