100-year-old Bataan Death March survivor Col. Ben Skardon, a beloved Clemson University alumnus and professor emeritus, walked between 6.5 and 7 miles in the Bataan Memorial Death March at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., March 25, 2018. KEN SCAR/CLEMSON UNIVERSITY
By ALI LINAN | Las Cruces Sun-News, N.M. (Tribune News Service) | Published: March 25, 2018
LAS CRUCES, N.M. — Dawn had yet to break, but thousands of people had already gathered at White Sands Missile Range Sunday for the 29th annual Bataan Memorial Death March.
This year’s march saw the largest number of participants — nearly 8,500 — an 18 percent increase over last year. Some wore military uniforms carrying 35-pound rucksacks while others chose colorful red, white and blue tutus. Retired Col. Beverly “Ben” Skardon selected an orange shirt — in honor of his alma mater Clemson University — and a white fedora.At 100 years old, this would be the 11th memorial march in 12 years for Skardon, a Bataan Death March survivor. His participation makes him not only the oldest marcher but the only survivor to ever walk in the event.
“(Participating in the march) means a lot to me personally because that march and the men hang heavy on me. I’ve never forgotten it,” Skardon said. “While I walk, it seems to me, my memory flashes back, and I get emotional.”
The march requires participants to make their way through 14.2 or 26.2 miles of the high desert terrain of White Sands Missile Range.
During the infamous 1942 World War II Bataan Death March, 68,000-plus civilians and Filipino and American prisoners of war were forced to walk at the hands of their Japanese captors through Philippine jungle with little food or water. Some captives were executed; others died from disease and illness — either during the march or while kept as prisoners afterward.
About 1,800 of those forced to walk were New Mexicans who served with the 200th Coastal Artillery and 515th Coast Artillery at Bataan. They were members of the New Mexico National Guard.
Skardon was not a New Mexican, but has become familiar with the Land of Enchantment in recent years through his participation in the memorial march.
He joined the military after graduating from Clemson College in 1938 where he entered as a second lieutenant. During World War II and prior to the death march, Skardon had already received two Silver Stars, three Bronze Stars and a Purple Heart for his commitment in commanding a battalion of Filipino Army recruits.
But on April 9, 1942, Skardon became one of the many POWs forced to march about 70 miles over five days before being shoved in to train carts and shipped to prison camps. They were starved and beaten and many died.
Skardon, too, was close to death. He was severely ill with malaria and beriberi and said he survived thanks only to his fellow Clemson grads Henry Leitner and Otis Morgan, who spoonfed him, carried him to be bathed and cleaned his eyes from infection.
“I do (the march) as a tribute and honor to my Clemson friends. Two and a half years in the prison camp and we became like brothers,” Skardon said. “They are at the foremost of my mind.”
Skardon was released in 1945. He was 27 years old and weighed 90 pounds.
“It’s a whole era out of my life,” Skardon said of his time as a POW. “When I start talking about it I get graphic (images) in front of me.”