2021-22 BTC Calendar: Duke Battalion Ten Miler Team

Members of JMU’s Army ROTC program had just completed a second 5-mile loop through campus and nearby Purcell Park in Harrisonburg on an early Saturday morning in October 2020. Out of nowhere came a massive explosion about 30 yards from the finish line of this year’s virtual Army Ten Miler. In the midst of the chaos, the Duke Battalion’s Ten Miler Team huddled to account for one another, assess the situation and establish an area for the injured. Faculty members Capt. Michael Schoenbeck and Sgt. 1st Class Gerardo Rangel sprang into action along with cadet Jack Murphy, a junior international affairs major and volunteer firefighter. Moments later, when the Harrisonburg Fire Department arrived on the scene, Murphy returned to his vehicle, strapped on his gear and joined the crew. He would stay on the scene for more than six hours. Lt. Col. Graham Davidson called Murphy’s efforts “nothing short of heroic.” Three cadets suffered minor injuries from what turned out to be an accidental gas leak.