VALDOSTA -- It started March 20 with a 30-hour drive. Piling in two Chevy TrailBlazers, several cadets left South Georgia and headed west.
The cadets from Valdosta State University's Air Force ROTC continued driving through the night until they reached New Mexico's desert.
Standing in the White Sands Missile Range, they were ready for their 26.2-mile hike through the desert.
The hike was a simulation of the Bataan Death March of World War II, in which American and Filipino soldiers were forced to march through a Philippine jungle without food, water or medical assistance.
On April 9, 1942, about 75,000 exhausted American and Filipino troops on the Bataan Peninsula in the Philippines surrendered to the Japanese, and were forced to march about 70 miles to prison camps. Many died of disease, starvation, exhaustion and summary execution by Japanese forces.
The VSU cadets were among 4,000 participants in the march at the White Sands Missile Range. As they crossed the starting line, cadets said they shook the hands of some of the Bataan Death March's surviving members, reminding them of their reason for participating.
"That was the highlight of the trip to me, hearing their stories," said Cadet. Lt. Col. Kristopher Juhl, vice wing commander of VSU's Det. 172.
Juhl's ties to the simulated death march take him back to his great uncle, who was in the original march.
"I never really thought about it that much," Juhl said. "But there was a sense of pride and a sense of dedication, something I looked forward to and I'll remember doing."
The eight-hour march is something all the VSU cadets will remember.
"There were veterans from Iraq who had lost their limbs out there," said Cadet 4th Class Adam Ward. "That was pretty humbling to realize as they were giving it their all."
The march started at 7:30 a.m. The temperature at White Sands rose from 40 degrees to about 65-70 degrees.
"The wind was the bad part," Ward said. "It's windy and sand is scraping across your face and when you get to mile 22 you're completely drained."
While the march was physically demanding, cadets said they were fortunate to have stations along the way that provided water, fruit and powerbars.
"It makes you realize how lucky we were," said Cadet Capt. Walter Spangler.
"We didn't even go through close to what they went through," said Cadet 1st Class Lt. Dustin Williams.
The cadets were able to train for more than two months for their march.
Starting in January, cadets completed their normal physical training two times a week and added two days at the gym and a long hike once a week. On those hikes, the cadets carried knapsacks with sandbags stored inside to build up their endurance.
When it came time for the hike, about 40 percent finished the event.
"It was just as hard mentally as it was physically," said Cadet 4th Class Mike Hoss.
Besides the hike, Capt. Kerri Barnes, unit admissions officer, said the cadets demonstrated team work.
"They formed this bond and friendship together along the way," Barnes said.
"We received a lot of support from the (detachment); they gave us a lot of support in coordinating," Juhl said. "We built all new friendships and we'll take a lot of that away with us."
The VSU Air Force ROTC cadets who participated in the Bataan Death March recreation include: Cadet Lt. Col. Kristopher Juhl, Cadet Lt. Col. James Newsom, Cadet Capt. Akeem Scrubb, Cadet Capt. Walter Spangler, Cadet Lt. Dustin Williams, Cadet 4th Class Matt Graham, Cadet 4th Class Robert Meeks, Cadet 4th Class Adam Ward and Cadet 4th Class Daniel Fischer.
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Cadets take part in death march recreation
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