Thousands of people converge on WSMR for 23rd annual Bataan march

Photo by Norm Detlaff/Las Cruces Sun-News

From the Alamogordo Daily News - The lives, and deaths, of 1,800 New Mexico National Guard members who endured the Bataan Death March in April 1942 are being commemorated. This year marks the 70th anniversary of the fall of Bataan, when American and Filipino military forces surrendered after battling for days to keep Bataan from the control of the Japanese military. Those among the New Mexicans who survived Bataan lived the rest of their lives with nightmares of all the horrific experiences they endured. But their spirit has been immortalized among the three larger-than-life bronze statues and the footprints in cement of actual Bataan veterans that are included in the Bataan Memorial Monument. Unveiled 10 years ago, a re-dedication of the Bataan Memorial Monument was staged last Saturday at Veterans Memorial Park, 2651 Roadrunner Parkway, in Las Cruces. Read more

Thousands of people converge on WSMR for 23rd annual Bataan march