The 2026 Clemson 8 Challenge

The Clemson 8 Challenge - Run/Walk/Bike/Hike/Swim/Ski

Mark your calendar as we will be hosting an in-person OFFICIALLY TIMED race at 9:00 am on Sat., March 7, 2026, around the Clemson University campus along with a virtual race from March 7-14, 2026.  The Challenge is open to the general public.  You can complete your own run, walk, bike, hike, swim, or ski in Clemson, S.C. or on your own course - in your own town in one day or throughout the eight-day period.  High schools JROTC teams will have til April 9th to complete their challenge. Your participant packet consists of a 100% cotton Comfort Colors t-shirt, a wooden nickel, a race bib, and a window decal.

NEW IN 2026 - EVERY RACE DAY PARTICIPANT WILL HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO WIN SWAG FROM THE BATAAN MEMORIAL DEATH MARCH MARATHON IN NEW MEXICO. (T-SHIRTS, WATER GLASSES, SHOT GLASS, MEDALLIONS, ETC...)

100% of the proceeds will benefit the Clemson University Military Affiliated student organizations.  The first five Challenges raised $126,436.34 for scholarships.  The 2026 goal is to raise $19,420.  1942 is the year of the Death March.  Dividends from the endowment and your donations will assist in paying for multiple teams to complete in the Bataan Memorial Death March Marathon in New Mexico on March 21, 2026.

When you look at the first of six Clemson POWs above, the sun on this day in 2025 during the Memorial Marathon made it look like Colonel Skardon was standing behind a wire fence.  In fact, they were all imprisoned behind a wire fence while a POW.  

Donations can be made on-line during your registration or if you want a tax deduction, please contact Amy Craft at the Clemson University Foundation M-F from 8:00 am - 4:30 pm EST at 864-656-1240, acserna@clemson.edu or mail a check to:  Clemson University Foundation, Attn:  Amy Craft, P.O. Box 1889, Clemson, SC 29633 On the for line, write: Bataan Endowment.

Direct online link: https://iamatiger.clemson.edu/giving/giving-to-clemson?id=9ed46b59-6d7e-4b16-88c6-961984a7efe0

If you would like to become a Race Sponsor, contact John Seketa at johnseketa@gmail.com or 864-903-1487 for more information.

On April 9, 1942, six Clemson alumni became prisoners of war with tens of thousands of their brothers-in-arms when American troops who had been fighting in the Philippine theater of WWII were ordered to surrender to the Japanese. They were marched North some 70 miles by their ruthless captors in what would come to be known as the Bataan Death March, one of the most notorious war crimes in history.  Seven other alumni were also captured on neighboring islands during World War II.  

Already weak and starving from months of intense fighting and illness, the POWs were herded with other sick, wounded and starving soldiers through the searing heat of the Philippine jungles. Thousands died. Those who survived the march then had to survive for years in the inhumane and brutal conditions of Japanese prisoner-of-war camps, and the sinking by our own Navy of unmarked prison ships trying to steal the POW’s away to the mainland towards the end of the war. It is impossible to know the exact number, but it is estimated at least 57 percent of the captured Americans did not survive the war – more than 11,500 souls — which is considered a very conservative number by most experts.

Colonel Skardon, 104, was the last living member of this illustrious group. He was well known as the only survivor of the real Bataan Death March who walked in the annual Bataan Memorial Death March (BMDM) at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., one of the toughest and most popular “ultramarathons” in the world. The event has become a pilgrimage for veterans, active-duty military members, supporters, the few remaining survivors, and family members of the men who perished in the march and POW camps.

Colonel Skardon had walked in the BMDM 12 times, most often a distance of 8.5 miles, beginning in 2007 when he was 89. In 2019, at 101, he walked more than three miles through the desert to honor his brothers-in-arms who did not return from the war. He considered it his duty. He was on his way to walk again in 2021 when the event was canceled due to the pandemic.  In response, the Clemson 8 Challenge was created by a team of students, veterans, alumni and friends so Colonel Skardon could continue his pilgrimage from his home in Clemson.  The 8 represents the annual miles that Colonel Skardon walked each year to honor those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for our country in one of the most brutal wartime events in history.

On Thurs., Nov. 11, 2021 (Veteran's Day), Colonel Skardon was awarded with a star in a private ceremony and a rank of Honorary Brigadier General. On Mon., Nov. 15., 2021, General Skardon passed away.

