Fueled by BRCC, Ruck To Remember Honors the Fallen
Note for clarity: The organization is The Honor Movement, the Memorial Day Weekend event is the Ruck to Remember, and the two parts of the event are referred to as The Honor Movement and The Final Miles.
This Memorial Day Weekend, the BRCC Fund teamed up with The Honor Movement (formerly Ruck to Remember, though that is still the name of the full event) for their annual 60-mile team hike. The Honor Movement hike, which started on Saturday, May 28, is a mission of endurance formerly known as the 60-to-60 — two days of rucking that incorporates a number of stops along the Washington and Old Dominion Trail in Virginia that ends Sunday evening at the Marine Corps Memorial. Then, on Monday the second event for the weekend begins: The Final Miles, a mission of remembrance. The Final Miles kicks off at the Marine Corps Memorial and is designed to be at a slower pace than the events of the previous two days, allowing participants time to talk and think about what Memorial Day means as they carry out this movement. This 7.5-mile walk takes participants through the National War Memorials. Then the Warriors Walk (also known as the Final Movement) begins, incorporating bagpipes as participants walk into Arlington National Cemetery.
The BRCC Fund supplied hot coffee and RTD cans to the participants each morning as they gathered for their ruck movement. And when it was time to step off, the BRCC Fund members joined the other participants on the ruck.
Photo by Lauren Warner/BRCC Blog.
Denise Olsen, a Ruck to Remember logistics volunteer and participant, is the one who came up with the idea to involve BRCC.
“My husband was a fireman, he was killed on 9/11,” Olsen said. “I became really involved in the veteran community, working with Hope for the Warriors, and while I was there, I met a Marine who roped me into attending a Ruck to Remember event. I had previously done GoRuck events, but there was something about this ruck that just really hooked me.”
Photo by Lauren Warner/BRCC Blog.
“For the 20th anniversary of 9/11, I completed a ruck march from Boston to NYC, and BRCC supported me during that event,” Olsen continued. “Jay [Fain] was also present at my husband’s firehouse for a check presentation on the anniversary of 9/11, and when they came back to visit the firehouse on listing day, that’s when we connected about The Honor Movement.”
Photo by Lauren Warner/BRCC Blog.
“I love the work that the [BRCC] Fund does, and I just think it’s just such a natural partnership,” Olsen said. “With the military community, the world becomes so small, and even with BRCC continuing to grow, they’re not impossible to approach. BRCC’s philosophy, mission, and people just stand for the right things.”
Founded in 2010, Ruck to Remember’s mission is to empower our nation’s heroes, who come home carrying with them the wounds of war, while forever honoring and remembering those heroes who sacrificed all.
Photo by Mike Garcia/Black Rifle Coffee Company.
“I love that we honor our service members along the trail, telling stories of valor along the way, which is motivating,” Olsen said. “When we stop at Old Ox Brewery [on Sunday afternoon], the Gold Star families [have the opportunity to] get up and speak, share their stories, and others have the chance to share stories of service members they choose to ruck for, that maybe don’t get their stories heard very often.”
“It brings home what Memorial Day is really about,” Olsen said. “And I think, even though we work to maintain a level of respect, we want this event to be fun and really bring everyone together throughout the weekend.”
To learn more about The Honor Movement or to get involved, head to their website.
