GALESBURG, Illinois--For two hours Marcy Gorsline waited off highway 41 outside of Galesburg under an American flag with a poster of her son Caleb Lufkin in her hands, Friday June 15.
Her son, Army Pfc. Lufkin served in the Iraq War in 2006 but was injured in combat, he later died from those injuries three years later.
“I miss him terribly; our family misses him terribly…. You never want them forgotten ever,” says Gorsline.
That’s why she waited for people running in America’s Run for the Fallen, who felt the same way.
The run is a 6,000 mile run stretched across 19 states over the span of four months. Organizers from Honor and Remember started to run in Irwin, California in April and plans to end at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, August 5.
Organizers of the run say it's also a celebration of the 10th anniversary of the Honor and Remember organization, which is why a run this lengthy is unlikely to happen anytime soon.
The goal is to honor 20,000 men and women who served and died since the 9/11 attacks, stopping at every mile to honor one service member at a time.
Most of the runners only stay with the group for a few miles before more volunteers take continue the run.
“I started at about Cameron Illinois I’m not sure If I ran maybe 10 miles today, but those guys started about six this morning,” says Knox County runner Carrie Walters.
Runners stopped in Altona, Illinois Friday night, the group will continue Saturday, June 16 to head to Princeton.
