Run for soldiers passes through Tennessee

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. — A run from Fort Irwin, Calif., to Washington, D.C., will pass through Nashville today and Murfreesboro on Monday, its participants dedicated to remembering soldiers killed in the War on Terror.

About 50 runners stopped at Liberty Elementary School in Clarksville on Saturday, placing a flag at mile 2,952 on their trip to honor Staff Sgt. Brian L. Mintzlaff, 34, who died Dec. 18, 2006, in Iraq.

Mintzlaff's father-in-law, Jeff Range, rode his motorcycle from Dallas to be there.

"This means a lot, and you all are doing a great thing," Range said to the group of runners before they embarked on their short journey through Clarksville.

The Run for the Fallen began about six weeks ago and is crossing the nation — a total of 4,000 miles — before concluding at Arlington National Cemetery. Each mile of the trip is dedicated to remembering one fallen soldier from the war on terror with an American flag and small placard. Local groups — like the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment and the Clarksville Running Club on Saturday — join for short distances along the way.

At the Clarksville Jaycees Building, Janet Egnor, wife of Chief Warrant Officer 2 Jody Egnor, planned to speak and say thank you for the tribute. Jody Egnor, a member of the 160th, died in 2002 in a helicopter crash.

"It's been six years, and for someone to put together an organization, it means so much to me as a family member," Egnor said.

For those not directly associated with the military, it was a way to show appreciation for the sacrifices of every soldier.

"I think we often take their presence for granted and don't appreciate their sacrifice," said Rebecca Townsend, a member of the Clarksville Running Club.
Film crew follows run

The running club will hold a one-mile run in Clarksville on Aug. 24 to commemorate the conclusion of the trip.

Periodic water stations were set up by the Family Readiness Group of the 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, who had some members also join the run.

"It was a call to duty," said Aly Rohling, a member of the readiness group. "We felt like it was the least we could do."

A film crew has also been following the run across the country and will make a feature-length documentary about the run