Norwin Jr. ROTC Bataan Memorial March proceeds to help Wreaths Across America group

Those who walk, run or bicycle the 14-mile Bataan Memorial March along the Westmoreland Heritage Trail on April 29 will be helping the North Huntingdon organization that has placed wreaths on the graves of veterans buried in four cemeteries in the area.

The Norwin Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps has decided to use proceeds from its annual Bataan Memorial March to benefit the North Huntingdon Chapter of Wreaths Across America, which has placed wreaths on veterans’ graves at Union and Long Run cemeteries in Irwin and Immaculate Conception and Brush Creek cemeteries in North Huntingdon. The annual wreath-laying event occurs on Dec. 16.

“It means so much that they thought about us. The cadets have been involved in our program from the very beginning by assisting with the ceremony and presenting the flags for each branch of the service,” as well as assisting with placing the wreaths on the graves and helping to remove the wreaths in February, said Wendy Waugh, coordinator for the North Huntingdon chapter of Wreaths America.

Wreaths Across America North Huntingdon decorated the graves of about 2,880 veterans last year,Waugh said.

Alessia Sandala, a senior cadet and ROTC group commander, consulted with the other leaders of the program and they decided this would be their cause to support, said Jennifer Kerrigan, booster club president for the ROTC unit. The Jr. ROTC typically distributes proceeds from the event to different charities.

The Norwin cadets organize the 14-mile Bataan Memorial March along the Westmoreland Heritage Trail to commemorate the 66-mile forced march of about 76,000 American and Philippine prisoners of war who surrendered to the Japanese on the Bataan Peninsula in April 1942 during World War II.

The memorial march starts at B-Y Park in Trafford, and the trail will be marked at the one-mile mark and five-kilometer or 3.1 miles, for those who do not want to travel the entire 14 miles. About 300 people typically participate, “but we’re hoping for 500 this year,” Kerrigan said.

There is a $25 registration fee for the event, which begins at 9 a.m. Pets are welcome, if they are kept on a leash. The trail is wheelchair accessible.

Online registration is being accepted. For more information, visit the Norwin Air Force Junior ROTC Facebook page for the Bataan Memorial March or send an email to NorwinJROTC@hotmail.com.