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Chattanooga: Relay to honor fallen in Iraq

By: Lauren Gregory
(Contact)

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Dana Jackson

Dana Jackson is not a runner, but her burning desire to honor fallen service members has been enough to get her to agree to pound the pavement this Sunday.

In coordination with a cross-country journey in remembrance of the 4,147 American service members who have died in the Iraq War, Ms. Jackson has planned a 14-mile run in Chattanooga to put extra emphasis on the sacrifices of the 14 people with ties to Hamilton County and surrounding counties in Tennessee and Georgia.

“This is just something I think needs to be done,” said Ms. Jackson.

She is a civilian and has no personal ties to any of the war dead, she said, but she has “always had a soft spot for the military.”

The event will take place Sunday, the same day the national Run for the Fallen finishes up at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C. That day, organizers in 35 states and four countries will hold their own versions of Run for the Fallen, Ms. Jackson said. In total, runners and bikers have pledged 4,462 miles, she said.

It is an event that began when national Run for the Fallen director and founder Jon Bellona, 27, of Clinton, N.Y., decided he wanted to honor his college roommate, Army 1st Lt. Michael J. Cleary, who died on Dec. 20, 2005.

Mr. Bellona quit his job to plan a route that would begin at Fort Irwin, Calif., on Flag Day, June 14, cross through Fort Leonard Wood, Mo. — where 1st Lt. Cleary trained — and finally end at the National Cemetery on Aug. 24.

Relay-style, a team of 10 to 15 people takes on each approximately 50-mile leg of the run, Mr. Bellona said during a phone interview from the road. He said he wasn’t sure whether he ever would put together such a large-scale event again, but that even one such run was more than worth it.

“I’m kind of speechless,” he said of the attention and support his event has received.

On Aug. 6, Mr. Bellona’s run passed through Tennessee and honored local fallen with a mile apiece, but its closest stop to the Chattanooga area was McMinnville. Ms. Jackson hopes Sunday’s Chattanooga Run for the Fallen will be even more meaningful to local families since it’s on their own turf.

She encourages participants to pre-register at www.chattanoogarunforthefallen.com, and said runners can pledge anywhere from all 14 miles to just one. Walkers and other supporters are welcome as well, she said.

Charles Beavers, stepfather to Army Sgt. John Michael Sullivan of Hixson, who died Dec. 30, 2006, said his family is planning to attend.

“It’s an honor for us to have them do it,” Mr. Beavers said. “There are no words to express our gratitude both for the soldiers out there fighting and the people who do events like this.”

Local military personnel also plan to turn out, said Gunnery Sgt. Jason Foster of the Chattanooga-based “Mike Battery” Marine Corps Reserve unit. For Gunnery Sgt. Foster, the run is especially personal — he recruited two of the Marines who will be honored during the event — Lance Cpl. Joshua Scott of Tunnel Hill, Ga., and Lance Cpl. Kristopher Cody Warren of Resaca, Ga.

“I feel some responsibility to show my loyalty and patriotism to both of those guys,” he said.

But he wants to make sure that no one forgets about others who have served as well.

“These people,” he said, “they’re the reason that we’re able to enjoy the freedoms that we do.”

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