Run for the Fallen Will Honor Fallen Heroes

VILLAS – “One mile. One flag. One hero.” That’s the motto of a three day, 186-mile memorial run that will make its way up the New Jersey coastline Sept. 26-28 to honor fallen service men and women.
New Jersey Run for the Fallen will start on the evening of Sept. 25 at a flag lowering ceremony at Sunset Beach at 6 p.m. to start the event, to remember the lives of New Jersey’s most recent war dead.
Then, beginning in Lower Township at the Cape May Lighthouse Sept. 26 at 8:30 a.m. and headed north to the finish on Sept. 28 at Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Holmdel in Monmouth Count, the run honors every service member from New Jersey who laid down their lives in Operation Iraqi Freedom, Enduring Freedom, Operation New Dawn and all wars and conflicts.
“We run across New Jersey to raise awareness for the lives of those who fought and died, to rejuvenate their memories and keep their spirits alive, to support organizations that aid the families of those killed, and to aid in the healing process for the native New Jersey residents whose lives have been affected by war and conflict,” states the organization’s mission statement.
The core running team is made up of 31 active-duty military personnel. The core team runners, moving at an eight minute mile pace, will carry the U.S. flag, the New Jersey state flag and the “Honor and Remember” flag. The core teams each run seven mile sections.
The team stops at each mile along the route at hero markers for those New Jersey residents killed in battle. The core running team then presents an American flag and a personal biographical card to the waiting family members, friends and comrades. Those family members and friends often choose to join the core running team for their soldier’s mile.
The intent is to create a 186-mile long memorial trail through New Jersey.
“We’d love to see more people come out and show their support at the hero makers and for the runners along the way,” said Eileen Kreis, vice-president of the NJ Run for the Fallen. “It is an opportunity to remember the people who gave their lives and show their families how much we appreciate what they have done and the sacrifice they make.
Kreis said that the Run for the Fallen’s website, njrunforthefallen.org, has a comprehensive map with hero marker locations and the time the running team is scheduled to arrive.
Among the fallen heroes is Thomas J. Casey, 32, an Army Captain from Cape May Point. He was killed on January 3, 2008, in Operation Iraqi Freedom, will be honored at Hero Marker Three at approximately 9:05 am on West Lake Drive in Cape May Point.
He had been retired 3 years from the Army after his first tour in Iraq, when he re-enlisted and was again deployed to Iraq. He died in As Sadiyah, Iraq, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked their unit using small arms fire during combat operations.
Lower Cape May Regional High School graduate Michael Scusa, 22, an Army sergeant killed on Oct. 3, 2009 in Kamdesh, Afghanistan, will be honored at Hero Marker 10 at approximately 10:30 a.m., in front of Lower Cape May Regional High School.
Scusa, a 2005 Lower graduate, lived in the Villas. He grew up in Nebraska, moved to Cape May County in 1999, and enlisted in the Army out of high school. He had been married about two years at the time of his death and had a one-year-old son, Connor.
On Sept. 26 the run will start at the Cape May Lighthouse and finish in Ocean City. On Sept. 27 the run starts in Somers Point at Windjammer parking at 6:20 a.m. and finishes in Toms River at 6:30 p.m. and the final leg, Sept. 28 will complete the journey with a run to the Vietnam Memorial in Holmdel. The final mile of the run is dedicated to all prisoners of war and those missing in action from all military conflicts.