2022 The

• 8 Mile Run:- 8 Mile Run

_The 2022 The "Clemson 8":

The Clemson 8 Challenge Bataan Death March Remembrance Walk/Run/Bike/Hike/Swim

The "Clemson 8" Bataan Death March Remembrance is open to the general public. We are looking at hosting an on-campus event or inside the city limits of Clemson on Sat., March 12, 2022, along with a virtual race, March 12-19, 2022. You can complete your own walk, run, bike, hike, or swim on your own course - in your own town.  And, you can complete it in one day or throughout the eight-day period.  There is no prize money if we are able to host an event in Clemson on March 12, 2022.  Due to the pandemic, shirts could still be in short supply come February or March.  It is important to register as soon as possible so we can fulfill everyone's requested shirt size.  Your participant packet will be mailed in mid-February along with your race medallion and bib number.

100% of the proceeds will benefit the Clemson University Military Affiliated students via an endowment to send a group of these military students to compete in the 2022 and all future Bataan Memorial Death March Races at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. Last year the Challenge raised $56,000. This year's goal is to raise $50,000.

Donations can be made on-line during your registration or if you want a tax deduction, please contact Amy Craft at the Clemson University Foundation M-F from 8:00 am - 4:30 pm EST at 864-656-1240, [email protected] or mail a check to:  Clemson University Foundation, Attn:  Amy Craft, P.O. Box 1889, Clemson, SC 29633  On The For Line, write: Bataan Endowment.

Direct online link: https://iamatiger.clemson.edu/giving/giving-to-clemson?id=9ed46b59-6d7e-4b16-88c6-961984a7efe0

On April 9, 1942, six Clemson alumni became prisoners of war with tens of thousands of their brothers-in-arms when American troops who had been fighting in the Philippine theater of WWII were ordered to surrender to the Japanese. They were marched North some 70 miles by their ruthless captors in what would come to be known as the Bataan Death March, one of the most notorious war crimes in history.  Seven other alumni were also captured on neighboring islands during World War II.

Already weak and starving from months of intense fighting and illness, the POWs’ were herded with other sick, wounded and starving soldiers through the searing heat of the Philippine jungles. Thousands died. Those who survived the march then had to survive for years in the inhumane and brutal conditions of Japanese prisoner-of-war camps, and the sinking by our own Navy of unmarked prison ships trying to steal the POW’s away to the mainland towards the end of the war. It is impossible to know the exact number, but it is estimated at least 57 percent of the captured Americans did not survive the war – more than 11,500 souls — which is considered a very conservative number by most experts.

Col. Skardon, 104, is the last living member of this illustrious group. He is well known as the only survivor of the real Bataan Death March who walks in the annual Bataan Memorial Death March at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., one of the toughest and most popular “ultramarathons” in the world. The event has become a pilgrimage for veterans, active-duty military members, supporters, the few remaining survivors, and family members of the men who perished in the march and POW camps.

To date, Skardon has walked in the BMDM 12 times, most often a distance of 8.5 miles, beginning in 2007 when he was 89. In 2019, at 101, he walked more than three miles through the desert to honor his brothers-in-arms who did not return from the war. He considers it his duty. He was on his way to walk again in 2021 when the event was canceled due to the pandemic.  In response, the Clemson 8 Challenge was created so Colonel Skardon could continue his pilgrimage from his home in Clemson.  The 8 represents the annual miles that Colonel Skardon walks each year.

After registering for the "Clemson 8" race, everyone is encouraged to continue their training and participate in the 2022 virtual edition of the 33nd Annual Bataan Memorial Death March at https://bataanmarch.com/

The "Clemson 8” Bataan Death March Remembrance was created by a team of students, veterans, alumni and friends so that Col. Skardon’s mission — to honor those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for our country in one of the most brutal wartime events in history — will carry on.  