After registering for the Clemson 8 Challenge, everyone is encouraged to continue their training and participate in the 2026 in-person or virtual edition of the 37th Annual Bataan Memorial Death March at https://bataanmarch.com/

For more information on those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our country from Clemson A&M College and Clemson University, visit the Clemson University Scroll of Honor website: https://soh.alumni.clemson.edu/

Here is a list of 24 known Clemson graduates and 1 former student who were a P.O.W. - 

World War II

• Army Air Force Captain Theodore Cuyler Bigger '34, York County, S.C. - Captured by the Japanese and survived the Bataan Death March.
• Army 1LT Martin Crook, Jr. ’39, Spartanburg, S.C. - Captured by the Japanese and survived the Bataan Death March.
  • https://soh.alumni.clemson.edu/scroll/martin-crook-jr/ 
    
• Army Captain William R. English ’37, Columbia, S.C. - Captured by the Japanese on Cebu Island.
  • https://soh.alumni.clemson.edu/scroll/william-robins-english/ 
    
• Army Major Albert M. George ’36, Aiken, S.C. - Captured by the Japanese on the island of Mindanao.
  
• Army Colonel Louis D. Hutson ’13, Aiken, S.C. - Captured by the Japanese after being wounded on Bataan.
  
• Army Captain Marion R. “Manny” Lawton ’40, Garnett, S.C. - Captured by the Japanese and survived the Bataan Death March.
  
• Army Captain Henry D. Leitner ’37, Greenwood, S.C. - Captured by the Japanese and survived the Bataan Death March.
  • https://soh.alumni.clemson.edu/scroll/henry-daniel-leitner/
• Army 1LT Otis F. Morgan ’38, Laurens, S.C. - Captured by the Japanese on the island of Corregidor.
  • https://soh.alumni.clemson.edu/scroll/otis-foster-morgan/
• Army Lt. Colonel William Allen Orr ’38, Anderson, S.C. - Captured by the Japanese and survived the Bataan Death March.
• Marine Captain Wesley McCoy Platt '35, Summerville, S.C. - Captured by the Japanese on Wake Island.
  • https://soh.alumni.clemson.edu/scroll/wesley-mccoy-platt/
• Army Air Force Captain Francis Herbert Scarborough ’39, Bishopville, S.C. - Captured by the Japanese on the island of Corregidor.
  • https://soh.alumni.clemson.edu/scroll/francis-herbert-scarborough/
• Army Captain Beverly N. “Ben” Skardon ’38, Walterboro, S.C. - Captured by the Japanese and survived the Bataan Death March.
• Army 1LT Howard Monroe Vassey ’40, Chesnee, S.C. - Captured by the Japanese on the island of Corregidor.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

• Army 2LT George Albert Henry '45, Spartanburg, S.C. - Captured by the Germans during the Battle of the Bulge. 
  
• Army Staff Sgt. George W. Jones, Loris, S.C. - Attended classes in 1941.  Captured by the Germans.
• Army PFC Joseph Lawrence King '47, Clemson, S.C. - Captured by the Germans during the Battle of Orscholz.
• Army Corporal Horace Gordon Meisner, Jr. '46, Savannah, Ga. - Captured by the Germans in the Ardennes.
  • https://soh.alumni.clemson.edu/scroll/horace-gordon-meisner-jr/ 
    
• Army Air Force Captain William Henry Mooney, Jr. ’41, Hawkinsville, Ga. - Captured by the Germans when his P-51 was shot down near Fulda, Germany.
  • https://soh.alumni.clemson.edu/scroll-of-honor/search/?hname=mooney&conflict=none&yr=none&service=none  
    
• Army Air Force 2LT Lewis Anderson Page, Jr. '45, Columbia, SC - Captured by the Germans when his B-17 was shot down.
• Army Colonel Albert Ward Smarr ’50, Hickory Grove, S.C. - Captured by the Germans when as a B-17 gunner and radio operator his plane was shot down over Berlin.
  • https://soh.alumni.clemson.edu/scroll/albert-ward-smarr-jr/ 

Korean War

• Air Force Major Malcom Brodie Edens ’47, Pickens, S.C. - Died while Missing in Action.
  • https://soh.alumni.clemson.edu/scroll/malcolm-brodie-edens/ 
    
• Army 1Lt. William H. Funchess '48, Orangeburg County, S.C. - Captured by the Chinese Communist Army.
  

Vietnam War

• Air Force Captain William Renwick Austin II '59, Simpsonville, S.C. - Captured by the North Vietnamese.
  
• Navy Lt. Commander Robert Fant, '57, Anderson, S.C. - Captured by the North Vietnamese.
• Air Force 1Lt. Samuel R. Vaughan '67, St. George, S.C. - Captured by the North Vietnamese.

SUBMIT RESULTS

To submit results for the virtual challenge, simply follow these steps:

1. Click the results tab on the Clemson 8 home page

2. Click “Submit Virtual Results”

   1. Results can ONLY be submitted from March 11th through March 18th.

3. Search for your profile using either your name or email address

4. You can check your progress and the progress of others from the results page