CAMP ARIFJAN, Kuwait - Soldiers with the 371st Sustainment brigade, an Ohio Army National Guard unit, organized a shadow run of the Dublin, Ohio, 5K and raised $1,250 for the Nicholas Rozanski Memorial Foundation and the Dublin 5K at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, on Oct. 12, 2013.
The shadow race honors the memory of three Ohio National Guard soldiers, Capt. Nicholas Rozanski, Master Sgt. Shawn Hannon and Master Sgt. Jeff Rieck who were killed while deployed to Afghanistan on April 4, 2012.
“The 371st put on this particular shadow run because it gave us an opportunity to pause and Honor our fallen comrades,” said Capt. Karisa A. Myers, a human resource operations branch officer with the 371st Sus. Bde. and a Newark, Ohio, native. “The loss of those three guys hit close to home for a lot us.”
Many soldiers within the 371st Sus. Bde. knew, served with or deployed with the three fallen heroes, and wanted to honor their memories, said 1st Lt Kevin Mcgee, distribution integration operations officer for the 371st Sus. Bde. and a Hilliard, Ohio, native.
“I met Capt. Rozanski when he was an Officer Candidate School instructor in Ohio's Regional Training Institute, said Mcgee, who helped organize the race. “When he was killed, it impacted so many of us who knew him.”
Soldiers who participated in the race raised over $1,250 for the Dublin 5K and the Nick Rozanski Memorial Foundation, which benefits students and families in the local Dublin, Ohio, community through scholarships and other charitable foundations.
“The shadow run was a way for so many of us to get involved in remembering Capt. Rozanski and to show support for his family back in Dublin, Ohio,” said Mcgee.