The signatories, however, are Americans and the venue is White Sands Missile Range (WSMR), the largest US military installation based in Las Cruces, New Mexico in the US.
News about the commemoration of the Death March has surfaced this year amid projections of a US federal government shutdown on March 23, affecting the WSMR, a 3,200-square mile area equipped with a range of facilities for testing, research and development, evaluation and training activities of the US Army, US Navy, US Air Force, NASA and other government agencies.
In a report, the Las Cruces Sun News quoted WSMR offi cials as saying “the yearly Bataan Memorial Death March, which attracts thousands of participants, is slated to continue March 25 as planned, in spite of the possibility of a federal government shutdown two days before the event.”
While the actual Death March began on April 9, 1942 from Mariveles, Bataan after a three-month battle against occupying Japanese forces during World War II, the march in WSMR was slated to be held on March 25 this year.
From 60,000 to 80,000 Americans and Filipinos were believed to have died in the hands of Japanese soldiers during that march.
“Col. Dave Brown, garrison commander at WSMR, said staff has done an indepth analysis of the event and whether it could take place during a federal government shutdown. And they’ve concluded that it can,” the Sun News reported.
“There’s nothing right now that would stop us from holding the march. Even if there was a lapse in appropriations, that would not preclude us from holding the march,” Brown said.
The newspaper noted that “the federal government is operating on a continuing resolution that expires on March 23, creating the possibility for a shutdown.”
It quoted Brown as saying that “If the federal government were to shut down, not all employees at WSMR would be affected by it,” but that “there likely would be a curtailment of the workforce.
Fewer personnel could mean some delays compared to past years, such as in security checks while entering the missile range, or while checking in.”
Brown also said “the event is hosted by a WSMR division whose employees, for the most part, aren’t subject to the furloughs that would take place with a shutdown.”
“In addition, the event relies heavily upon volunteers, such as community members who pass out drinks to march participants along the route. The state of New Mexico, too, contributes specialty units, like the New Mexico Disaster Medical Assistance Team, which uses the event as a chance to practice providing care in the field,” Brown said, as quoted by Sun News.
“What people don’t realize is that most of the support we get in Bataan is actually volunteers,” Brown also said.
