Web posted
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Group runs in support of lost
By FOSS FARRAR
Traveler Staff Writer
reporter@arkcity.net
Angela Harding wanted to contribute something to a group of civilians who are running across the country to honor each service member killed in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
She caught up with the Run for the Fallen group on Friday at South Haven.
The 10 core members of Run for the Fallen planned to run south from Wichita to Winfield today, the group's founder said Friday evening. They had made their way up to Wichita from Enid, Okla.
Sgt. Jerry Mills Jr., of Arkansas City, is one of the soldiers being honored. He was killed in Iraq Nov. 29, 2005. The runners will place a marker honoring Mills this morning a mile south of Douglass, Harding said.
The runners were spending Friday night in the Wichita area, said Jon Ballona, founder of Run for the Fallen.
They planned to start today's run at 6:30 a.m., Ballona said. They were to depart just south of Haysville at Hwy. 81 and 95th Street.
"We'll reach the 34th mile of the day about 9:30 a.m.," Ballona said.
After the stop near Douglass, the group was to run to Winfield and were expected to arrive there by around noon. The runners planned to spend tonight at the Econolodge in Winfield.
Run for the Fallen started its mission of running one mile for every American service member killed in Operation Iraqi Freedom on June 14, Flag Day, in Fort Irwin, Calif.
The group plans to end the memorial run on Sunday, Aug. 24, at Arlington National Cemetery, Ballona said.
Over 4,080 American soldiers have lost their lives and over 30,000 have returned wounded, according to the group's Web site, www.runforthefallen.org.
"I met them and took some water to them," said Harding, dean of students at Arkansas City High School. "They are the nicest bunch of kids."
Another area soldier that was honored Thursday by the cross-country runners is Sgt. Evan Parker, of South Haven. A marker was placed for him two miles west of Medford, Okla.
Each mile of the cross-country run is dedicated to a fallen soldier and is marked with an American flag and personalized sign card, Ballona said.
Also to be honored is a friend of Harding's son.
"I came across this group of runners on the Internet," Harding said. "My son, Michael, lost a friend of his on his first deployment to Iraq."
Sgt. Michael Harding served with the Marines and completed two deployments in Iraq, she said. His friend, John Joshua Thornton, will be honored by the runners near Frontenac.
"I'm planning to be there," she said.
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