July 25: A special day
The terrain of the Ozarks greeted the team with the challenge of the winding roads and seemingly endless hills. However, at mile 2453, we were joined by the Holland family who we met with the night before, and helped the team pass the halfway point of the day. They joined us for 4 miles, of which Daniel’s brother, John, was held high the American flag, showing passing cars the red, white, and blue.
Part of the team ended their section in Waynesville, MO, and were escorted into town by the local police. A few soldiers from Ft. Leonard Wood and townsfolk met the team in town, and we were given a tour of the Spur Name Tape factory were many of the military branches’ uniform patches and names tags are sewn. (see photo below). We also had a wonderful reception with free lattes and lunch at Caffe Italia, courtesy of the Kneeland family. The cozy setting, live music, and smell of coffee was a great break from the road. Be sure to stop for a mocha!
We ended our day with a tour of Ft. Leonard Wood with our liaison Sgt. 1st class Liversedge. Later in the tour, we were joined by Major Migliara and his family. We all enjoyed one another’s company and a few margarita’s over dinner, avoiding the rainstorm outside.
GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN
This memorial video is in honor of the 19 fallen heroes from the U.S. Army, 3rd Battalion, 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment, based out of Fort Richardson, Alaska, who died in Operation Iraqi Freedom during their deployment in 2006-2007. We thank the organizers of Run For the Fallen for their dedication to the memories of all who have died in service to their country in OIF and OEF.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjyM1PCtFxI
August 2nd – Henry Linck, Micah Gifford, Brennan Gibson, Philip Ford & Shawn Murphy
August 3rd – Dustin Donica, Jeremiah Johnson, Joseph Strong & Douglas Tinsley
August 4th – Jeffrey Bisson, Sean Fennerty, Phillip McNeill, Toby Olsen & Jamie Wilson
August 5th – Russell Kurtz
August 8th – James Lindsey & Clifford Spohn
August 10th – Ryan Baum
August 14th – Shawn Adams
August 24th – Paratroopers of the 3/509th will be running at Fort Richardson, AK and family members will be at Arlington National Cemetery for the Final Day Event.
Flickr/Day/Detail/Soldier/Comments for each of the 19 fallen warriors of the 3/509th PIR.
“The beginning of the end of war lies in remembrance.” -Herman Wouk
AUGUST 2, 2008
Terri Batts and her daughter Vanessa drove over 350 miles from Indiana to Tennessee to support the national runners for their son and brother CPL Joseph Strong (run on August 3rd) who was KIA in Iraq. Terri took along the runner’s bibs to place at the flags and miles of the 4 3/509th fallen heroes, Joseph Strong, Douglas Tinsley, Dustin Donica and Jeremiah Johnson on August 3rd near Charlotte and Dickson, TN. She is also placing a sign of support along the route to remember all 19 KIA from the 3/509th.
“We are done with Day 49 for the Run For the Fallen. It seemed to go very well with a lot of supporters and enthusiasm. Some local people ran today for Joey because they could not run tomorrow. You can view the newspaper from Clarksville, TN to see the story at
http://www.theleafchronicle.com. Today’s run included 3/509th soldiers SSG Linck, CPL Gifford, SGT Gibson, SPC Ford and SPC Murphy. I talked to serveral people today who ran and are running the entire run. They are amazing. They kept thanking me for coming and supporting them, but they did not seem to realize that they are the ones supporting us. I just can not thank everyone enough for their efforts when it comes to supporting our troops. The troops are the reason that we are here in a free country and I am glad that people realize that. I will send you another update tomorrow after the run.
The runners are starting the run at 6:30 in the morning. Here are pictures of the stop at the Montgomery County Fairgrounds, and also of the stakes that I made that I am going to literally pound into the ground where they place the soldiers’ flags. The ground is so hard down here in KY and TN. Take care and love always.” ~Terri, mom of CPL Joseph A. Strong, KIA December 26, 2007, OIF.
Go to http://blog.dustindonica.com/ for photos of Kris Bellona and the national runners on August 2, 2008.
Along the TN route, from CPL Joseph Stong’s mother, Terri:
Day 50 run for 3/509th paratroopers Dustin Donica, Joseph Strong, Douglas Tinsley & Jeremiah Johnson.
