Honoring Our Heroes

On Tuesday, September 6th, Nick's command hosted the 9/11 Heroes Run here on Guam. A few friends and I collaborated with the Travis Manion Foundation to organize a race here as a way of honoring our fallen heroes and showing support to friends who were planning other Heroes Runs in other parts of the country. The initial idea came up way back in San Diego in May when I had lunch with my friend Amy. She and her friends and family were organizing the San Diego race in honor of her husband Brendan and his Naval Academy roommate Travis Manion, both of whom died serving our country. The race is a fundraiser for TMF, which provides support to families whose loved ones are injured or killed serving in the military or as emergency responders. It dawned on me that we could do something out in Guam so we too could actually participate, instead of just hear about it like we usually do way out here.

Due to a scheduling conflict, we couldn't wait until September 11th to do the run, so we did it earlier that week. Everyone gathered Tuesday morning (we had actually postponed the run from Friday when torrential downpours flooded many parts of the island). In all, we had about 65 people come out for the run, which doesn't sound like a lot, but considering this was a pretty informally organized event, I was pretty happy to see so many faces and strollers there. One of my friends brought her daughter to run with her even though it meant she'd be late for school that morning. She said it was one of those things that was just worth doing.

I immediately got that sense as well. As Nick welcomed everyone and explained the reason for the gathering and the race, I could sense the weight of how important something like this was to the families listening on. I looked around and saw the faces of guys who lost good buddies just a month ago. From what I've heard, these guys were some of the most loyal, hardworking, courageous men in the entire world. I was humbled to be participating in something so much bigger than all of us, especially knowing races were being planned all over the USA and at various posts in Afghanistan.

In terms of the fundraiser, we did a tremendous job, raising over $2,300 between the cash donations on race day and the online contributions of friends and family in the weeks prior. That money will one day give hope to a grieving family in their deepest hour of need. In addition to showing support through donations, many of the guys hung around after the race to look at programs of memorial services from the previous week in San Diego. The program from the service for the Special Forces is tough to ingest. With one page dedicated to each of the fallen from the August crash, it is overwhelming how thick it is. The weight of these pages was heavy on all of our hearts, which is why the words of Travis's mom Janet Manion, provided by the foundation to read before the race, were so perfect. And as the 10th anniversary of 9/11 comes to a close, I leave you with her words.

"Today we run to honor those who are no longer with us. We run to honor Fallen Heroes from every community across this great land. Heroes who wore the uniform of our nation - whether military, police, firefighter, or emergency responder. Today we run a 5K to honor the 9K who lost their lives on 9/11 and since. Thank you so much for coming out today to run, to volunteer, to donate, and to cheer... but most of all to HONOR all those who gave their tomorrow for our today. Do not run with a heavy heart. Run with strength, and passion, and with the great spirit and love of country these Heroes exemplified in life. Run and cheer to show the world we are stronger and more united than ever. God bless you, God bless those in harmʼs way today, and God Bless America!"