The Sounds of Freedom division of the Great Aloha Run, which consists of service members from all branches of the military running in formation with their units, can trace its name and lineage back more than 40 years to the 25th Infantry Division, according to the Great Aloha Run website.
In 1974, then Maj. Gen. Harry Brooks Jr., commander of the 25th ID, led his Soldiers on marches through Wahiawa, and as they marched, the Soldiers chanted cadences for encouragement.
When residents of Wahiawa complained about the noise, Brooks reportedly explained that the cadences were the "sounds of freedom."
"When you hear the chanting of our Soldiers, they are in training. When you do not hear them, it means they are off to defend and protect our country. They are the sounds of freedom," Brooks said.
In 1986, then Lt. Gen. William Schneider of the 25th ID contacted the Great Aloha Run and asked that his Soldiers be allowed to participate as a special division called the Sounds of Freedom.
To be fair, the Marines were the first military branch to participate in the Great Aloha Run. A contingent of 600 Marines from Kaneohe, led by Col. Antonio Betta, entered the inaugural Great Aloha Run in 1985 as a show of goodwill. But over the years, the Sounds of Freedom has come to encompass all service branches, and it continues to be dominated by Soldiers from the 25th ID.
This year, approximately 4,016 Soldiers from the 25th ID participated in the Sounds of Freedom, more than all other Army commands and military service branches combined.
The breakdown is as follows:
•254 Soldiers from the Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion.
•62 Soldiers from Division Artillery.
•1,600 Soldiers from the 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team.
•1,600 Soldiers from the 3rd BCT.
•500 Soldiers from the 25th Combat Aviation Bde.
Also representing the Army in the Sounds of Freedom were 708 Soldiers from the 8th Theater Sustainment Command, 41 from the Pacific Regional Medical Cmd., 31 from the 500th Military Intelligence Bde., 29 from U.S. Army-Pacific's H&H Bn. and 16 from the 18th Med. Cmd.
Rounding out the military participation were 56 service members from the Navy, 51 service members from the Air Force, 22 service members from the Coast Guard and 16 service members from the Marines.
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