NORMAL — Illinois State junior football player Paul Monaco traveled across the country for spring break and did not return in time for the Redbirds’ initial workout of spring drills.
Monaco was not lying under the sun on a Florida beach, although he did feel plenty of heat. He was taking part in the Bataan Memorial Death March on the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.
Five other members of ISU's ROTC (Reserve Officer Training Corps) program joined Monaco in an event that drew over 9,000 people from across the country and pays tribute to those who both died and survived the infamous 1942 Bataan Death March in World War II.