“Trial of miles, miles of trials”. Some of you who are runners, or who have been, may recognize this quote as being from the novel “Once a Runner” by John L. Parker, Jr. Runner’s World called it “the best novel ever written about running”. Although I have never been a competitive runner, I have competed as a runner and the words have meaning to me. They also have meaning in the context of this blog which will catalog my 18 week journey to the completion of my first marathon.
The picture that heads this blog will be familiar to only a small cadre of men who served their country with the 70th Combat Engineer Battalion, and specifically with “A” Company, during most of the year of 1969. Camp Reil Davis was named to honor SFC Ronald L. Reil and SP4 Clifton A. Davis who were killed during a mortar attack on September 21, 1968 in Pleiku. Shortly after, “A” company moved to Camp Reil Davis near Khanh Duong, a small village east of Ban Me Thuot in the central highlands of Viet Nam near the Cambodian border.
Over the next 18 weeks you will not only learn about my running life and my personal journey toward running my first marathon. You will also learn about The D.O.V.E. Fund and about John Craven, with whom I served in “A” Company. He has dedicated himself to honoring three of “A” company’s fallen comrades through the construction and on-going support of a school and the children who attend it, near the location of Camp Reil Davis. “Trial of miles, miles of trials” certainly has meaning in this context as well.
On January 17, 2010, I will complete The Rock and Roll Arizona Marathon, 26.2 miles, in an effort to help raise some of the funds that remain to be raised and to honor not only John’s efforts and the men who died in Viet Nam, but also to honor all the men who served with “A” Company during the years from 1965 to 1969.
If you are as moved as I have been since being reunited with John and the others I served with, I will ask you to become part of the on-going effort of The D.O.V.E. Fund by making a small donation in support of the school and its children.
And so, It Begins…..
