There was a dedication ceremony on Friday, November 20th, renaming the Post Office in Charlottesville, VA in honor of Cpl Bradley T. Arms. Run for the Fallen had the opportunity to run alongside Bradley’s father, Bob, when we ran through Charlottesville last summer. I still have the picture of Bradley Bob handed to me as he left.
Here are a few words remembering the life of Bradley; the excerpt comes from his site on In Remembrance.
“Bradley Thomas Arms was happy to take a break from his studies at the University of Georgia to serve in Iraq. “He didn’t say it was going to ruin his college experience. He said, ‘This is what I signed up for, and I’m excited to have a chance to do it,’” said Ronald Sykes, headmaster of the Christian high school Arms attended. “He was the finest kid you could ever love.” Arms, 20, of Charlottesville, Va. was killed Nov. 19, 2004 by small arms fire. He was in a Marine reserve unit headquartered in Baltimore. Bradley played lacrosse and soccer in high school and participated in church service projects with his mother and father.”
Thank you to SGM Brad Schneier for organizing the Veteran’s Day 5k at Camp Slayer in Baghdad, Iraq. I know before the run there were over 800 registered runners.
Stacey Martinez lost her fiancé, 2nd Lt. Jeff Graham, in 2004 to a roadside bomb and she has gathered close to 60 friends in Lexington, Kentucky, to shadow run with the troops in Camp Slayer on the University of Kentucky’s campus. An article was published in the school’s newspaper on Thursday: http://kykernel.com/2009/11/12/shadow-run-pays-homage-to-u-s-soldiers-past-and-present/
Stephanie Smith had 45 runners turn out at her shadow run in Fredericksburg, VA. Allison Martinez lives in Valparaiso, Indiana, and gathered around 50 to shadow run the Baghdad event. They made t-shirts and will be sending the troops at Camp Slayer a few of them with a picture of their group, along with some extra goodies.
There were 97 confirmed runs across the country, including Walton High School in Marietta, GA; Greenwich, CT; Chatsworth, NJ; Tacoma, WA; Hood River, OR; Scottsdale, AZ; Fort Polk, LA; Elon, NC; to name a few. Thank you to all those who ran, and who organized runs in your area. This was a great Veteran’s Day week. Thank you.
Now if we can just get Stephen Colbert, Bill O’Reilly, or Matt Lauer to lace up their shoes and run…
We at Run for the Fallen wanted to thank all Veterans for their service. You continue to amaze and astonish us with your service and sacrifice. From our grandfathers who served in WWII and Korea, to our friends and family who are now in harm’s way (some of whom are on their third+ tour in Iraq or Afghanistan), we humbly offer our respect and appreciation, “thank you.”
Highlight on Sgt. Rob Brown in ESPN’s “OTL: Walter Reed.” The segment shows how kayaking and running helps disabled veterans on painful road to recovery.
