The sound of just over 30 pairs of boots crunching wet gravel surrounded me.
The boots belonged to Joint Base Lewis-McChord soldiers assigned to the 4th Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division.
At times, cold rain fell straight down; at other times it slanted with the wind.
Our way was marked by a row of white chemical lights lying on the road running off into the night.
Several times, lightening flashed and, once, thunder rolled.
"We're turning a page of history before we inactivate," Maj. Keith Carter, the battalion's commander, said as we moved.
"It's just a good way to celebrate our affiliation with this regiment by doing one more historic road march."
4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division will inactivate at 10 a.m. March 14 on Watkins Field.
By mile 19 of the 25-mile road march that began Wednesday evening and ended in the early hours of Thursday morning, there was little talk.
Fatigue and hunger had begun to make their presence felt.
There was only the quiet determination of the soldiers and a handful of civilians to complete the fabled Manchu Mile.
It's a mile - plus 24 more - unique to the 9th Infantry Regiment.
In 1900 and as part of the China Relief Expedition, soldiers assigned to the 9th Infantry Regiment made an 85-mile forced march from the city of Tabu Bar to Tientsin during the Chinese Boxer Rebellion.
Upon arrival at Tientsin, the regiment went into action in a success effort to rescue besieged foreign diplomats and missionaries from the insurgent Boxers, a group determined to force westerners out of China.
During the fierce fighting that became known as the Battle of Tientsin, Col. Emerson Liscum, the regimental commander, sustained mortal wounds while attempting to retrieve the regiment's flag.
His last words were to "Keep up the Fire."
For its actions during the battle, the regiment earned the honorary title of "Manchus," a word reserved for the finest of Chinese warriors.
Since then, the 9th Infantry Regiment has honored the sacrifices of the soldiers who fought in the Battle of Tientsin by allowing soldiers and a few invited civilians to participate in the "Manchu Mile," a 25-mile road march.
For those who complete the march - and during the event each soldier carried 30 pounds of gear plus water and food - a distinctive brass buckle is awarded.
>>> J.M. Simpson's Manchu Mile belt buckle
The buckle given to the 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division's 4th Battalion, 9thInfantry Regiment closely resembles the first ones given in 1926, the year the Army recognized the buckle for wear.
It is unique.
In the center of the buckle is the number "9" for the regiment; below the number are Liscum's last words, "Keep Up The Fire;" surrounding the edges of the buckle is a five-toed imperial dragon, symbolic of Chinese history; and on the back of the buckle are the words, "Manchus, Past, Present, Future."
"It's an honor that few earn," Sgt. Kyle Burns said as we neared the end of the march in yet another downpour of rain.
"It's worth the hardship."
Approximately 300 soldiers and a handful of civilians conquered the hardship.
I am honored and humbled to have been invited to step off into the night and take a storied walk back into the Army's history.
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