Fort Sill annual memorial run remembers fallen service members, Gold Star families

By Fort Sill Tribune staffDecember 6, 2018

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1 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Runners, joggers, and strollers begin the annual Fun For the Fallen Dec. 1, 2018, outside the Patriot Club at Fort Sill. About 400 people participated in the run to honor fallen service members, and Gold Star families. Two 155mm howitzers formed an a... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
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2 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Elfriede Werdehoff, of Lawton, admires the memorial honoring her late husband, Master Sgt. Michael Werdehoff, during the Eighth Annual Run for the Fallen, Dec. 1, 2018, near the Patriot Club. Twenty-seven displays paid tribute to local, fallen servic... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
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3 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
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4 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Lt. Col. Marny Skindrud, and Col. Jeffrey Buck, 428th Field Artillery Brigade, executive officer and commander, respectively, welcome the crowd to the Run For the Fallen, Dec. 1, 2018, at Fort Sill. The 428th FA Brigade sponsored the run along with F... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

FORT SILL, Oklahoma (Dec. 6, 2018) -- For the first time Elfriede Werdehoff of Lawton visited the tribute display which was an integral part of Fort Sill's Eighth Annual Run for the Fallen Memorial 5K, Dec. 1.

She was there to see the memorial honoring her late husband, Master Sgt. Michael Werdehoff, whose helicopter was shot down April 19, 1968, over Vietnam. Her daughter Carrol Maersch of Kansas City, Mo., made the trip to join her mother.

"It's absolutely wonderful," Werdehoff said of the memorial. "Nothing happened to all the men of the Vietnam era when they came home, so they need to be honored and recognized."

Werdehoff and Maersch were two of the hundreds of people at the run, which honored all fallen service members and local Gold Star families. It drew over 400 runners, joggers, and walkers, who followed a route that began at the Patriot Club and followed the perimeter of the Fort Sill Golf Course and ended back at the club.

The event was sponsored by the 428th Field Artillery Brigade; commander Col. Jeffrey Buck, and executive officer Lt. Col. Marny Skindrud, welcomed the crowd.

"This is a chance to keep up our solemn vow to never forget the warriors that we've lost," Buck said. Running can offer solitude, and this was an opportunity to remember the fallen service members, and their families.

Fort Sill Survivor Outreach Services (SOS) partnered with the 428th FA Brigade for the run, said Keith Powers, SOS program manager.

"I invited all our Gold Star family members (311) to attend to keep them connected with the military family," Powers said. "We honor the Gold Star families for all the sacrifices they have made."

SOS manned a race registration and warming tent to host the Gold Star families. For the third year in a row, the Fort Sill USO Center provided hot drinks and pastries in the tent, said Jennifer Kirby, USO director.

"The families really appreciate it, and it's fun to do it," Kirby said. "It's a way that we can give back to our Gold Star families, and our community."

In his invocation, Chaplain (Capt.) Stuart Williams, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Field Artillery, said: "Oh powerful God, we honor today those men, women, our sons and daughters, husbands and wives, fathers, brothers, sisters, mothers, who laid down their lives for our country."

About 10 a.m., Soldiers from B Battery, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Field Artillery "Salute Battery" fired a 105mm cannon to start the race.

Many of the participants were running in honor of fallen service members.

Army wife Melissa Thigpen ran in her first Run for Fallen in memory of five Soldiers that she knew.

"I run to honor those who paid the ultimate sacrifice," she said. "I want to give back what I can, to those who gave."

While many of the runners wore the run's commemorative T-shirt, Melissa and her husband, Command Sgt. Maj. Gregg Thigpen, 2nd Battalion, 6th Air Defense Artillery, ran in "Wear Blue: Run to Remember" shirts. Wear Blue, is a national running organization that honors fallen service members.

It was also the first time retired Lt. Col. Jim McNair, of Lawton, ran the memorial run, although he has attended before, supporting the event.

"As an American I have a lot of respect for the fallen, and this is a great way to pay tribute, and also have a fun time," he said.