Idaho’s Field of Heroes holds several events for holiday weekend
Idaho’s Field of Heroes in Pocatello has organized several events throughout Memorial Day weekend. On Saturday, things kicked off with the “Run to Remember” event.
People from the community can show up to run, or walk, a mile for each of Idaho’s casualties.
According to Susan Thurm, the chair of “Run to Remember,” Idaho has 92 casualties. Each person who participated in the run could do as many laps as they wanted. Each lap was recorded and the goal was to reach 92 miles, one for each casualty, as a group.
As they walked or ran the track at Century High School, participants passed signs with pictures of Idaho’s fallen heroes. Each told the story of the heroes the community was walking for.
“I think it helps the community to realize there is a cost,” Thurm said. “There is a cost for freedom, there is a cost for things we have going and that it affects not only the soldiers but it affects their families.”
“The way it’s set up is really nice,” said Jordan Johnson, a National Guard and Iraqi veteran. “You see the names and the stories of the people that you’re going by and a few of them I actually knew. So it’s always a good way to remember.”
“It’s really neat,” Johnson continued. “You think about an event like this and yeah, we’re doing it to remember the people that sacrificed but as we remember them, it makes us stronger as a community.”
About 50 people showed up to participate in “Run to Remember.” There was a suggested donation of $10, which helped to cover the costs of the run. The remaining money will be donated to the Blake Stevens Scholarship fund at Idaho State University.
Another event for the Field of Heroes was a USO show held Saturday afternoon. The goal was to create a show with the feel of the original USO shows. They had a “Bob Hope” announcer, as well as several acts who performed to songs with a patriotic theme. The acts included acrobats, American Sign Language, singers and a cowboy poet.
The organizer and coordinator for Bannock County Veterans Services, Melissa Hartman, said doing a local USO show was all about honoring veterans and keeping tradition alive.
“This is a traditional process that happens for the military members,” Hartman said. “So it’s nice to be able to bring that back. It just kind of gives back to the military as they’re serving overseas to kind of build morale and to find some enjoyment and fill that peace that you’re missing while you’re on deployment.”
Organizers starting putting the Field of Heroes, and all that goes with it, together in January. The Field of Heroes will remain on display through Monday. It’s located on the field behind Century High School.
