Cross-nation relay run begins to remember soldiers

[June 16, 2008]  CLINTON, N.Y. (AP) -- Jon Bellona was devastated when he learned that a good friend had been killed in an ambush in Iraq. While out on a jog, he came up with a way to honor his fallen pal.

Bellona is remembering his friend Mike Cleary -- and all American soldiers killed in Iraq -- with a coast-to-coast memorial relay run that began Saturday in Fort Irwin, Calif., and is to end at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.

Bellona will be accompanied by a small cadre of friends and former classmates. They will be joined along various stretches of the 72-day, 13-state journey by other runners and groups, including several military units and veterans' organizations.

At each mile along the 4,113-mile route, they will plant an American flag -- with a card and photo -- in honor of each of the more than 4,000 soldiers killed in Iraq. The "Run for the Fallen" began Saturday -- Flag Day.

"This isn't about politics at all," said Shauna Sweet, who hopes to run all 72 days. "It's about how real people make real sacrifices every day. It's honoring that and respecting that. Sometimes you need to be able to say more than just thank you."

Cleary, of Dallas, Pa., was 24 when he was killed Dec. 20, 2005 in Iraq. Like so many young Americans, he was inspired to join the Army following the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, said his father, Jack Cleary, himself a retired Army officer.

The Clearys persuaded their son to wait and graduate from Hamilton College in upstate New York before enlisting. With his economics degree in hand, Cleary joined up and soon made first lieutenant. He died in December 2005.

The idea for the relay run came to Bellona, a roommate of Cleary at Hamilton, about a year ago. Bellona was working in New York City and living in New Jersey and was out for a run on the waterfront when it started raining.

"I could see the New York skyline, and what was missing," he said, referring to the World Trade Center towers. "I remembered sitting on the couch with Mike in our suite junior year and watching the 9/11 events unfold. It was just all there in my head: Mike, the towers, the running. The idea popped into my head and I couldn't sleep that night."

It started as a small effort among friends and family, including Cleary's sister Shannon and his fiancee, Erin Kavanagh, the high school sweetheart Cleary was supposed to have married the February after he got home from Iraq.

When it started to grow, the 26-year-old Bellona quit his job as an audio engineer and put his career on hold to plan the project.

As Bellona pieced together the logistics and began preparations for the cross-country trip, he received help from about two dozen middle and high schools across the country as students compiled and made the cards that are attached to each of the 30-inch tall, 12-inch-by-18-inch flags.

The flags will follow a chronological order starting on the West Coast with the first soldier killed in Iraq, said Bellona, whose senior project at Hamilton involved producing a 6-hour long sound memorial to Vietnam vets. Cleary's flag will be placed just outside Wichita, Kan., on July 20.

The relay will cover an average of 57 miles a day, traversing a mostly southern path across the United States. Bellona, who four years ago completed a cross-country bicycle trip to raise money for the Lance Armstrong Foundation, and Sweet, a 26-year-old marathoner, plan to run 15-20 miles daily.

There will be places to view soldiers' stories, look at video and slideshows, leave comments and messages, follow the runners' progress and find out which mile they are running for which soldier.

Not only will the race memorialize those soldiers who have lost their lives, it also will help raise funds for those left behind. Donations will be directed to the Wounded Warrior Project, the Yellow Ribbon Fund, 1st Lt. Michael J. Cleary Memorial Fund and Helping Unite Gold Star Survivors.

On Aug. 24, about 150 runners will take part in a ceremonial 10K race that will end at the Arlington National Cemetery. Only a small group will enter the cemetery to plant the final flag while a bugler plays taps, Bellona said.

On that day, the group also will be running to honor soldiers killed in Afghanistan, Bellona said, encouraging all Americans to run a mile.

"The whole thing started as a way to do something for Mikey. Something to make him proud and that would continue to tell his story," Bellona said. "The run gets its power, its strength and its depth from the fact that it is a simple project -- it's a way to remember."

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On the Net:

Run for the Fallen: http://www.runforthefallen.org/

[Associated Press; By WILLIAM KATES]

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