130th Engineers reflect upon Sept. 11 during Iraq run

CONTINGENCY OPERATING STATION MAREZ, MOSUL, Iraq Aca,!" 130th Engineer Brigade Soldiers answered the call to remember the victims of Sept. 11 during a 9/11 Remembrance Run, here, Friday.

The run, sponsored by COS Marez Morale, Welfare and Recreation, attracted 319 runners. It was the largest turn-out for a run event at the base in four years, according to MWR officials.

The top runners in three male and female age groups, and the top male and female teams, earned trophies, medals, and Army and Air Force Exchange Service gift certificates.

The 130th, displaying unity and esprit-de-corps, participated in the four-mile run, and took top honors in many of the run categories. The engineers won five first place awards.

Soldiers said they realized the importance of remembering the tragic event and the hundreds upon hundreds of lives lost eight years ago. They said they did not run for trophies; they ran to pay tribute to the victims who died in the Twin Towers, at the Pentagon, and on Flight 93.

Chief Warrant Officer 2 Leeanna Davis, a human resources technician with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 130th Eng. Bde., volunteered to help set up the event and register participants.

Aca,!A"As I ran, I reflected back on that day, where I was, what I was doing. I think itAca,!a,,cs important we do something to remember Sept. 11 and honor those who died,Aca,!A? he said.

Davis finished in first for her age group, and her team also finished first.

Teammate Capt. Jacqueline Grabin, the brigadeAca,!a,,cs assistant S-6, said she was happy she participated in the 9/11 Remembrance Run because it was for a good cause.

Like so many others, Grabin will never forget where she was that day.

Aca,!A"I had just finished (Advanced Individual Training) and had been home for a week or so,Aca,!A? she said. Aca,!A"I woke up that morning and heard the radio, but I didnAca,!a,,ct know what they were talking about. I turned on the TV and just stood there for a long time. My jaw just dropped.Aca,!A?

Grabin helped Davis register the runners, and she said she was happy to see so many of the 130th Soldiers participate.

1st Lt. Bradley Miller of the 591st Eng. Co., 84th Eng. Bn., 130th Eng. Bde., came in first place with a time of 24 minutes, 50 seconds on the four-mile run. A project officer with the Mosul Reconstruction Cell, Miller said his entire section participated in the run.

Aca,!A"Sept. 11th, 2001, changed the lives of many people. Every day we wake up in Iraq or Afghanistan, we are in some ways remembering the sober realities of 9/11, and, hopefully, our efforts are helping to stop the type of people who perpetrated those attacks.

Aca,!A"This run,Aca,!A? Miller continued, Aca,!A"was a great way to build cohesion and boost morale for the units in Mosul that are making those efforts.Aca,!A?