Chasing History

Fort Lee, Va. (April 16, 2009) -- The trek started in Petersburg during the early morning hours of April 8, meandered its way through scenic countryside and down one-lane roads, covered five counties and logged nearly 100 miles.

About a mile from the finish point, group members filed out of vans - faces weary, knees bandaged, muscles worn - and joined the last leg of runners that jogged in tight formation down the access road leading into the park.

As the double-time slowed to a march in steady cadence - their chests swelled with pride, chins tilted upward, eyes to the front, guidon held high - A,A the group made its way to the flagpole, reverently greeting a flapping Old Glory on these hallowed grounds.A,A

They, about 25 members of Fort Lee's 217th Military Police Detachment, had just collectively completed a two-day, 95-mile relay run to the hallowed grounds of Appomattox Court House National Historic Park located about 97 miles west of Fort Lee.A,A

The Soldiers were participants in an event called Gen. Lee's Retreat Relay Run, which essentially traces the 110-mile route of Gen. Robert E. Lee's Confederate forces by foot to the small village where he surrendered to Union Gen. Ulysses Grant, ending the most divisive event in American history - the Civil War.

Sgt. Anthony Butts, the detachment's operations sergeant, said the 217th has conducted Lee's Retreat Run for the past four years.A,A It primarily aims to connect unit members with a heritage that has its roots in the Confederate Army.A,A

"Gen. Lee's security guard forces were MPs called the 'Watchdogs,'" he explained, noting that 'provost guard' was the official name for security personnel during that time.A,A "That's how we got the nickname for the detachment - Watchdogs, so we're honoring Gen. Lee and his retreat and all the history behind it."

The 217th Watchdogs completed their historic journey using no more than four Soldiers (including guidon) running most of the time in two-mile segments.A,A Support personnel led the runners in squad cars and drove vans that shuffled fresh runners to and from the numerous changeover points along the way.

Some of the unit participants logged 20 or more miles during the trek and some substantially less.A,A Many felt the aches and pains of overused muscles afterward.A,A Spc. Mark Booe was one of them.

"I'm tired and sore and my right knee is killing me right now," he said after running 27 miles over two days.

Spc. Jason Lewis, a veteran of two relay runs, marveled at the amount of miles piled up by some of his fellow Soldiers on day one.

"I was sore, and I can't imagine some of these guys who ran like 20 miles the first day," the MP dispatcher said.A,A "It's so much and to know that you've got to do the same thing the next day."

The journey took Soldiers through Dinwiddie, Amelia, Cumberland, Buckingham, and Appomattox Counties, areas so rural that resident livestock at times ceased grazing to see what the fuss was about.A,A The Watchdogs, nevertheless trekked on, enduring periods of darkness, chilly early-morning temperatures, injuries and hilly terrain daunting enough to squash any measure of enthusiasm.

"There are some big hills out here," said Butts of the route.A,A "They'd get to the bottom (of a hill), look up and say, 'I can't do it' and they do it, then say, 'Alright, I'm going to take that hill next year, too.'"

On the flip side of Soldiers' effort to achieve their goal was a deep sense of appreciation for the misery and toil Soldiers had to bear during two dreadful days in 1865.

"I think it brought to me a realization as to what they had to do," said Spc. Brandon Curlee, an investigator, noting his unit's run was more like a Sunday drive compared to what Lee's and Grant's men endured.A,A "I'm in just a PT shirt and shorts (Lee's men carried weapons and other equipment).A,A I couldn't imagine what they had to go through.A,A I think it was awesome."

The relay not only threw a monumental history lesson at the Soldiers, but it gave them the opportunity to bond.A,A Military police units, because of their shift work and duties that might be best described as disengaging, sometimes struggle to build a level of cohesiveness and camaraderie common in many units.A,A Spc. Guy Lightfoot, who spent most of his time in the vans because of an injury, said the relay run is an event that is a break from the routine and an opportunity to connect.

"I don't get to see a lot of the guys because I work in the training office," he said, "so for me to be able to be in the van and joke around and with my buddies was a good time.A,A It just gives you an overall better feel of the unit and how close we can be."

DetachmentA,A 1st Sgt. Brent Hall said the relay run goes as far as any other in getting Soldiers together and building a sense of team.

"This has definitely brought the unit together," he said.A,A "We're all hurting, we've run this, so we're all going to leave here knowing that we've accomplished this and we did it together."

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