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Since May 1, Mike Ehredt has risen each day and run 30 miles down America’s roads.
He’s run 3,324 miles, or the equivalent of 127 marathons. And while you might consider him to be a physical fitness fanatic, that has nothing to do with his reasons.
His effort is part of “Project Run America: One Life. One Flag. One Mile.”
A former member of the U.S. Army and a retired U.S. Postal Service employee, the Idaho man is running to recognize the 4,417 members of the American military who have lost their lives while serving in Iraq.
This week, Ehredt ran through Cass County, placing a small American flag with a yellow ribbon bearing the name, rank, branch of service, hometown and age of a fallen American at each mile along the way.
It’s something he has done once every mile since leaving Astoria, Ore., and something he will do once every mile until he hits the Atlantic Ocean at Rockland, Maine, on Oct. 15. After placing the flag, he salutes each one and marks its location on a map in his phone. The trip, which he decided to make three years ago, has not been easy, as he hsas encountered challenges presented by the weather, mountains and the physical nature of the effort.
“If I was just crossing America for my own selfish reasons, I would have stopped in Nebraska and said, ‘OK, that’s enough,’” he said. The flags are placed in reverse chronological order by the date of death. Ehredt placed a flag in memory of Logansport’s Shawn Hensel on a roadside near Paradise, Mont., on May 25. Hensel was killed in action in August 2007. Ehredt says he’s never alone while running.
“All of them are with me,” he said of the fallen service members he seeks to recognize.
As he told the Pharos-Tribune, this is a personal tribute.
“I was not a voice for anyone in the country,” he said. “I’m just my own voice.”
On the same day Ehredt’s journey passed through Logansport, President Barack Obama addressed the nation to mark the end of combat operations in Iraq. It seemed an appropriate time to offer a tribute to the men and women who have given their lives in that fight.
