POW tag
Will wears his grandfather's POW ID tag. Photos by Bill Winney.
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Mile 20
Will Winney marched 26.2 miles in honor of his grandfather's military service. His grandfather passed away the summer of 2003.
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Blisters
If you marched 26 miles, you might have a blister or two.
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Will Winney attends Memorial Bataan Death March
April 11, 2012
Recently, Bondurant resident Will Winney, a US Marine Corps Sergeant with two tours in Iraq, and Reservist, and currently a student at the University of Wyoming, participated in the 23rd Annual Memorial Bataan Death March at White Sands Missile Range near Las Cruces, New Mexico.
The Bataan Memorial Death March is a challenging march through the high desert terrain of White Sands Missile Range, conducted in honor of the heroic service members who defended the Philippine Islands during World War II, sacrificing their freedom, health and, in many cases, their very lives.
Winney’s grandfather, Al Bland, MSgt, USAF (Ret), was a survivor of this Death March. Al Bland carried another man much of the way, as did numerous Americans and Philippinos forced on this march.
The annual event is held in commemoration of the New Mexico National Guard and all Services who were captured at Bataan and endured the inhumane treatment the former Imperial Japanese Army inflicted upon them. As history would have it, as this nation began slowly girding itself for the coming World War II, New Mexico National Guardsmen were sent to the Philippines in 1940 only to be swept up after Pearl Harbor. Because of this, the commemoration holds a special place in the hearts of the state of New Mexico and New Mexico Guardsmen.
The route is a marathon length route, and some marathoners ran it, but it is intentionally a march. Many participants carried a "heavy pack" with food later donated to the Las Cruces Food Bank. Winney carried a "heavy pack," 40 pounds. He also carried his grandfather's POW kitbag and ID tags. This kitbag has in it, today, those things Al Bland had in it when liberated in August, 1945. Included, for example was a pack of Japanese cigarettes. During those tough times, cigarettes were used as a form of currency, so Al Bland, a non-smoker, had them handy.
Photos courtesy Bill Winney
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