Teens no more!

Kids have been home for spring break for a most excellent week of sun, food, conversation, and relaxation. They go back today, and we will miss them. But through a miracle of scheduling, their planes leave within an hour of each other, so we only will take one trip to El Paso!

It was a busy week -- Jacob and Willamette friend Janelle arrived home on Saturday and were up at 3 am the next day for the Bataan Memorial Death March Marathon. The weather was warmer than usual, and Janelle, who is from Hawaii, proved plenty tough enough for a 26-mile walk in the desert. Kudos to her.

As usual, the March was a day to remember sacrifice and to march along side current active military.

Quincy celebrated her 20th birthday last night. I was concerned that the strainer we gave her for a present was too prosaic. She considered it to be stylish.

Bataan prep hike to Dripping Springs

Ah, yes. Here we all are last Saturday at the weather station near Dripping Springs. Round trip hike was 12-ish miles in pretty rugged terrain. Not strenuous, but definite calf kickers. The fires from a couple summers ago cleared out a lot of the brushy junk and made hiking pleasant. Not sure how many of the lovely old hackberries survived, though.

Stu and Quincy are heading to Oregon right now for her visit to Southern Oregon University in Ashland. She has been accepted there and will tour campus tomorrow. They also will see 2 shows there and visit Jacob. (I get to stay home and house sit. Why exactly is that, again?)

Jake called yesterday to share that he spent time with Samson, a yellow lab that brightens up the day at Willamette. Yellow labs seem to be the universal language of tail-thumping affection and acceptance.

Family back east is digging out of more snow. News this morning said Philadelphia has had 70 inches for the year. Awesome (at least, awesome from a distance of 2000 miles!!!!)!

April already?

Jake is back in Willamette but planning for a summer in Las Cruces. Quincy has already traveled on the band trip, so I guess it must be near the end of the school year. Wow.

What I've missed: Stu, Jake, and I marched in the Bataan Memorial March again this year and recovered relatively quickly. Might even do the Organ hike this weekend.

Quincy turned 17. I completed another Ursus issue. Work has been crazy busy for us all.

The sharp-shinned hawk brunched on the white-winged dove yesterday morning outside the north end of the house, as sparrows danced around. Were they confident that they were too small to be on interest, or that the hawk was not interested in a lagniappe?

Last images of Bataan

Orxy crossing...

Straight from M*A*S*H...










And where did I put that missile nose cone?

Military marchers

About 2/3 of the Bataan marchers were military. Marchers registered in the military category had to be in full uniform and could be in the light division (no pack required) or heavy division (35 pound packs required). The pink ladies above were from Fort Hood.

The military really knows how to stage an event. The Stealth flyover was perfectly timed, all 4400 marchers were in place at the event's start, even the sun rose just when the military commanded.

And they really took care of the marchers. In addition to the phalanx of volunteers and medics, the mister stop at sure felt good. It was on the short section of the course that we walked both ways. In the morning, it was half way up the 6-mile hill. In the afternoon, it was most welcome as the sun was pretty strong by that time.

Bataan scenery

The beginning and ending third of the Bataan hike parallels the main road into the post, but the middle third is around the base of a mountain just north of Highway 70. The route went near Pat Garrett's former ranch and by 2 former Cox ranches (Hal Cox Ranch above, Lena Cox below) and an old mine (left).

This area is usually closed off to the public, so this seemed like a rare glimpse into a section of the desert that has not been grazed for decades. The grasses from last year were beautiful, and if there was oryx poop everywhere, the orxy did not seem to do nearly the damage to the desert that cattle did near the base.
This was a truly beautiful section of the hike, and reason enough to make this trek again.

March retrospective

Team: Phillip, Julia (pink hat) and Stu. Jake was already ahead...

Why was Bataan such a cool marathon?

The people, the scenery, the challenge.

The man to the right marched in a WWI uniform, which is what the US sent the Bataan veterans off to war in. Ward Redshaw, local WWII vet and survivor of Japanese prison camps, tells a story of finding eating beef when he was in Corregidor that was stamped from the 20s. The story of Bataan is to never send men into battle unprepared, and never sacrifice the lives of people who serve.

And the piper dude below was from Hallifax, Nova Scotia. He marched into every water stop with pipes in full glory.

Lastly, the support staff and volunteers were outstanding. About 750 people were at the water stops and served up oranges, bananas, gatorade, water, and feet help.

My feet were fine, but it was tempting to claim not just to enjoy the excellent ministrations of these kind people. The medics looked like they were all military people. The staffers at the rest stops were often descendants or other relatives of Bataan survivors who wanted to do something to honor their family members.

Bataan, tomorrow

Bonnie and Gerry Schurtz preparing for theBataan Memorial Death March, photo from the Las Cruces Bulletin.

(Gerry's dad was a Death March Survivor, although he did not make it home from the war. Gerry, Bonnie, their son Chris, and daughter-in-law Holly will be part of the group we are hiking with tomorrow.)

BY TODD G. DICKSON
The Las Cruces Bulletin
On Sunday, March 30, an estimated 4,200 people will walk and even run along either a 26.2-mile route or a 15­mile trail over White Sands Missile Range.