“I had a good time with the run on Day 50 which bagan at 7 a.m. We loved being with the great people who are dedicating their summer to running for the fallen soldiers. It was a very emotional day, but it was worth the time and effort that was taken to drive down to TN and be a part of this amazing event. It was not quite as organized as we thought it would be, but it was as good as could be expected. The runners are not familiar with the route as most of them are from California or Colorado, and it is hard for them to determine where they will be placing the flags for the fallen. We originally placed our bibs that I had put on the stakes for the ground where we determined the miles would be considering the starting point, but we ended up being almost a mile off of their calculations, so we had to go back and pull up our markers. Then there ended up being 5 soldiers between Joey and Douglas Tinsley instead of two. So again we had to pull up the markers after placing them a second time. It was a lot of driving and a lot of stress. I did not get pictures of the flags for Dustin Donica or Jeremiah Johnson because they could not determine where they would be placed in the towns. We also had to drive all the way back to IN yet. The national runners are, however, taking pictures of each flag that they put up which will be used in their documentary that they are making.
There was a group of peoople in the small town of Dickson, TN where Dustin Donica’s flag was placed and they joined in with the national runners. The local people were really excited to join the run. I met a family whose boy was killed on Christmas Eve 2006, the day before Joey and Douglas. They were from Wisconsin and came down just to support their son’s runners, also. It is hard to believe that at least 15 soldiers were KIA between Christmas Eve and the day after on that year during the holiday. I am so glad that all of our nation’s fallen are being remembered with this run.”
Go to http://blog.dustindonica.com/ to view photos of Kris Bellona, the national runners and Day 50.
Fort Leonard Wood’s newspaper, the Guidon, found out about your run by listening to Spirit FM, and sent a reporter out to track y’all down. Luke found you near Richland, and we ran the story top of A1. You can find the story by visiting our website.
Ft. Leonard Wood is doing a 5k to on 24 Aug to help commemorate the fallen.
On a personal note – On behalf of Danny Daniels (Iraq) and Shane Koele (Afghanistan), thanks for running.
I would like to say how much I appreciate John, his parents, Steve and Chris, Erin, John, Shawna and all those that are running for the fallen.
WOW! It was such a blessing for us at McMinnville First United Methodist Church to be able to help in such a small way.
You have touched our hearts and reminds us of all those that are fighting for our freedom and our country and especially those that have given of themselves and lost their lives.
I would again just like to say THANK YOU and to let you know that you are in our thoughts and prayers.
Keep in touch. Love and Blessings, Debbie Patterson
Meeting this group of people touched me and made me think about things I don’t always want to think about. In war, there is always loss of life, someone’s father, husband, son, brother, or uncle. By remembering these men and women together ~ it connects us all. When I drove to work early the next morning I was able to witness the runner with a flag in his hand and it made my heart beat with excitment. Thank you for helping to bring awareness to the fallen and hopefully comfort to their families. To the men and women that sacrificed it all ~ Thank you! And to the families, may God comfort you for the rest of your life.
Sincerely,
Whitney
mother of a soldier who served in Iraq
Another belated entry from the KY /TN border August 2.
Jon, Erin and all of the runners, as you are footsore and weary, slogging along the highways to Arlington,the enormity of what you are accomplishing in healing the families of the fallen is truly tremendous. Again, heartfelt thanks from agrateful nation.
http://video.aol.com/video-detail/running-across-the-us-to-honor-the-fallen/2512087303
(This opened in Firefox but not my usual browser.)
Lots of folk have seen the NBC Nightly News clip of Day 49, starting in beautiful Land Between The Lakes National Reserve , but here is a link for those who missed it. Thanks to the proud parents of mile 2917 Travis Krege for e-mailing me the following to pass to The Team:
“We are so touched by the way you are honoring our son and all the other soldiers KIA. We saw the NBC nightly newscast
last week-end that showed a woman holding up Travis’s flag
in a report about RFTF. It was so moving to see his name
being remembered by people who never even met him,but are
paying tribute to him and our
loss. We thank you so very much. Yari’s Mom and I keep in touch and I know she would love to hear from anyone who spent time with him.
With our prayers for a safe journey and our gratitude,
Sandy & Mike Krege”
25th Infantry based at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, lost four more soldiers that day in Hawijah including SPC Yari Mokri (best buddy since bootcamp to SPC James Strong) who just days before sent photos of the two of them clowning together with the contents of 100 Priority Mail Boxes from Operations Kids Care, Harbor Day School, CA, where James was my student in 1983) The families of Josh Madden, Jason Huffman and Jesse Castro are all united with the Mokris and Kreges through this devastating loss of sons, husbands, fathers and brothers. Please go to their Legacy guestbooks and learn about these five proud American families who gave the ultimate sacrfice. Let their families know you care. ”Grief lingers long after patience and sympathy fade” was a telling comment in the story of the Widows of Killeen, TX in February 2008 Glamour magazine. It fits every American family whose sons and daughters are honored by the Run For The Fallen family.
Thank you for funning for my husband, MSG Robb Needham. I wish I could have been there at that mile to encourage you along. Thank you for remembering the love of my life.