Meade MEDDAC Soldiers honor a namesake at the Bataan Memorial Death March

WHITE SANDS MISSILE RANGE, N.M. – In 1942, 75,000 United States and Filipino soldiers were surrendered to Japanese forces after months of battling in extreme elements. Deprived of food, water and medical attention, the surrendered troops were forced to make a 65-mile march in the jungles of the Philippines to prison camps. During the march, approximately 10,000 men died.

Since 1989, a memorial march has honored and commemorated the thousands of World War II prisoners of war who braved what became known as the Bataan Death March.

Ten soldiers assigned to the Fort Meade Medical Department Activity completed the 2024 Bataan Memorial Death March at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, Mar. 16, 2024.

For seven of them, the memorial march had special meaning as an opportunity to honor the namesake of their MEDDAC clinic– the Andrew Rader U.S. Army Health Clinic.

“[I’m] So proud of the team and incredibly honored to celebrate Capt. Andrew Rader, our clinic namesake, and a Bataan survivor!” said Lt. Col. Elizabeth Ann DeSitter, director of the Rader Health Clinic, in a social media post highlighting the event.

Capt. Andrew Rader was an Army physician who was responsible for setting up the hospital that continued to medically care for fellow American and Filipino soldiers in Japanese POW camps after enduring the original Death March. He succeeded in procuring medical supplies to reduce the death rate.

Meade MEDDAC soldiers from Rader and Kirk U.S. Army Health Clinics navigated the challenging 26.2-mile course on dirt and sand trails, reaching elevations up to 5,400 feet.

It was the second time completing the march for three Soldiers on Team Rader. They added the additional challenge of carrying a 35-pound ruck during the march.

“I was excited to go back [complete the march a second time], and I’m incredibly proud of the tradition we’ve [Rader and Meade MEDDAC] started,” DeSitter said. “By participating in the Bataan Memorial Death March, we honor the past, and physically and mentally challenge our Soldiers today.”

Lt. Col. Lauris Trimble, director of the Kirk U.S. Army Health Clinic, echoed the importance of the march for honoring and keeping the memory alive of Americans who gave their lives, and building strong teams.

“[The march] was a good reminder throughout the day that we are blessed with so many things, and that our predecessors fought hard for everything that we have today,” Trimble said. “Spending time together while both training for and doing the event, helping each other, learning more about each other, and accomplishing this together only helps us accomplish more together when we are back at home.”

This year, Team Rader grew from one to two 5-person teams. Both Rader teams finished as top placers in the Military co-ed Light category.

“I loved taking a larger team this year,” exclaimed DeSitter. “Being our second time, we knew what to physically expect so we could better train and prepare others.”

“This was my first time doing the Bataan Memorial Death March,” said Trimble. “It made me appreciate so many things when we all finished together – the comradery between our team and others that we met during the march, our country’s history and the ultimate sacrifice that so many Americans have made, the U.S. Army and being a part of this country’s military, being physically healthy and mentally tough to make it to the finish line,” Trimble added. “It left me feeling really motivated to continue serving in the Army and in the field of medicine.”