A look through the Brainerd Dispatch archives with Terry McCollough combing the microfilm for tidbits of history through the decades going back to 1923.
A look through the Brainerd Dispatch archives with Terry McCollough combing the microfilm for tidbits of history through the decades going back to 1923.
Bataan Death March survivor Walt Straka (center) receives a standing ovation Saturday, Sept. 21, 2019 during the opening ceremony before the 22nd annual Bataan Memorial March at the Brainerd Armory. Kelly Humphrey / Brainerd Dispatch file photo
There were many conversations over the decades, Samuelson said, but it seems to be human nature that even while his friend died at the venerable age of 101, no amount of time is enough to ask everything that needs to be asked, to say everything that needs to be said.
“It’s pretty sad seeing the last man in that outfit having passed now,” Samuelson said. “All that history gone. I think about those guys a lot. To think that Walter could last nearly 102 years, after surviving what he survived? It’s simply phenomenal.”
A century of heroism: The life of Brainerd's Walt Straka, Bataan Death March survivor wadenapj.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from wadenapj.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.