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| Tributes and flags from last year’s Run for the Fallen (courtesy photo) |
By C. Ayn Douglass
Staff Columnist
OGUNQUIT -
On Flag Day, June 14, 2008, a group of runners made it their
goal to run from Fort Irwin, California, to Arlington National Cemetery to
commemorate the lost lives of servicemen and women who served in Operation
Iraqi Freedom. Since then, the Run for the Fallen has been an annual event in
many states and is locally supported by many towns.
On August 19 in Ogunquit, the fifth annual Run for the
Fallen will take place with an expected 200 runners covering the forty-two
miles between the town square and the end point in Portland.
While the energy and excitement of the event is spectacle
enough, the run is a staging point for a
more sobering and deeply felt commitment held by organizer John Mixon
and his dedicated group of volunteers and supporters. Their mission doesn't
begin or end with the Run for the Fallen. It is a year-round labor of love.
Mixon, a military veteran himself, realized that the pain
from the sudden loss of a family member on foreign soil doesn't end with the
funeral. It goes on and takes the form of emotional and financial upheaval. In
Maine, the lives of the families of eighty-one servicemen and women have been
changed forever as a result of that loss.
“The biggest thing we do is raise awareness and make a great
day for them,” Mixon said. “Not only a great day; a no red-tape lifeline when
they have a need.” Those needs are quite basic such as fuel oil, medicine,
funeral expenses or vehicle repair. “Throughout the year, we know they are
legitimate (needs) because they're sent to us by Survivor Outreach, a program
run by the National Guard.”
The project also set up a scholarship fund for surviving children
of veterans. This year, five $1,000 scholarships were awarded to family
members. “All who applied got one. Same as last year,” Mixon said.
In addition to helping with financial needs, Mixon has
helped to create an emotional support network within the Maine families, many
of whom will be at the event on August 19 either at the start or the end of the
run. He calls the families the 'silent sufferers.' “We, who haven't experienced
that, can't understand. It's real-life stuff and you're touched by it.”
He sees the difference between the Vietnam-era culture and
that of today.
“The country has done a 180-degree turn from the 60's and
70's. I can't turn back the hands of time, but we can make it better for this
generation of soldiers,” he said.
Mixon said he expects a good turnout for this year's run and
doesn't ask or encourage anyone to attempt to run all sixty-five kilometers.
“We have no expectation that everyone will finish.”
It's enough, he said, that the soldier's family will see the
runner and recognize the tribute that he or she is paying to the fallen
soldier. There is no one-size-fits-all description of a participant. Mixon said
many families, military people, or people who just want to walk have taken part
on event day.
Mixon relies on a dedicated team of volunteers who assist
him throughout the year including more than 100 on event day alone, as well as
a core group of individuals who assist him the rest of the year.
Though 2012 is the final year Mixon and his volunteers will
organize the Run for the Fallen, memorializing the servicemen and women and
honoring their families in the future may take a new form, perhaps as a 5K run,
Mixon said. Also, he is working with Governor Paul LePage to create a
non-profit acquisition of land in Kittery to build a memorial to all Maine
veterans.
“It's the start of the Gold Star Highway,” he said. It would
tie it all in and permanently honor Gold Star Families and Maine veterans.
