5K run honors Air Transportation Airmen

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Jeff Andrejcik
  • 1st Special Operations Wing Public Affairs
HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. --  More than 30 Airmen paid tribute to deceased service members during a 5K Memorial Run at Hurlburt Field, Fla., May 14.

The run was dedicated to the 15 Air Transportation Airmen who lost their lives from January 2013 until May 2014, said Staff Sgt. Christopher Mendez, 1st Special Operations Logistics Readiness Squadron air transportation journeyman.

Mendez, who organized the run, said he knew one of them personally, Tech. Sgt. Christopher Heaney.

"We lost Chris back in January 2014," he said. "He was a tremendous guy who left behind two children, a wife, a father, a mother, brothers and sisters, and us Port Dawgs. We miss Chris, and this run not only helped us cope but also gave us a chance to remember him and the others we lost, no matter what the cause."

Chief Master Sgt. Terry Rethamel, Headquarters Air Force air transportation career field manager, said he plans to make this an annual event.

"While local units rightfully hold events to memorialize their individual losses, it's the unanimous consensus of the career field leadership that we create an annual event," Rethamel said. "It allows us to collectively gather, focus and reflect upon those whom we are now without."

Before the run began, Mendez read the names of the deceased Airmen. Then, the runners observed a moment of silence.

"The run demonstrates a lot of things in life," said Mendez. "But most of all, it shows our ability to be resilient."