Service members at KAF 'Run for the Fallen' on 9/11

By Spc. Ariel SolomonSeptember 16, 2014

Service members at KAF 'Run for the Fallen' on 9/11
1 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Soldiers and Marines wear blue shirts and carry slips of paper with names of fallen Service members as they run around a track during the Run for the Fallen on Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, Sept. 10, 2014. Teams volunteered to run for 30 minute se... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Service members at KAF 'Run for the Fallen' on 9/11
2 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Soldiers wear blue shirts and carry slips of paper with names of fallen Service members as they run around a track during the Run for the Fallen on Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, Sept. 10, 2014. Teams volunteered to run for 30 minute segments throu... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Service members at KAF 'Run for the Fallen' on 9/11
3 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Spc. Jason Lee Percy carries the U.S. flag as on the last lap of his 30 minute run during the Run for the Fallen on Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, Sept. 10, 2014. After the run, Percy said he was proud to have ran for his fallen brothers and sisters... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Service members at KAF 'Run for the Fallen' on 9/11
4 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Thousands of names and photos cover makeshift walls on the Boardwalk stage on Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, as service members run during the Run for the Fallen, Sept 10, 2014. Teams volunteered to run for 30 minute segments throughout the evening... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan - For 13 years, Soldiers from all over the world have fallen in the fight against terrorism. In the afternoon haze on Sept. 10 at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, coalition service members began running to remember those fallen.

The run continued nonstop for 13 hours, ending in the morning of Sept. 11. The run was divided into 30 minute segments that were filled by groups on Kandahar Airfield; each mile representing one of the 3,320 coalition service members who have died in Afghanistan.

Air Force Master Sgt. Jason Torres, a native of Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, who works with the Combined Air Terminal Operations Center, organized the Run for the Fallen and set up a partnership with Gold Star families back in the states, who are families of deceased service members.

"It's such an honor to meet Gold Star families and what they do to keep their loved one's memory alive," Torres said.

Torres first ran for the fallen while stationed in California in 2011. While deployed to Qatar, he decided to bring the run with him wherever he was stationed and spread the word about family members left behind when a service member gives his or her life. He said that, each time he organizes a run, he faces challenges to make it the best run possible, especially in a deployed environment.

Torres felt it was important to make this run something he would feel proud to have a Gold Star family attend.

"People can't commit a lot of time, but with that constraint people have responded by giving what time and resources they can give," he said.

The participants of the race gave their time and legs to the cause, running in groups throughout the night, holding cards with the picture and name of the deceased.

Spc. Jason Lee Percy, who ran with the United States flag during the first leg of the run, said he participates in this kind of event often. He said he volunteers his time and his money to help with many different charities, including the Wounded Warrior Project, that help support Soldiers and their families.

"I feel good now that I've run for my fallen brothers and sisters," said Percy. "It brings me a lot of joy to know I did something for someone that has done more than I could ever repay. They paid the ultimate sacrifice for what they volunteered for."

As the runners finished their 30 minute runs, each stepped up to the boards with the names and photos of the fallen and read aloud the name of the service members they ran for.

"Most Gold Star families will ask that you never forget their loved ones," said Karen Meredith, a Gold Star mother from Mountain View, California, who lost her son, 1st. Lt. Ken Ballard, in 2004. "It is an honor for Gold Star families to know that our loved ones are remembered and respected by their brothers and sisters in arms. Many of those currently serving in Afghanistan have personally suffered the loss of those with whom they served, so they know their friends will never be forgotten."

"Our effort is to keep those memories alive with the deeper meaning of reaching out to their families and telling them they haven't been forgotten," explained Torres, "that we still consider them a part of our family."

Once the names had been read, the runners formed up one more time and rendered a salute in respect and mournful reverence toward the fallen.

"As combat operations wind down in Afghanistan, we welcome home the troops who have served so many deployments," said Meredith. "This memorial run reminds us of the troops who did not come home. The Gold Star families will never forget, of course, but we ask that our loved ones are always remembered, too."