Run for remembrance

  • Published
  • By Maj. Lisa reaver
  • 477th Fighter Group
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska --  The solemnity of 9/11 was echoed on base here with a remembrance run hosted by the Arnold Air Society detachment from the University of Alaska at Anchorage.

Air Force Reserve Senior Airman Chris O'Brien was one of more than 40 volunteers that ran a loop around the base carrying the US flag in tribute to the heroes and victims of the 9/11 tragedy on its tenth anniversary.

Senior Airman O'Brien is both an Air Force Reservist with the 477th Fighter Group, and a Reserve Officer Training Corps college student at UAA where he is a member of the Arnold Air Society.

Although most of the AAS college students that planned the event were only in elementary school in 2001, they still feel a deep connection to the event and not only want to ensure it happens every year, but they want to see it grow in the future.

"Even though we were young when it happened, it still affected us all and I feel it's our responsibility to do something special in remembrance of 9/11," said Cadet Charlotte Morthorpe, an AAS volunteer that helped plan the event.

Volunteers ran in a four-man formation in half-hour increments, passing the flag to the new runners when their time was up. Some volunteers ran two or three times to fill holes in the schedule to ensure the flag was carried for the entire 24-hour period.

The end of the run was marked by a passing of the flag to the color guard at Heritage Park at 0845, Sept. 11, the same time the first tower was hit ten years earlier.

Although he was only in sixth grade when the attacks happened, O'Brien says it is the reason he joined the military and is now a part of the Air Force Reserve.

"For me, I ran because it is a good dedication to those who lost their lives and an important reminder for us all so we don't forget the events of that day," said O'Brien.