CLEMSON — Long before his death at 104 in 2021, retired U.S. Army Col. Ben Skardon made it his mission to ensure the stories of Clemson University’s prisoners of war would endure.

A survivor of the 1942 Bataan Death March during World War II, Skardon founded what became known as the “Clemson 8” Challenge, originally honoring the five fellow Clemson alumni who survived the brutal march alongside him.

The event has since expanded to commemorate all 28 known Clemson POWs from every American conflict,

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