VMI cadet dies after training march - WTKR

A Virginia Military Institute freshman has died after completing a 10-mile road march.

[To Mr Anonymous]

anonymous wrote:

It was no "10" mile road march it was a 12 mile power walk with one 5 minute break. The upperclassmen were making fun of this kid because of his weight and telling him he could not stop. If it goes to court I will testify against the school.

First, I am deeply saddened to hear of this, my prayers will be for his BRs, VMI, and most of all his family. However an alumnus of 2009, former Cadre member, I know all about these road marches. It is very hard for me to believe he was "being made fun of" with all of the non-cadet, former military officers that accompany these road marches, being told to push harder and test yourself is NOT the same thing as being mocked for being slow. And your exactly right it probably was just a "walk". Again these marchers are led by Commandant members, so the pace could not of been power walk that was that tough.
To you Mr.Anonymous, you should be standing up for your school right now and shutting your mouth. If you don't like it there, leave.

[RowlandP]

Condolences to the family. Without doubt, VMI will do its uttermost to make sure this doesn't happen again. Sadly, some people have undetected medical conditions and are predisposed to this sort of thing.

[Cadet EMT]

For Mr anonymous, I myself, have been on these marches w/ cadet Evans. I myself, stuck by his side, and motivated him. By motivation, I didn't make fun of him, or call him bad names. I gave him goals, "to the next corner", "to that tree". And he drove on. He never once stopped, or gave up. He kept pushing through. He gave it his all, never quitting on himself. He would come in last, but that was irrelevant, because he would always finish. His company of his OWN brother rats, would cheer him on. Encouraging him to make it. This isn't his first 10 or 12 mile march, the rats have been training up for a 20 mile march for the past month. One of which was a 10 mile march, which Evens did. I went through His rat company, and asked individually if anyone had any allergies, medications, or prior medical conditions. No one can be held responsible for an unknown prior existing medical condition. Its not time to be pointing blame onto someone, that's not going to make his grieving friends and family feel any better. But letting them know, that their son was one of the strongest willed individuals that I have ever seen as a cadet. He did his best, and he was supported by his BRs. Through adversity, they stuck together, and drove on.

[anonymous number 2]

Mr. Anonymous,
I would like to comment on you claim that "The upperclassmen were making fun of this kid because of his weight and telling him he could not stop." The upperclassmen have been told since day one to keep a high degree of professionalism. I have participated in many of those marches and event like them and have seen nothing but professional behavior from the upperclassmen. If you didn't know there actually have cadets in the march whose sole job is to make sure behavior like that does not happen and they have done a great job this year at it. Like the 09 alum said there is a big difference between pushing on and mocking. What happened to rat Evens was a very unfortunate accident and the institute used every resource available to aid the situation.My condolences and prayers go out to his family and friends.
You should be standing up for your school's system not bad mouthing it if you are so ready to attack VMI then i think you need to leave.

[anonymus]

my side of the story is 100% true because i was there. evans was on the march and asked to fall out of the march, he was denied by rdc. He obviously knew something was wrong, and yes they were trying to motivate him through the march but it is not rdc's decision whether someone should keep going or not. And about their professionalism.. yeah their professional in front of officers, but when theres nobody around they say basically whatever they want to whoever they want. My apologies to the familys loss, he was a good kid, i knew him. he will be missed

[S-5 cadet]

If your story is true, you need to make a statement and if you have read your email you should know who to contact. Follow its instructions. you do more to honor the memory of your fallen brother rat by coming forward in private and telling your side of the story rather then making anonymous posts to a website and trying to prove yourself to others through it. The investigation will determine the truth, if you want to be part of that truth you should come forward in private.

