Bataan Death March

Written by: HM2 Joshua Dancel

The Bataan Death March was one of the darkest hours of the Alliance between the United States of America and the Philippines during World War II. About 75,000 American and Filipino prisoners of war captured by the Imperial Army of Japan after the Fall of Bataan in 1942 were forced to march 60 miles from the Bataan peninsula prison camps to concentration camps in Capaz, Tarlac without food and just one sip of water. Under the sweltering summer heat, the prisoners were mercilessly murdered along the 60-mile hump. Anyone who complained, was too weak to march or helped those who could not walk or stopped were all summarily beheaded, shot, had throats cut, or were run over by trucks that were travelling behind them. For the next five days, bodies of American and Filipino soldiers littered the dirt road as testimonies to the brutal cruelty of the Japanese Imperial soldiers. It was estimated that out of the 75,000 prisoners, only about 54,000 made it their destination alive.

So as not to forget their ultimate sacrifice in the name of freedom and democracy, Expeditionary Medical Faciltiy Kuwait warriors participated in the first Bataan Memorial Death March in Camp Arafjan on 21 March 2010 carrying 35 pound packs and marching 12.5 miles.

Warrior Spotlight - Expeditionary Medical Facility Kuwait

The United States indeed is the land of opportunity for those who earnestly seek it. LCDR Amer Skopic, would attest to this fact.

Originally from war-torn Bosnia, LCDR Skopic was only 17 years old when he and his family were expelled from Bosnia as part of a so-called “ethnic cleansing” being instigated by Serbians in that part of the world.

He and his family resided in a Serb “occupied town” for a year before being expelled from the country he called home. “My family was offered asylum in the United States after my father was freed by the Red Cross from one of the Serb held concentration camps,” LCDR Skopic said.

Despite the harsh experience his family went through, it did not daunt this young Bosnian’s will to pursue his dreams of becoming a medical doctor in a foreign country that welcomed them with open arms.

LCDR Skopic enrolled at the Central Connecticut State University from 1993 to 1997. He worked as Certified Nursing Assistant through those years and two years after graduation, he was accepted to Medical School, completing his M.D. in 2003. He went on to specialize in Gastroenterology.

Now 36 years of age, LCDR Skopic and his wife Carrie Skopic, have two children, Ramajana, 3 years, and Zerin, 11 months. He is currently stationed at the National Naval Medical Center (NNMC) in Bethesda, MD.

He has been on active duty with the United States Navy for six years in the Medical Corps, but has been in the Navy Reserves since 1999. “I joined the Navy for multiple reasons, including the opportunity to serve and give back to country that provided so much for me and my family,” he said.

What he thought violence, hatred, and war took away from him and his family, he got back more than a hundred fold through the help of the Navy in the country he now calls home.

A special patient at Camp Buehring TMC

On March 9th 2010 the troop medical clinic (TMC) at Camp Buehring was visited by a very important patient. “Nina” from the Camp Buehring K-9 unit was brought to the TMC for a bad rash on her back. Working hand in hand with Sgt Kohler from the Army’s 719th MDVS unit Dr. Holmes assessed and recommended a course of treatment for the patient.

The TMC has continued its partnership with the 719th MDVS unit and has provided other services such as x-rays and laboratory testing for dogs of the Camp Buehring K-9 unit.