For more information on those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our country from Clemson A&M College and Clemson University, visit the Clemson University Scroll of Honor website: https://soh.alumni.clemson.edu/

Proposed Sat., March 12, 2022 Opening Ceremony

9:00 am  Welcome

9:02 am  Invocation

9:03 am  Roll Call

9:04 am  21-gun salute

9:05 am  TAPS

9:06 am  National Anthem 

9:08 am  God Bless America 

9:10 am  The Clemson 8 Challenge begins 

Here is a list of known Clemson alumni who were a P.O.W. - 
World War II
Army Air Force Captain Theodore Cuyler Bigger ’34, York County, S.C. - Captured by the Japanese and survived the Bataan Death March
Army 1LT Martin Crook, Jr ’39, Spartanburg, S.C. - Captured by the Japanese and survived the Bataan Death March - https://soh.alumni.clemson.edu/scroll/martin-crook-jr/ 
Army Captain William R. English ’37, Columbia, S.C. - Captured by the Japanese on Cebu Island - https://soh.alumni.clemson.edu/scroll/william-robins-english/ 
Army Major Albert M. George ’36, Aiken, S.C. - Captured by the Japanese on the island of Mindanao
Army Colonel Louis D. Hutson ’13, Aiken, S.C. - Captured by the Japanese after being wounded on Bataan
Army Captain Marion R. “Manny” Lawton ’40, Garnett, S.C. - Captured by the Japanese and survived the Bataan Death March
Army Captain Henry D. Leitner ’37, Greenwood, S.C. - Captured by the Japanese and survived the Bataan Death March  - https://soh.alumni.clemson.edu/scroll/henry-daniel-leitner/ 
Army 1LT Otis F. Morgan ’38, Laurens, S.C. - Captured by the Japanese on the island of Corregidor - https://soh.alumni.clemson.edu/scroll/otis-foster-morgan/ 
Army Major William Allen Orr ’36, Anderson, S.C. - Captured by the Japanese and survived the Bataan Death March
Marine Captain Wesley McCoy Platt '35, Summerville, S.C. - Captured by the Japanese on Wake Island - https://soh.alumni.clemson.edu/scroll/wesley-mccoy-platt/ 
Army Air Force Captain Francis Herbert Scarborough ’39, Bishopville, S.C. - Captured by the Japanese on the island of Corregidor - https://soh.alumni.clemson.edu/scroll/francis-herbert-scarborough/ 
Army Captain Beverly N. “Ben” Skardon ’38, Walterboro, S.C. - Captured by the Japanese and survived the Bataan Death March
Army 1LT Howard Monroe Vassey ’40, Chesnee, S.C. - Captured by the Japanese on the island of Corregidor
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Army 2LT George Albert Henry '45, Spartanburg, S.C. - Captured by the Germans during the Battle of the Bulge 
Army Corporal Horace Gordon Meisner, Jr. '46, Savannah, Ga. - Captured by the Germans in the Ardennes - https://soh.alumni.clemson.edu/scroll/horace-gordon-meisner-jr/ 
Army Air Force Captain William Henry Mooney, Jr ’41, Hawkinsville, Ga. - Captured by the Germans when his P-51 was shot down near Fulda, Germany - https://soh.alumni.clemson.edu/scroll-of-honor/search/?hname=mooney&conflict=none&yr=none&service=none  
Army Colonel Albert Ward Smarr ’50, Hickory Grove, S.C. - Captured by the Germans when as a B-17 gunner and radio operator his plane was shot down over Berlin - https://soh.alumni.clemson.edu/scroll/albert-ward-smarr-jr/ 
Korean War
Air Force Major Malcom Brodie Edens ’47, Pickens, S.C. - Died while Missing in Action - https://soh.alumni.clemson.edu/scroll/malcolm-brodie-edens/ 
Army 1Lt. William H. Funchess '48, Orangeburg County, S.C. - Captured by the Chinese Communist Army
Vietnam War
Air Force Colonel William Renwick Austin II '59, Simpsonville, S.C. - Captured by the North Vietnamese
Navy Commander Robert Fant, '57, Anderson, S.C. - Captured by the North Vietnamese

SUBMIT RESULTS

To submit results for the virtual challenge, simply follow these steps:

1. Click the results tab on the Clemson 8 home page

2. Click “Submit Virtual Results”

   1. Results can ONLY be submitted from March 1st through March 28th

3. Search for your profile using either your name or email address

4. Submit your runs either daily or weekly.  If you get behind, no problem! Just submit your runs until you get up to date!

5. You can check your progress and the progress of others from the results page

-) 2022 race registration is open • Registration Information 
 

2021 Results at: runsignup.com