Photo By Sgt. Breanna Weisenberger | Service members and family and friends of the seven U.S. Marine Raiders and nine...... read more read more
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MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. – Veterans and the Jacksonville community lined the shoulders of U.S. Route 17 to cheer on the Rucking Raiders on their final approach to Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, escorted by local police and fire departments, July 26.
Service members, family and friends, finished the last leg of the 900-mile memorial hike at Marine Corps Special Operations Command on MCB Camp Lejeune. The hike was in memory of the 15 Marines and one Navy Corpsman who died in the July, 2017, KC-130 crash on their way to California for training, flying from North Carolina.
“There isn’t a single soul in this audience, or in this formation, who wouldn’t trade any of the goodness over the last year, any of the wisdom that we’ve gained, any of the soul enriching moments along the way, made on this journey of grief; there isn’t a soul here, who wouldn’t push that all to the side to have our Marines and Sailor back with us,” said Col. Michael A. Brooks Jr., commanding officer, Marine Raider Regiment, U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Special Operations Command.
Rucking Raiders founder, Nate Harris, presented the Marine Raider Regiment with a hand crafted paddle that the teams took turns hiking with from Mississippi to North Carolina. Harris then led the crowd in a final set of push-ups.
“It’s a story that needs to be told on who these men were as people and not just as numbers,” said Harris. “I think every time that an individual who’s served in the military dies, there’s a quick blurb about how they died, then there is a picture of them in their uniform and that’s pretty much all that the public get to see.”
According to a Marine Gunnery Sgt. who preferred to remain anonymous for operational security, the hiking started on July 14, and continued without stopping, until they reached Sneads Ferry. There were ten teams of two to three people per team, including the wives, family, and friends of the fallen. Each team rucked eight miles to a changeover point where the next team took the paddle and flags.
"We were rucking that eight miles every 18 hours because were closer to the end," said the Marine Gunnery Sgt. "but we really haven't slowed down too much."
The 900-mile hike started at the memorial site in Itta Bena, Mississippi, July 14, and paused at Stump Sound Park, Sneads Ferry, North Carolina. However, the ruck officially ended on MCB Camp Lejeune, with the intention of bringing the Marines and Corpsman home.
"It's horrible what happened to the guys who went down in that plane, but my biggest thing is the family who still here," said the Marine Gunnery Sgt. "To me it means more, to show that their son or loved one is not going to be forgotten. At least not that easily."
| Date Taken: | 07.26.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 07.31.2018 14:00 |
| Story ID: | 286518 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 158 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
This work, 900-mile memorial hike honors 16 lives lost in 2017 Miss., KC-130 crash, by Sgt Breanna Weisenberger, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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