Airmen prepare to join Sept. 11 tribute march
By Kenneth Fine
Published in News on August 3, 2011 1:46 PM
Somewhere along a country road, American airmen are marching -- remembering, all the while, just why they signed up for their roughly 150-mile leg of a cross-country journey conceived on Seymour Johnson Air Force Base.
And less than three weeks from today, the men and women who organized the tribute will be the ones forging the elements -- ensuring that those whose lives were forever changed when terrorists attacked their nation are never forgotten.
Members of the 4th Fighter Wing's Security Forces Squadron are preparing for their leg of a march designed to mark the 10th anniversary of a day they say transformed their careers -- a day that has resulted in countless sacrifices they have seen firsthand since combat operations began in Iraq and Afghanistan.
But to complete their 148-mile stretch -- the 2,182 route from Texas to Ground Zero was divided between the more than 20 Security Forces units participating -- they will likely need some support from their neighbors.
So they will come together at the Berkeley Boulevard Advance Auto Parts on Saturday at 8 a.m. to raise awareness for the march -- to wash cars and talk about just why they feel so strongly about their latest cause.
And their presence there, they hope, will be the first of many reminders that the events that rattled a nation nearly a decade ago have not been lost in the minds of those American airmen on the front lines.
Seymour Johnson's leg of the march is set to begin Aug. 21 just south of Greensboro.
Those who wish to lend their support but are unable to attend Saturday's car wash can find more information at the event's Facebook page: www.facebook.com/pages/Security-Forces-911-Ruck-March-to-Remember/1704079230 10504