Just after 0600 on Memorial Day morning, 20 marchers stepped off from Baypoint Park in Red Wing taking part in the annual For Them March, conceived four years ago by Hastings TV Executive Director and Army veteran Tom Wright. Included in the ranks that would travel the grueling 28 miles up the Great River Road along the River on the Wisconsin side were fellow veterans, family members and those who share a personal reason for spending more than 12 hours walking in the pouring rain. The march has become a part of the Memorial Day experience for Wright and the others, each having their own reason to participate, some in honor of a family member or fellow soldier and some, like Jeff Bruce shares more of this story that he is proud to say has involved him since the first year.
Along the way, teams of volunteers show up to provide support, supplies and , in the case of this year, dry socks. Bruce explains
Many volunteers were also cold and soaked, thanks to the wind driven rain, but all I spoke with, were determined to be part of an event that is as much introspective as it is a model for those who have never lost someone in battle. The plans for music -or Mayhem as it was known- required a mid-day about face with members of the Coxmen, setting up instead inside the American Legion for the welcome back to the marchers that brought in the mile markers they had passed , giving them a heartfelt salute in their honor. A cheering crowd gathered at Ramsey and 2nd Street to applaud the marchers as they approached the finish.
