thedrifter
10-16-08, 07:45 AM
Marines run for comrades lost in conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan
By Charmain Z. Brackett | Correspondent
Thursday, October 16, 2008
The fourth annual Marine Tribute Run will begin at 9 a.m. Sunday at Fort Gordon's Barton Field.
"Everything our service does is based on tradition. This is something we started that's important," sad Gunnery Sgt. Jared Bean, staff noncommissioned officer for Fort Gordon's Marine Corps Detachment and the coordinator of the run.
The run pays tribute to Marines and Navy corpsmen who have died in Iraq or Afghanistan. Marine and Navy personnel at Fort Gordon will run 1,090 laps, or about 3,300 miles, in memory of those who have died. Each lap around Barton Field's track is about three miles.
Runners will be on the track 24 hours a day until the tribute run ends with a ceremony at 3 p.m. Friday, Nov. 7.
"They will average about 15 laps," Gunnery Sgt. Bean said of the Marines on post and in the Marine Reserve unit in Augusta who will participate. "Some will run more; some will run less."
During the event, photographs and names of the dead will be projected on a screen. Some of the Marines in the detachment will run for people they served with, he said.
Though most of the event is for runners, one walking lap is set up for 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 1.
Gunnery Sgt. Bean said the run receives a lot of attention from retirees and civilians, some of whom have no affiliation with the military.
"They stop by to talk to the Marines," he said. The final lap on Nov. 7 should be special.
"We are inviting everybody to come out. In years past, we've had a huge formation running. Hopefully, it will be the same this year," he said.
From the Thursday, October 16, 2008 edition of the Augusta Chronicle
Ellie
By Charmain Z. Brackett | Correspondent
Thursday, October 16, 2008
The fourth annual Marine Tribute Run will begin at 9 a.m. Sunday at Fort Gordon's Barton Field.
"Everything our service does is based on tradition. This is something we started that's important," sad Gunnery Sgt. Jared Bean, staff noncommissioned officer for Fort Gordon's Marine Corps Detachment and the coordinator of the run.
The run pays tribute to Marines and Navy corpsmen who have died in Iraq or Afghanistan. Marine and Navy personnel at Fort Gordon will run 1,090 laps, or about 3,300 miles, in memory of those who have died. Each lap around Barton Field's track is about three miles.
Runners will be on the track 24 hours a day until the tribute run ends with a ceremony at 3 p.m. Friday, Nov. 7.
"They will average about 15 laps," Gunnery Sgt. Bean said of the Marines on post and in the Marine Reserve unit in Augusta who will participate. "Some will run more; some will run less."
During the event, photographs and names of the dead will be projected on a screen. Some of the Marines in the detachment will run for people they served with, he said.
Though most of the event is for runners, one walking lap is set up for 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 1.
Gunnery Sgt. Bean said the run receives a lot of attention from retirees and civilians, some of whom have no affiliation with the military.
"They stop by to talk to the Marines," he said. The final lap on Nov. 7 should be special.
"We are inviting everybody to come out. In years past, we've had a huge formation running. Hopefully, it will be the same this year," he said.
From the Thursday, October 16, 2008 edition of the Augusta Chronicle
Ellie