CAMP BONDSTEEL, Kosovo- Road marches have long been a fixture for Army Soldiers. Whether it's to display their physical prowess, meet an annual requirement or just prepare for the physical demands of a deployment, each service member has at some point donned a ruck and charted a course.
On Sept. 24, 2016, Soldiers deployed to Kosovo with the Multinational Battle Group-East once again carried on this Army tradition when more than 220 Soldiers from eight nations gathered on Camp Bondsteel, Kosovo to complete the 5th Annual March for the Fallen.
The somber event offered Soldiers a way to remember their fallen comrades while competing in one of three categories: a 5-kilometer run, a 14-mile ruck march and a 28-mile ruck march.
Although the routes, distances and weight requirements differed for each category, the overall theme and inspiration seemed to remain the same for each Soldier.
"The March for the Fallen to me is a time that I have an opportunity to go out and recognize the Soldiers who paid the ultimate sacrifice for this great country," said Maj. Tommy Guthrie, 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 28th Infantry Division, Brigade Adjutant. "This is also an opportunity for us to recognize their families, friends, and colleagues and is a way to help us all move forward."
"What inspires me about this event, in particular, is that we are doing it to honor fallen warriors from any unit and any era," said Maj. Gen. John Gronski, Deputy Commanding General for Army National Guard, U.S. Army Europe.
Before the start of each event, Soldiers from eight nations attached photos and other items of remembrance onto their clothes and rucks for inspiration and motivation when things got tough.
Guthrie reserved his ruck for a very special comrade who died in Iraq on June 15, 2007.
"I am doing this for a Soldier near and dear to my heart, Master Sgt. [Arthur] 'Artie' Lilley," said Guthrie. "He was a great man, a great American and he is dearly missed."
Although it has been more than nine years since Guthrie lost his long-time friend and battle buddy, he said the pain is still there as he remembers that day vividly.
"I just remember being home and getting the call from a good friend of mine," said Guthrie, fighting back tears. "It took us all off guard. I can remember I was just happy when his family received him home."
Still reeling from the loss, Guthrie, a company commander at the time, gathered his Soldiers and took them to pay tribute to his friend.
Left with just the memories of Artie, Guthrie still makes it a point, when home, to visit Artie's dad and share stories.
It's those memories, Guthrie said he used to get him through the grueling ruck.
"Sometime has gone by since the event and it makes me feel good at this time in my life to do this to recognize Artie and his family," he said. "It's a way for me to throw on my ruck and let it help bring me a little solitude and let his family know that his sacrifice will not be forgotten and I want them to know we are doing this for him."
Gronski, who was the Brigade Commander for the 2nd IBCT, 28ID, during the unit's deployment to Iraq in 2006, said he also found inspiration from two fallen Soldiers: Lt. Col. Michael McLaughlin and Vietnam veteran, Maj. John Alexander Hottell.
McLaughlin became the first officer in the Pennsylvania Army National Guard to die in action since World War II, when he was killed by an individual-borne improvised explosive device during a dismounted patrol in Ramadi, Iraq on Jan. 5, 2006.
Unlike McLaughlin, who served alongside Gronski, Hottell died in Vietnam. Although they never met, Gronski said he admired Hottel for his leadership and commitment to the Army.
"He is quoted as saying, 'I did not die for my country, I lived for my country'," said Gronski. "I thought that was just a great way for a warrior to put it... that he would serve and if he was called upon to give his life as he was, so be it."
The Moosic, Pennsylvania native said it was the memory of his close friend and legacy of the Vietnam veteran that drove him to complete the 28-mile ruck march every year since its origination.
Although Gronski and Guthrie both found themselves, at times, alone on the ruck and relying on their personal losses to drive them to finish, they both agreed they were never truly alone. Instead, they were left with the memories of their friends and the families left to carry on their Soldiers legacy as reminders to never quit.
"To the families of our fallen our hearts go out to them," said Gronski. "Our primary message is we will never forget the sacrifice their loved ones made."
While the deployed Soldiers completed the March for the Fallen in Kosovo, Pennsylvania National Guard Soldiers and their friends and families are schedule to host their own event in Fort Indiantown Gap, Pennsylvania
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