Fourth annual ruck march honors the Immortal 32

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Thirty-two men marched from Gonzales to the Alamo to fight for Texas Independence in 1836; now more than 20 people will take that same 75-mile march this week in honor of the legacy of the Immortal 32.

Terrence Ogden of Wimberley is the organizer for the Immortal 32 Ruck March. Its fourth incarnation is set for Friday, March 3.

Originally the march started out from Wimberley to Gonzales, but after a visit to the Gonzales Memorial Museum with his son, Odgen got a history lesson about the Immortal 32.

“I started reading more about the Immortal 32. And I was like this is perfect. We can basically follow the footsteps of the Immortal 32 and do the route to the Alamo,” Odgen said.

Odgen, who’s an eighth generation Texan, was really surprised that none of the history books he has read has talked about the Immortal 32.

“These guys should be in all the history books, because you read a lot of the history books and it doesn't even mention them,” Odgen said

“And they say no one answered Travis' calls, but these guys, not only were they at the Alamo, they knew they were going to die, they knew they weren't coming home,” Odgen added.

Ogden added the spirit of the Immortal 32 speaks “tremendously” and that they were unsung heroes that need to be added to the history books.

“It's an impressive story that just kind of got forgotten in time. It's an honor to walk that path [of the Immortal 32]. And it's a huge challenge at the same time,” Odgen added.

The ruck march is 75 miles from Gonzales to the Alamo in San Antonio, and Odgen said this started with him and his friend Keith Busby.

“We got dropped off in Gonzales and didn't have a ride until we got to the Alamo. So it was kind of a do-or-die type of thing. And last year, we promoted it a little more, and we had a bunch of guys who wanted to do it with us. We started with 17 guys, and we finished with nine,” Odgen said.

This year will not only be dedicated to the memory of the Immortal 32, but also raise money to help a friend, SWAT team member and combat veteran Jason Ullo.

Ullo was diagnosed with stage four colon cancer and Odgen is dedicating this year’s march to him.

For donations to help Ullo’s cancer battle, please go to https://www.spotfund.com/story/75582db7-17e9-4860-a846-1b23de5e290b?source=s&share_location=c&SFID=p9m17sc.

Odgen and 22 others will be making the journey from Gonzales to the Alamo beginning at 1:30 a.m. March 3 at the Memorial Museum.

The group will arrive at the Alamo between noon and 2 p.m. that Friday.

For more information to where to join the ruck march, please visit at https://immortal32ruck.org/.

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