Run Pays Tribute to Fallen Heroes

 

Southern Maine P&DC employees Bob Olbrias,

Anne Tardif, Iggy Infintides and Terry Wright stand

for late co-worker Larry Roukey at the 2011

Maine Run for the Fallen (Photo by James Page)

More than 300 runners laced up their running shoes and took to the road on Sunday, August 21 to honor the memories of Maine's fallen soldiers in the annual Run for the Fallen. The Maine run is part of a national event which began in 2008 and is now held in 44 states during the same weekend in August.

The 65-kilometer or nearly 43-mile run began in Ogunquit with a 21-gun salute and finished at Monument Square in Portland. Every kilometer along the way was marked with a picture and biography of each of the 79 men and women with Maine ties who died in action since September 11, 2001. 

Several Southern Maine P&DC employees gathered at the mile marker dedicated to their late co-worker Larry Roukey, who in 2004 became the nation's first postal employee to be killed-in-action in the post-9-11 world.

“It was such a moving experience,” said MOS Clerk and local plant organizer Jim Page of the day's events. “I felt proud to be there with Larry's friends and family. An event like Run for the Fallen brings back the good memories of Larry for all of us," he said. “We do this to remember the sacrifice he made to protect our freedoms ... both his family's and the country's,” Page said.