LAS CRUCES, N.M. - The heavy dull boom of a cannon broke through thousands of eager participants' voices filling the cool March morning air while they stood stamping their feet in anticipation of the start of the 2009 Bataan Memorial Death March.
This year, the event hosted more than 5,300 participants from 50 states and eight countries, including the Philippines, Germany, Canada and the United Kingdom here at the White Sands Missile Range.
While individuals marched for their own reasons, they all came together for the same purpose: to honor the Soldiers, who were part of the Bataan Death March during World War II.
The Bataan Death March occurred in 1942 after the Japanese attacked the Bataan peninsula in the Philippines, where American and Filipino Soldiers were stationed. The 200th and 515th Coast Artilleries, stationed in the Philippines were made up of many New Mexico National Guardsmen. After three months of fighting the Japanese with insufficient weapons and dwindling supplies, the American and Filipino Soldiers were ordered to surrender.
The Japanese forced the Soldiers to march over 60 miles with nearly no food or water. The prisoners were subjected to heinous acts of torture and many were killed or perished while marching. Some of the Soldiers who survived the march spent the next three years in Japanese prisoner of war camps until freed in 1945.
The opening ceremony for the march included a roll call of the New Mexico National Guard survivors, who were members of the 200th and 515th Coast Artillery units.
One by one the names of those who are alive and those who have passed away were called out as a reminder of the greatest generation.
Some of the Bataan survivors lined up along the starting line and shook hands with the racers as a show of gratitude to those who marched in their honor and memory.
Tears of appreciation, awe and pride ran down the faces of many marchers when they were thanked by the brave survivors of the Coast Artillery units.
Camaraderie among the march participants was prevalent. Words of inspiration and genuine care for one another were spoken from mile one through to the finish line.
Young and old marched side by side with runners, military personnel carrying ruck sacks weighing at least 35 pounds and wounded warriors marching on prosthetic limbs.
Each individual was determined to finish the march and could be heard inspiring others to finish no matter how much their body ached and feet hurt.
The distance and terrain of the march is humbling in itself. Thoughts of what the Soldiers of Bataan were forced to endure were written on the faces of participants. There were no water points or medics for the brave men of the 200th and 515th Coast Artillery units during the march's namesake. They were alone except for one another, struggling to take another step and survive.
Officer Candidate Tabitha Baker recalled the moment she crossed the finish line: "The proudest moment was … seeing the survivors waiting there to commemorate the participants for completing the march. As I shook the survivor's hand I said, 'It is an honor to meet you.' He looked at me, held my hand and answered, 'No, it is an honor to meet you.'
"It is amazing to see these men … have so much pride and admiration for the Soldiers of today."
As each year passes, there are fewer living Bataan veterans, but the responsibility to keep the memory alive will never perish.