Hope For The Warriors Memorial 100 Run

Hope For The Warriors® Announces Memorial 100 Run to Honor the 48 Fallen from Marine Unit 3/25 136-Mile Relay Run will cross the Lance Cpl Jordan Haerter Veterans' Memorial Bridge and end at Ground Zero  NEW YORK, NY, May 1, 2013–Hope For The Warriors® is proud to announce the fourth annual Memorial 100 Relay Run. The relay begins early, Saturday May 25, at the Montauk Point Lighthouse, NY (the tip of Long Island)and ends on May 26 at Ground Zero, Lower Manhattan, New York. The 136-mile relay will also cross the Lance Cpl Jordan Haerter Veterans' Memorial Bridge where 50 veterans, holding American flags will await runners.  As they prepare for the relay, participants are also raising funds for Hope For The Warriors® (www.hopeforthewarriors.org), a national nonprofit that assists combat wounded service members, their families, and families of the fallen. The Memorial 100 was organized by three Marines who deployed with 3rd Battalion 25th Marine Regiment to Iraq in 2005. Their battalion was tasked with training the Iraqi Security Forces and conducting stability and security operations in and around the cities of Iraq's Al Anbar province.  The unit lost 46 Marines and 2 Sailors during the course of the six month deployment, making it one of the largest unit sacrifices in the war. A memorial paying tribute to their service and sacrifice was erected at the Battalion headquarters in Brook Park, Ohio in 2005. The Memorial 100 was organized to “interrupt” Memorial Day weekend barbeques and parties and remind everyone of the day’s true purpose—to honor and remember the fallen.  For its first two years, the relay began at the War Memorial in Richmond, Virginia and ended at the Iwo Jima Memorial in Washington, D.C., and consisted of 106 miles. In 2012, the Memorial 100 was moved to New York. “The Memorial 100 Run is a way for the people of Long Island and New York to embrace those who have served our country and our communities,” Jack Caffey, Jr.,  Hope For The Warriors® Project Coordinator said. “This Memorial Day weekend, we ask everyone to come out and show their support to the men and women who are completing the run and show our respect for the fallen.” Service members, veterans, first responders and their families will run five to ten mile legs in teams of two. The first runner will carry the American Flag and the second will carry the Hope For The Warriors® flag. Combat wounded athletes, and other members of Team Hope For The Warriors® will also participate in the event.   Many businesses and groups have also stepped forward to support this race. They include:  Sag Harbor American Legion; the Haerter Family and their nonprofit organization, Jordan's Initiative; and all local police, volunteer fire departments and the FDNY, who are located along the 136-mile relay route. Between 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 25, runners will cross the Lance Cpl Jordan Haerter Veterans' Memorial Bridge, which will be lined proudly by 50 American flags. The flags will be held by veterans from every military branch to signify the sacrifice of service members lost in the line of duty. Each flag will have a streamer containing a gold star and the name of one of the branches of service; all flags will be donated to the village of Sag Harbor after the event. The Lance Cpl Jordan Haerter Veterans' Memorial Bridge was dedicated to Lance Corporal Jordan C. Haerter, USMC KIA in 2008. Haerter grew up in Sag Harbor and was killed in Iraq in 2008 at the age of 19. One of the flags will be held to honor the memory of Haerter, and another will be held for 1st Lt. Joseph J. Theinert, USA KIA who also grew up in the Sag Harbor area, and was killed in action in Afghanistan in 2010.   For more information on the Memorial 100, visit  www.hopeforthewarriors.org/2013Memorial100.  Donations can be made directly by choosing “General Donation” along the left side column.  Donations can also be made directly to www.hopeforthewarriors.org/donate.  The mission of Hope For The Warriors® is to enhance the quality of life for post-9/11 service members, their families, and families of the fallen who have sustained physical and psychological wounds in the line of duty.  Hope For The Warriors® is dedicated to restoring a sense of self, restoring the family unit, and restoring hope for our service members and our military families. Hope For The Warriors® has earned a Four-Star Rating from Charity Navigator (www.charitynavigator.org), an independent organization that evaluates fiscal responsibility and accountability of nonprofits.  Hope For The Warriors® (Federal Tax ID 20-5182295) is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt charity as defined in sections 509(A)(1) and 170(B)(1)(A)(VI) of the Internal Revenue Code.  Combined Federal Campaign, CFC #27800.