EUGENE, Ore. -- (May 14, 2012) – The University of Oregon will host a pre-Memorial Day film screening and 6k run on Wednesday, May 23, to honor service members killed in Operation Iraqi Freedom. The events require registration and are open to the public.
In the summer of 2008, a small group of civilians called “Run for the Fallen” ran 4,000 miles across the U.S. to mark a mile for each member of the U.S. military killed in action during Operation Iraqi Freedom. “To Them That’s Gone”is the documentary of the event.
The UO will host a screening of the documentary at 5:30 p.m. in Prince Lucien Campbell (PLC) Hall, room 180, and host a 6K run immediately following the film at approximately 7:30 p.m. from the Lillis Business Complex adjacent to PLC.
“This event is not only important to pay our respects to the men and women who gave their lives, but also to help heal the families and friends that lost their loved ones,” said Kelley Hickman, organizer of the event for the UO veteran’s program. “It will be an active show of support to those who did come home from the battlefield and may be struggling to reconnect with their communities.”
The documentary details a 72-day run that started in Fort Irwin, Calif., and ended at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. The runners marked each mile with an American flag and personalized postcard in honor of each fallen service member. Along the way, the runners met many others who had lost a loved one, and who came to participate in the recognition.
Following the screening, the 6k run will follow a campus-centric route. See http://tickets.uoregon.edu/runforthefallen/event-registerfor the route and to register. Each registered participant will receive a flag to commemorate a fallen service member, and to carry and/or post along the route.
The movie screening and 6k run/walk to honor of the fallen require registration fees of $8 each. If participants register for both activities, the price is $15. Those with a current military ID will pay $6 per event. The early bird discount applies to registrations by May 22. Walk-up registration on May 23 will be $20.
Portions of the proceeds from the events will support Active Heroes, a volunteer-led charity dedicated to helping veterans, active duty military and their families, and Dog Tags to Ducks Mentorship Programto help student veterans at UO.
About the University of Oregon
The University of Oregon is among the 108 institutions chosen from 4,633 U.S. universities for top-tier designation of "Very High Research Activity" in the 2010 Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. The UO also is one of two Pacific Northwest members of the Association of American Universities.
MEDIA CONTACT:Julie Brown, UO media relations, 541-346-3185, julbrown@uoregon.edu
SOURCE:Kelley Hickman, UO veteran’s program, 541-346-1468, kbratton@uoregon.edu
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