The Menchville High School AFJROTC  hosted their 1st Annual Bataan Death March Memorial Hike on Saturday, March 5, 2016 at the Newport News Park VA. The purpose of this 14-mile memorial hike is to honor and remember the sacrifices of the victims and survivors of World War II’s Bataan Death March. The Bataan Death March Memorial Hike honors a special group of WWII heroes. These courageous soldiers were responsible for defending the Island of Luzon, Corregidor, and defense forts of the Philippines. On April 9, 1942, tens of thousands of American and Filipino troops surrendered to the Japanese forces on the Bataan Peninsula on the main Philippine Island of Luzon. Filipino and American soldiers were forced to make a grueling 65-mile march in the scorching heat and malaria-infested region of the Philippine jungles. On Saturday, 59 AFJROTC cadets marched 14 miles at the Newport News Park and collected 815 cans of food for the Lead-2-Feed program which will be donated to Peninsula Food Bank.