Bataan

U.S. Air Force 19th Logistics Readiness Squadron aerial porters walk 18 miles with 35 lb. rucksacks during training for the upcoming Bataan Memorial Death March set for March 20, 2016. The team has been training at Burns Park as well as around Little Rock Air Force Base perimeter road. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Harry Brexel)

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Bataan

U.S. Airmen from the 19th Logistics Readiness Squadron traverse through terrain March 11, 2016, at Burns Park in North Little Rock, Ark. The team is training for the Bataan Memorial Death March, at White Sands Missile Range, N.M.; which consists of 26.2 miles of desert terrain including two miles through sand. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Harry Brexel)

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Bataan

U.S. Airmen from the 19th Logistics Readiness Squadron trek across dirt trails, March 11, 2016 at Burns Park in North Little Rock, Ark., as part of training for the Bataan Memorial Death March. The Bataan Memorial Death March at White Sands, N.M. honors service members and Filipino prisoners of war during World War II. Historians estimate that the death toll neared 10,000. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Harry Brexel)

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Bataan

Members of the 19th Logistics Readiness Squadron pose for a photo during an 18-mile ruck march, March 11, 2016 at Burns Park in North Little Rock, Ark. The 19th LRS team was training for the upcoming Bataan Memorial Death March at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., which serves as a reminder to today’s generation of the harsh conditions the World War II veterans were forced to endure during their 60-mile march to a prisoner of war camp in the Philippines. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Harry Brexel)

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Airmen prepare for 26-mile memorial march in New Mexico dessert

Published March 16, 2016
By Senior Airman Harry Brexel
19th Airlift Wing Public Affairs

LITTLE ROCK AIR FORCE BASE, Ark. -- Two teams of five Little Rock Airmen have been training for several months. The 19th Logistics Readiness Squadron Airmen are headed to White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico for a 26.2-mile march. They will be trekking through mountainous and sandy terrain to honor fallen WWII troops from the infamous Bataan Death March. One team will even don 35 lb. rucksacks throughout the barren desert trek. The Bataan Memorial March will take place March 20, 2016. It will be a small gesture that serves as a reminder to today's generation of the harsh conditions that the World War II veterans were forced to endure during their 60-mile march to a prisoner of war camp in the Philippines.