S-5

[VMI 10 plus 3]

anonymus wrote:

my side of the story is 100% true because i was there. evans was on the march and asked to fall out of the march, he was denied by rdc. He obviously knew something was wrong, and yes they were trying to motivate him through the march but it is not rdc's decision whether someone should keep going or not. And about their professionalism.. yeah their professional in front of officers, but when theres nobody around they say basically whatever they want to whoever they want. My apologies to the familys loss, he was a good kid, i knew him. he will be missed

Please consider what you are saying. I know you are upset but trying to blame people isn't going to help. Really look at the entire situation. The Upperclassmen were professional, the RDC was motivating, the CEA were with every company, and the EMT's were keeping constant watch on us. If the march had been so physically grueling, there would be more people injured or worse. If the things that happen here upset you and you really think it's bad... Then I challenge you to find an alumni from the 60's or 70's and listen to what the ratline used to be. The ratline now is very professional and strictly training based.
Rat Evans was a great guy, very motivated, and strong willed. My condolences go out to his family and friends. We all miss him terribly.

[VMI 12]

This is not the time to argue but rather come together as a family. VMI is not to blame and Cadet John Evans VMI '13 will always be remembered and honored

[VMI Class of 09]

The guy that blamed the upperclassmen doesn't know what he's talking about. The ratline is conducted in an extremely professional manner, there is nothing that could have been done to prevent what happened to Cadet Evans. Pre-existing conditions cannot be avoided, its just part of life. VMI is a tough, but very, very professional school. I'm proud to be a part of the tradition here. Of course some people will look for someone to blame, thats how insecurity works. Please, if you are reading the comments, disreguard what he said.

[Marc G]

1st off I have not attended VMI, my daughter is their currently though, I know of no details other than "we" lost a good person yesterday and that is our focus. To the 19 year old, his family, the rest of the staff, and our kids that are at VMI, my prayers go out to all.
To anonymous I will not dignify your comments at all, you live with that, the rest of us are not anonymous and we are VERY good with that.

[A Mom]

I was shocked to hear about what happened. As a parent I know the pride one has that their child is attending a military school. As a medical person let the doctors do the autopsy. They will find out what happened. The Moms in Prayer will continue to pray for the family and VMI.

[Know what i Know]

I think we all know what goes on at VMI. First year rats are broken down by upperclass cadets. As somone who knows exactly what was going on at that 10 mile march he could not go anymore. He was passing out and they made him go further. Something was clearly wrong. To the person who said if you dont like it than leave and shut your mouth this isnt honor this isnt what we have learned. People were told to hush and not say anything about his death why? So they could come up with a great cover story for the cadets that pushed this individual to a point where he could not go anymore. The upperclass cadets do front face well with those of authority but when its just the cadets and the rats its pretty sick how they are treated. People keep defending this but someone has lost his life due to this behavior. How will you sleep at night? Knowing the truth behind this and not stepping forward.

[Know what i Know]

anonymus wrote:

my side of the story is 100% true because i was there. evans was on the march and asked to fall out of the march, he was denied by rdc. He obviously knew something was wrong, and yes they were trying to motivate him through the march but it is not rdc's decision whether someone should keep going or not. And about their professionalism.. yeah their professional in front of officers, but when theres nobody around they say basically whatever they want to whoever they want. My apologies to the familys loss, he was a good kid, i knew him. he will be missed

**Dont keep it quiet for anyone. Tell what you know! This kid lost his life due to kids pushing him when he said he could not go anymore. The truth NEEDS to come out! Who is everyone trying to protect anyway??

[A grandmother]

I did not know the Cadet that died but I am very sorry. I will pray for his family. It is sad but I'm sure they are honored that he was a Military Cadet. I know I am honored when I see one of those wonderful students in their uniforms.
God Bless them ALL

[anonymous 09]

I would advise all members of the class of 10+3 to stay off of boards such as this. There is a time and place to make comments and staements about this unfortunate situation, but this is not it.

[Lexington Watch]

This kid fell out of every run...there were warning signs. I don't blame the cadets -- they were doing their job. He was overweight and out of shape; he shouldn't have been training in the first place.

What kind of screening does VMI do? Are they letting kids in with heart conditions or obesity?

