POWs REMEMBERED BY WISCONSON NATIONAL GUARD

FROM:  WISCONSIN NATIONAL GUARD PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICE
NEWS: Wisconsin National Guard members march in memory of POWs
Date: April 9, 2012
Wisconsin National Guard Public Affairs Office
Twenty members of the Wisconsin Army National Guard's 157th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade headquarters and 32nd Military Police Company - joined by dozens of service members from the U.S, Poland and Ukraine - recently honored the victims of the Bataan Death March by walking in their footsteps, as it were, in a memorial endurance event in Kosovo.

Chief Warrant Officer 2 Christopher Hudson, a Wisconsin National Guard member assigned to Task Force Falcon, played a key role organizing the 13.1-mile march at Camp Bondsteel on March 26, complete with gravel, paved roads and large hills. He also took part in the heavy category which required participants to carry at least 35 pounds on their backs.

"Participating in the Bataan Memorial March was a fitting way to pay tribute to all the heroic service members who made the ultimate sacrifice defending the Philippine Islands during World War II," Hudson said. "All those who entered and took part did so out of sheer preservation and determination - not unlike the Soldiers who marched in the actual Bataan Death March."

Ninety-nine members of the Janesville-based Company A, 192nd Tank Battalion, Wisconsin National Guard, fiercely defended the Bataan peninsula in the Philippines for more than three months alongside fellow American and Filipino forces, until disease, lack of supplies and hunger compelled their surrender to the Imperial Japanese Army seven decades ago today (April 9).

The Janesville Soldiers who served in one of two National Guard tank battalions - comprised of companies from Illinois, Kentucky, Ohio, Minnesota, Missouri - deployed to the Philippines shortly after the United States entered World War II. Approximately 76,000 prisoners endured the harrowing "Bataan Death March," an 80-mile forced trek to Balanga, the capital of Bataan. Prisoners of war who did not die of exhaustion, wounds or illness were stabbed, beaten or killed along the way - between 5,000 and 10,000 Filipinos and as many as 650 Americans before reaching Camp O'Donnell, where the death toll continued to mount. Only one third of the Janesville unit survived until their liberation three years later.

Wisconsin honors the service and hardship of these and other prisoners of war every April 9, designated since 2001 asPrisoner of War Remembrance Day.

FIVE WISCONSIN NATIONAL GUARD SOLDIERS FINISH IN UP NORTH SKILLS COMPETITION

The photo and following excerpt are from a WI  Dept. of Military Affairs  e-mail:

NEWS: Wisconsin Guard Soldiers test their skills in the Great White North
Date: March 20, 2012
By 1st Lt. Peter Owen
1st Battalion, 128th Infantry
Five Wisconsin Army National Guard Soldiers were among the top finishers in an annual one-day military skills competition in Winnipeg, Manitoba, against teams from the Canadian Land Force Western Area and the Minnesota National Guard March 17.

1st Lt. Andrew Adey of Minocqua, Wis.; Sgt. 1st Class Kevin Penttila of Inver Heights, Minn.; Spc. Israel Bursch of Blair, Wis.; Spc. Aaron Cobosco of Eau Claire, Wis.; and Spc. Zachary Pierce of High Bridge, Wis., comprised one of 13 teams in the Skill-At-Arms Competition hosted by the 38th Canadian Brigade Group. The physically demanding day began at 5:30 a.m. with teams having no idea which events they would compete in - only that the events would take place during a road march.

Half an hour into the events, contestants arrived at an equipment cache; they could use whatever they found throughout the day, but they would have to carry that equipment all day as well. The Wisconsin team selected a set of binoculars and military nylon parachute cord.

Teams ran from one event station to the next, carrying their equipment and a 40-pound sandbag. Stations included first aid, basic map reading, distance estimation, marksmanship, assembling weapons from assorted components in a tote, and assembling a field stove to boil water.

"It is a unique opportunity to train and compete internationally as a team," Adey said. "The Soldier skills were basically the same for both of our countries, so it provided a great opportunity to compete in the fundamental skills while building relationships with Canadian forces."

At day's end, Wisconsin finished in third place. Col. Nic Stanton, 38th Canadian Brigade Group commander, said that including National Guard teams from Wisconsin and Minnesota provided an excellent opportunity to interact, experiencing similarities and differences during a healthy competition.

"We were blown away by the hospitality the Canadians showed us," Adey said, "and look forward to more opportunities to train with them."