Marines

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A Virginia Run for the Fallen hero marker stands alongside Fuller Rd., aboard Marine Corps Base Quantico on May 4, 2013. A motorcade consisting of recreational vehicles, motorcycles, the base Provost Marshal’s Office and the County Sheriff’s Department escorted 18 runners through the base.

Photo by Pfc. Samuel Ellis

Quantico contributes seven to the 236

4 May 2013 | Pfc. Samuel Ellis Marine Corps Base Quantico

    Quantico supporters waved flags and cheered as four runners with the Virginia Run for the Fallen passed them May 4, 2013. A seven-mile path stretching between two of Marine Corps Base Quantico’s gates served as a section of the route included in a special event that stretched 236 miles.

    Eighteen runners ran the course over a four-day period from Virginia Beach to Arlington National Cemetery to honor fallen service members from all branches of military service that were stationed in or native to Virginia.

    “It’s a great thing they’re doing,” said Rebecca Yale, mother of late Marine Cpl. Jonathan Yale. The men and women who served deserve this recognition, she said.

    The runners paused at every mile to place an American flag and biography card of a fallen service member- families of those remembered were invited to attend.

    Yale, for whom the Headquarters & Service Battalion building is named, was killed in Iraq on April 22, 2008, and was honored Saturday, across from Yale Hall on Barnett Avenue. His mother was present to support her son’s memory.

    Events like this are important to us, because without them, so many service members are forgotten, she said.

    “It gives us an opportunity to honor those who’ve given their lives,” said Navy Lt. Rebecca Rausa of Washington, D.C., who ran in the race. “We also have an opportunity to honor fellow service members and the gold-star families [immediate families of fallen service members].”

    Virginia Run for the Fallen organizers hope this event will become an annual tradition with more people involved in the future.

    “The runners have done what they came to do,” said Navy Lt. j.g. Mike Gordon, Information Warfare Officer, USS Iwo Jima, Norfolk, Va., who assisted in organizing the race. 

    We’d like to see it grow next year, but we need more people to participate, he said.

    Was the run a success, the answer may best be found in the “thank you’s,” hugs and tears of a parent like Rebecca Yale.

    The organizers of the event hope that when you notice the hero markers and American flags that stand erected at Marine Corps Base Quantico, you’ll be reminded of those who have given their lives so we can run past.

Correspondent: samuel.l.ellis@usmc.mil


Marine Corps Base Quantico