[Ann]

If you know what you know, then why not post your name here for everyone to see and why not come forward to whom ever you can. Honestly, if he really wanted to he could have stopped, no one forced him to keep going, yes they may have said things to him but I know that there was in no way that he was physically forced to keep going. Evan's made a choice to keep going and pushed himself to the limit, which shows just how strong he was. DO NOT degrade what he pushed for and that he endured this march with HONOR by continuing and not stopping by pointing fingers at upperclassmen. This was an accident and clearly no one could have know what was going to happen. Not even Evan's himself. If anyone would have known, then obviously we would not be having this conversation.
You need to stop pointing fingers and be there for your BR's and stop with all the anger towards the RDC and the upperclassmen. How would you feel if you were in their shoes? Seriously a kid died under their supervision by reasons which they could not have prevented. Get off you high horse and be there for your class and the VMI community
In addition to this, if the rat line is so hard and difficult and abusive, how the hell are you able to take this much free time to write all your comments. The rat line has gotten easier in the past few years and this year is no different. Just imagine if you were in the ratline 40 years ago, the difficult of a march and being called names would be the least of your personal worries, remember the RDC was allowed to have physical contact with the Rats back then. My advice, Stop blaming everyone for an ACCIDENT!! And get back to being a rat and focus on being part of your class and community rather than against it.

[Lexington Watch]

Know what i Know wrote:

<quoted text>
so lets call him names and push him till he cant go anymore right? Lets judge him. I blame the cadets that were in his face yelling at him making him feel like garbage. I blame the RDC that would not let him stop when he said he couldnt go anymore. Cadets VS Rats. Everyone knows when your a rat your nothing and cadets are above you and you have to earn their respect. They treat the rats like crap. But of course this is a brotherhood and they will all sit around and defend eachother. In the end they can live with the truth of what really happened.

Cadets aren't doctors. They are 20-22 year-old-students with 3 years experience tops. They don't how much rats can take. They have limited medical experience and rely on common sense and what cadets before have taught them. They assume the rats are healthy.

I don't disagree with your critique of VMI. But why is the administration allowing students to train at all who are too out of shape and may have underlying medical conditions? Why wasn't there a more extensive screening? If a rat falls out of a run or march, he is encouraged to push on. The cadets training him have no idea he may have other medical issues. They assume he is out of shape but mainly healthy.

I don't blame Evans. He was just doing his best. He didn't want to fall out and be ostracized. He may not have known how much his body could take, or was afraid to say anything. Then again, he may have gone to Post Hospital and told to return to the ratline.

[Rat Parents]

First and foremost, to Evans' family and friends. our sincerest condolences. We can not even begin to imagine your loss and sorrow. Our hearts go out to you and the entire VMI family.

To those commenting above, please do not make rash judgements. Let the experts perform a proper investigation. Everyone needs to let the facts come out without prejudging first. Evans should honored for his and strong will. He believed in VMI and all it stood for and he knew when he enrolled that the rat line would be a challenge and not easy. Part of what makes VMI special is that cadets strive to achieve more than what they think they can do.

Evans completed the march. Let the commentary end and let the experts do their job. Use your time more wisely to honor Evans and pray for his family who must deal with his loss.

[Know what i Know]

Lexington Watch wrote:

<quoted text>
Cadets aren't doctors. They are 20-22 year-old-students with 3 years experience tops. They don't how much rats can take. They have limited medical experience and rely on common sense and what cadets before have taught them. They assume the rats are healthy.
I don't disagree with your critique of VMI. But why is the administration allowing students to train at all who are too out of shape and may have underlying medical conditions? Why wasn't there a more extensive screening? If a rat falls out of a run or march, he is encouraged to push on. The cadets training him have no idea he may have other medical issues. They assume he is out of shape but mainly healthy.
I don't blame Evans. He was just doing his best. He didn't want to fall out and be ostracized. He may not have known how much his body could take, or was afraid to say anything. Then again, he may have gone to Post Hospital and told to return to the ratline.

I agree they need to really look into these kids health and I agree these YOUNG kids are just that YOUNG kids who are not doctors. Reminds me of FULL METAL JACKET when Pyle was treated like such a bag of ass he snapped. Maybe it didnt extend this far in this circumstance. I just love how everyones got the back of the school. And people covering asses like crazy. Its good to know that they are all ok with the treatment this kid recieved. What if it was your kid? Im sure it would be very different if roles were reversed. And it was you and your kid in this sitution.