Much of the terrain will be rocky and sandy. And if the wind picks up, as it’s prone to do in March, then it will be dusty. With the warming temperatures of March, it could get hot.

But one will be hard-pressed to find anyone complaining.

It is the annual Bataan Memorial Death March, acknowledging one of the darkest chapters in World War II’s Pacific theater. Tens of thousands of American and Filipino soldiers defend­ing the islands of Luzon, Corregidor and the harbor defense forts of the Philippines were captured by Japanese forces in April 1942. Many were already malnourished and fighting off malaria. The Japanese marched these prisoners...

Las Cruces Sun News also carried an editorial today:

We remember: Bataan Memorial Death March Article Launched: 03/29/2008 12:00:00 AM MDT Those of us who weren't there will never be able to fully appreciate the sacrifice and hardship endured by U.S. and Filipino soldiers surrendered to Japanese troops on April 9, 1942 in the Philippines. But we can ensure that their sacrifice will never be forgotten. The 19th annual Bataan Memorial Death March, which takes place Sunday at White Sands Missile Range, is a unique way to preserve the memory of that tragic event and, at the same time, honor those courageous men who survived the ordeal, as well as those who did not. Events began Friday with a presentation of paintings by Bataan survivor Ben Steele, 90, of Billings, Mont., depicting the horrors he witnessed so long ago. Today, a DVD of Stephen Melillo's "That We Might Live" was to be presented at the Rio Grande Theatre. The presentation combines both old film snippets and still photography. The weekend's events culminate Sunday, when an estimated 4,000-plus marchers are expected to traverse either the 26.2-mile main course, or the shorter 15-miles course at WSMR. The guests of honor will be 23 survivors of the Bataan Death March, who have said they plan to attend. Traditionally the survivors wait at the finish line to greet the marchers as they complete the course. What a terrific inspiration for marchers making their way across the rugged desert terrain. U.S. history books tend to glorify our war victories and gloss over our defeats. Because of that, the story of Bataan and the brave men who fought so valiantly, including members of the 200th Coast Artillery of the New Mexico National Guard, has never been given its due. It was the generals who made the decision to surrender, and the soldiers who paid so dearly. First with the forced march, then with confinement in horrific prisoner-of-war camps and finally with a perilous journey across the Pacific aboard Japanese ships. These men have given as much to their county as any group that has ever served. Sunday's march, and the other events this past week, are a humble attempt to let them know how much they are appreciated.

Bataan prep hike #2

Same crew hiked from the M&M home to Soledad Canyon. About a 8-9 mile hike, in wind, but with good beer and food at the end.

Next weekend, final 2 hikes are planned.

Otherwise, a quiet weekend -- the first weekend in about 5 that Jacob has no travel for college travel or for swimming.

Bataan prep hike #1

Julia, Phillip, Mel and Stu started training for Bataan Saturday with an afternoon hike in the Organs up Modoc Mine Road (historic photo from NMSU's Rio Grande Collection).

It was a beautiful day for a hike. Our 7 or so mile hike had a pretty big elevation gain -- of maybe 1000 feet. The road we hiked on was really bad -- littered with lots of dead car parts, some much bigger than others!

Hike planned for next week into Soledad Canyon will begin and end at home (where the beer is). 1:00.

Looking forward, looking back

A good weekend in the pool, again. Jake spent the weekend in Albuquerque at the State Club meet. He beat his time in the 100 Saturday with a better time Sunday. As I write, Stu, Jake, and Giancarlo (Jake's friend from LCHS) are driving south, through bad weather, and should be in tonight about midnight.

Quincy and I had a good weekend. She is caught up in schoolwork (L'Hôpital's rule, stoichometry, etc...) and ready for a new week. We went to the LCHS Jazz Dinner last night. It was, as usual, a night of good music. It amazes me how quickly our kids go from playing concerts we would not miss (but force ourselves to go to) to confident musicians, improv-ing and swinging and playing music that we pay money to hear. It is a beautiful thing.

Upcoming events: Melody and über bassoonist Larry will perform a Mozart bassoon duet at the reception after Sunday's concert. I will practice being nervous about this over the next week.

And I am part of a team that will be in the Bataan Memorial Death March on March 30. Saturday afternoons will be taken up with longer hikes for the next month.

This march in a big deal around here. About 1800 New Mexicans were in the Phillipines in 1941 and took part in the first attack of WWII, which included the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. I worked on a web site about the Battle for Bataan (http://reta.nmsu.edu/bataan/index2.html), and pledged at that time that someday I would walk the memorial march in honor of those who gave so freely of their stories. This is the year.

Stu and Jake are also marching, and we are on a team with Julia and Phillip, Mel's coworkers. We will also do this with Holly, who will walk with her family. Her husband is the grandson of a Bataan survivor, Paul Schurtz of Deming. Paul Schurtz did not survive his 1944 trip to Japan on a Hell Ship, but his son was an important contributor to the website and a formidable force in keeping the story of Bataan alive.

Rosie says it is time to bed. She is rarely wrong about such things, so adieu.