Posted by
stace on Wednesday, July 01, 2009 8:54:39 PM
I love history and one of the eras I'm most interested in is the beginning of WWII, Pacific theatre. The Bataan Death March, in particular, and the subsequent imprisonment of American and Filipino soldiers in Camp O'Donnell hold me in rapt fascination. Those men walked from Mariveles to San Fernando in the heat of a Filipino sun with no food or water worth mentioning, then took the most excruciating train ride to Capas, and then walked another 6 miles or so into O'Donnell itself, still without food or water or shelter from the heat.
Today, here at the University of Georgia, in 95 degree heat, I walked that last leg of the soldiers' journey, that last 6 miles. I have water, Gatorade, food, and a wonderful library to cool off in. And my head is still aching so badly from dehydration that I can barely type, let alone form ideas. I am sure that, if I had been among those soldiers in 1942, I surely would have fallen.
This March, I participated in the short version of the Bataan Memorial Death March at White Sands, NM. The strength and resourcefulness of the soldiers attending the March were so thrilling to me. You don't see ladies and gentlemen like that in civilian life too often. God forbid they are ever subjected to that kind of cruelty, true torture, that the men in 1942 had to endure.
God bless the United States Military, and a huge thank you to all who have served and to all who have fallen to keep us safe. No greater love hath a man than that he lay down his life for another.