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thedrifter
09-07-08, 07:50 AM
New York soldiers in Afghanistan commemorate 9/11 with run

By Stephanie Gaskell
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Saturday, September 6th 2008, 8:23 PM

New York National Guard soldiers fighting in Afghanistan traded combat boots for sneakers Saturday as they ran to remember the victims of 9/11.

More than 50 soldiers hit the starting line at Camp Blackhorse in Kabul for a 5K run marking the seventh anniversary of the terrorist attack that led them into battle.

"The significance of being here at this time and this place - a lot of us lived 9/11 first-hand, especially those of us in New York," said Sgt. John O'Dougherty, a former Marine from Valley Stream, L.I., who is serving in Afghanistan with the Fighting 69th out of Bayshore, L.I.

"To come here where the plot was hatched, where they launched the attack on us, to serve here and help the Afghan people get rid of this evil force is a noble cause," he said.

The race was held in conjunction with the Marine Corps 9/11 Run in Hauppague, L.I. Both started at 9:10 a.m.

More than 1,700 New York National Guard soldiers are serving in Afghanistan, training the local army there.

The New York-based soldiers at Camp Blackhorse raced alongside Marines, sailors, airmen and even some French soldiers - all paying tribute to those lost at the World Trade Center and those killed in combat since.

Ellie