Sgt. Joel Galvan and Cpl. Joel Ends have never run a marathon.
Nor have they jogged 26.2 miles in high desert country while wearing combat boots and carrying 40-plus pound packs.
But Galvan and Ends are determined to honor the dead and the aging veterans who are still living. Both are training for the 22nd Annual Bataan Memorial Death March race in New Mexico next month.
The young Marines had not yet been born when the men of the 192nd Tank Battalion, including Janesville's Company A, endured the brutal Bataan Death March in the Philippines.
Still, they want to pay tribute to the World War II veterans by enduring a race so rugged that most runners finish with bloody and blistered feet. At least one runner needed intravenous fluid while competing in 90-plus degree temperatures of the White Sands Missile Range.
No matter how much pain Galvan and Ends endure, the men say it is small compared to the suffering of the Americans and Filipinos who surrendered to the Japanese in April 1942. The Japanese forced more than 70,000 to march 65 miles across the Bataan Peninsula without water under a searing sun. The enemy killed those who collapsed and could no longer walk.
Both Galvan and Ends are Iraq war veterans who are looking forward to talking to Bataan survivors who attend the race.
"This is a good chance to meet these guys and thank them for their service," Galvan says. "It will mean a lot to us to reflect with them."
Ends also looks forward to hearing what the vets have to say.
"A lot of people of my generation don't even think about these guys and what they went through," Ends says. "I can't even fathom it. We want to show the men who are still alive that their sacrifices are not forgotten."
Ends, 22, lives in Rock County's Spring Valley Township. He graduated from Brodhead High School in 2007, joined the Marines in 2008 and served in Iraq in 2009. He works on the family farm and is a certified welder.
Galvan, 26, lives in Janesville, graduated from Parker High School in 2002 and served two tours in Iraq. He attends Blackhawk Technical College in the criminal justice program.
After leaving active military duty, both men joined the reserves. They serve with Golf Company, 2nd Battalion, 24th Regiment, Madison.
Capt. Rex Laceby of the company told them about the 5-hour race and trains with about 10 men, including Galvan and Ends.
"These guys are phenomenal athletes, but I've never seen anyone actually run the whole race," Laceby says. "There's one portion called the sandpit. It's a mile of thick sand, and it's a lot like running in thick snow. There's another portion of the course that is a 6-mile uphill climb."
Laceby ran the race in 2001.
"You are very happy when the race is done," he says. "But at this race, we cheer for the survivors. No matter how hard we think the race is, it was 20,000 times worse for the Bataan soldiers. They couldn't stop for water. If they fell, they were bayoneted."
He praises the race for team building.
"It doesn't matter how good of shape you are in," Laceby says. "There will be times in the race when you will want to die, but you don't want to let down your team. There also are times when we will help each other by dragging along a buddy or shouldering his weight."
The men each will carry more than 40 pounds in their military rucksacks. The weight includes a 35-pound metal plate and enough water to keep hydrated between the 12 water stations.
Galvan is training by taking a 15-mile run each week while wearing camouflage tops and bottoms with a weighted pack. He aims for hills and deep snow to give his body the most strenuous workouts. In addition, he goes on one or two shorter runs.
"I get a lot of stares," he says. "People slow down and look at me, but no one asks what I'm doing. My priority is to keep my legs moving. I slow down, but I don't ever stop to rest."
Ends runs 12 miles at least twice a week.
"Some days I do shorter runs," he explains. "I run on the road. I run in the fields. I keep thinking about what those guys (at Bataan) did. To me, the race is about them. I would love to win, but just running for those guys is more important than anything I do in the race."
Ends had a late great-uncle, who served in World War II at the Battle of Guadalcanal in the South Pacific.
"He sent me a lot of letters while I was in Iraq," he says. "He did not like to talk about the war. I respected him and didn't ask any personal questions."
Ends knows that many veterans die before anyone hears their stories.
"They have so much to share," he says.
"I want to show these guys they are not forgotten. They are my heroes. All veterans in every war are my heroes."
