VALDOSTA -- It started March 20 with a 30-hour drive. Piling in two Chevy TrailBlazers, several cadets left South Georgia and headed west.

The cadets from Valdosta State University's Air Force ROTC continued driving through the night until they reached New Mexico's desert.

Standing in the White Sands Missile Range, they were ready for their 26.2-mile hike through the desert.

The hike was a simulation of the Bataan Death March of World War II, in which American and Filipino soldiers were forced to march through a Philippine jungle without food, water or medical assistance.

On April 9, 1942, about 75,000 exhausted American and Filipino troops on the Bataan Peninsula in the Philippines surrendered to the Japanese, and were forced to march about 70 miles to prison camps. Many died of disease, starvation, exhaustion and summary execution by Japanese forces.

The VSU cadets were among 4,000 participants in the march at the White Sands Missile Range. As they crossed the starting line, cadets said they shook the hands of some of the Bataan Death March's surviving members, reminding them of their reason for participating.

"That was the highlight of the trip to me, hearing their stories," said Cadet. Lt. Col. Kristopher Juhl, vice wing commander of VSU's Det. 172.

Juhl's ties to the simulated death march take him back to his great uncle, who was in the original march.

"I never really thought about it that much," Juhl said. "But there was a sense of pride and a sense of dedication, something I looked forward to and I'll remember doing."

The eight-hour march is something all the VSU cadets will remember.

"There were veterans from Iraq who had lost their limbs out there," said Cadet 4th Class Adam Ward. "That was pretty humbling to realize as they were giving it their all."

The march started at 7:30 a.m. The temperature at White Sands rose from 40 degrees to about 65-70 degrees.

"The wind was the bad part," Ward said. "It's windy and sand is scraping across your face and when you get to mile 22 you're completely drained."

While the march was physically demanding, cadets said they were fortunate to have stations along the way that provided water, fruit and powerbars.