The Patriot Files Forums  

Go Back   The Patriot Files Forums > Veterans > Veterans Appreciation

Post New Thread  Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old 08-05-2018, 03:19 PM
Boats's Avatar
Boats Boats is offline
Senior Member
 

Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Sauk Village, IL
Posts: 21,783
Thumbs up Cross-country trek in honor of fallen servicemembers ends at Arlington

Cross-country trek in honor of fallen servicemembers ends at Arlington
By CAROLINE HURLEY | STARS AND STRIPES - Published: August 5, 2018
RE: https://www.stripes.com/news/us/cros...ngton-1.541199

Photo Link: Gold Star families, servicemembers and supporters walk the final mile of the Run for the Fallen at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia on Aug. 5, 2018. The Run for the Fallen traversed 19 states over 5 months, over a route that covered almost 6,000 miles. Each mile honored fallen American servicemembers.
By: CAROLINE HURLEY/STARS AND STRIPES
https://www.stripes.com/polopoly_fs/..._900/image.jpg

WASHINGTON — As the final team of runners approached the Old Post Chapel at Virginia’s Fort Myer, Gold Star family members cheered, hugged and cried, waving flags and wearing t-shirts with the names of their fallen loved ones across them.

So began the final stages of a cross country memorial relay run, aptly named the Run for the Fallen.

The runners, dripping with sweat, came to a halt at an Arlington National Cemetery gate. They presented the colors – four flags participants had carried with them from the run’s beginning, some 2,500 miles away.

Then, a U.S. Marine read a list of names of those recently killed fighting in the War on Terror.

After eyes were dried, families hugged and thanked the runners who had just arrived. The entire group then set out on the final mile – a somber trek across Arlington National Cemetery to Section 60, where many of their family members have been laid to rest.

The run began on April 7, 2018 at Fort Irwin, an Army base situated between Los Angeles and Las Vegas. The route wound through 19 states and almost 6,000 miles.

Each mile along the route was dedicated to specific servicemembers who died over the past 18 years. Deceased American troops, beginning with those killed in the USS Cole bombing on Oct. 12, 2000, were honored over the course of the run. Their names were recognized in chronological order according to their date of death.

Runners stopped for a few minutes each mile to read the names of servicemembers being honored on that stretch of the journey. After covering about 50 miles, each day concluded with a ceremony to again remember each servicemember recognized during that day’s run.

In all, over 500 runners participated in the relay, and 20,067 names were read, included two very recent additions to the list, that of Army Pvt. Jeremy J. Wells and Army veteran Heather Watkins. Wells died as a result of a training mishap at Fort Campbell on Wednesday. Watkins died July 31.

Donald Gillespie was part of the two years of planning as the runner coordinator. His job was to make sure there were enough runners at every point along the route from California. To him, it is clear why the run is so important.

“Everybody needs to experience this. If you’ve never experienced a Run for the Fallen, you need to go out to a marker and stand and listen to a name being read, or talk to a Gold Star family and see how important it is.” Gillespie said. “We had families flying from California into Kentucky just to stand for 30 seconds to hear their son or daughter’s name. It means something.”

After completing the final leg of the journey, runners mingled with Gold Star families and supporters. Colton Compton, of Indiana, said he had run most of the route through Indiana, and then joined the team again to run through North Carolina and Virginia.

In total, Compton ran close to 300 miles in 21 days, but he said, “It’s not about how many miles we ran. It’s about every single person who we ran for on that mile. I don’t think of it as I ran so many miles. I think of it as that many miles for each hero.”

Person note: This what I call respect!
Boats/8-5-18
__________________
Boats

O Almighty Lord God, who neither slumberest nor sleepest; Protect and assist, we beseech thee, all those who at home or abroad, by land, by sea, or in the air, are serving this country, that they, being armed with thy defence, may be preserved evermore in all perils; and being filled with wisdom and girded with strength, may do their duty to thy honour and glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

"IN GOD WE TRUST"
sendpm.gif Reply With Quote
Sponsored Links
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On

All times are GMT -7. The time now is 03:24 AM.


Powered by vBulletin, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.