Nor have they jogged 26.2 miles in high desert country while wearing combat boots and carrying 40-plus pound packs.
But Galvan and Ends are determined to honor the dead and the aging veterans who are still living. Both are training for the 22nd Annual Bataan Memorial Death March race in New Mexico next month.
The young Marines had not yet been born when the men of the 192nd Tank Battalion, including Janesville's Company A, endured the brutal Bataan Death March in the Philippines.
Still, they want to pay tribute to the World War II veterans by enduring a race so rugged that most runners finish with bloody and blistered feet. At least one runner needed intravenous fluid while competing in 90-plus degree temperatures of the White Sands Missile Range.
No matter how much pain Galvan and Ends endure, the men say it is small compared to the suffering of the Americans and Filipinos who surrendered to the Japanese in April 1942. The Japanese forced more than 70,000 to march 65 miles across the Bataan Peninsula without water under a searing sun. The enemy killed those who collapsed and could no longer walk.
Both Galvan and Ends are Iraq war veterans who are looking forward to talking to Bataan survivors who attend the race.
"This is a good chance to meet these guys and thank them for their service," Galvan says. "It will mean a lot to us to reflect with them."
Ends also looks forward to hearing what the vets have to say.
"A lot of people of my generation don't even think about these guys and what they went through," Ends says. "I can't even fathom it. We want to show the men who are still alive that their sacrifices are not forgotten."
Ends, 22, lives in Rock County's Spring Valley Township. He graduated from Brodhead High School in 2007, joined the Marines in 2008 and served in Iraq in 2009. He works on the family farm and is a certified welder.
Galvan, 26, lives in Janesville, graduated from Parker High School in 2002 and served two tours in Iraq. He attends Blackhawk Technical College in the criminal justice program.
After leaving active military duty, both men joined the reserves. They serve with Golf Company, 2nd Battalion, 24th Regiment, Madison.
Capt. Rex Laceby of the company told them about the 5-hour race and trains with about 10 men, including Galvan and Ends.
"These guys are phenomenal athletes, but I've never seen anyone actually run the whole race," Laceby says. "There's one portion called the sandpit. It's a mile of thick sand, and it's a lot like running in thick snow. There's another portion of the course that is a 6-mile uphill climb."
Laceby ran the race in 2001.
"You are very happy when the race is done," he says. "But at this race, we cheer for the survivors. No matter how hard we think the race is, it was 20,000 times worse for the Bataan soldiers. They couldn't stop for water. If they fell, they were bayoneted."
He praises the race for team building.
"It doesn't matter how good of shape you are in," Laceby says. "There will be times in the race when you will want to die, but you don't want to let down your team. There also are times when we will help each other by dragging along a buddy or shouldering his weight."
The men each will carry more than 40 pounds in their military rucksacks. The weight includes a 35-pound metal plate and enough water to keep hydrated between the 12 water stations.
Galvan is training by taking a 15-mile run each week while wearing camouflage tops and bottoms with a weighted pack. He aims for hills and deep snow to give his body the most strenuous workouts. In addition, he goes on one or two shorter runs.
"I get a lot of stares," he says. "People slow down and look at me, but no one asks what I'm doing. My priority is to keep my legs moving. I slow down, but I don't ever stop to rest."
Ends runs 12 miles at least twice a week.
"Some days I do shorter runs," he explains. "I run on the road. I run in the fields. I keep thinking about what those guys (at Bataan) did. To me, the race is about them. I would love to win, but just running for those guys is more important than anything I do in the race."
Ends had a late great-uncle, who served in World War II at the Battle of Guadalcanal in the South Pacific.
"He sent me a lot of letters while I was in Iraq," he says. "He did not like to talk about the war. I respected him and didn't ask any personal questions."
Ends knows that many veterans die before anyone hears their stories.
"They have so much to share," he says.
"I want to show these guys they are not forgotten. They are my heroes. All veterans in every war are my heroes."