Over 700 Runners Join Yeager Memorial 5K
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By David [email protected]
While 590 runners and walkers pre-registered for the event, by the time the runners left the finish line at about 9:30 a.m., there were 702 participants.
Guest speaker before the race was Medal of Honor recipient Sfc. Sammy L. Davis.
“It’s humbling what kind of community support this gets. Literally, we get as many people volunteering, I think, as a lot of 5Ks get participants, so it’s humbling just to see that kind of support,” Steve Yeager, Tracey’s husband, said before Monday’s event “There are 110 volunteer slots today – some of them are small, some of them are big, but they’re all filled.”
Proceeds from the race, established in memory of Winona Lake resident and veteran Tracey Yeager, benefit Tracey’s Trails Fund. The fund helps build, improve or maintain areas for outdoor family recreation and fitness in Kosciusko County.
Tracey Yeager graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1990 and served as a Naval officer, flying CH-46 helicopters. She earned the rank of lieutenant, and resigned in 1999 to pursue her calling as a wife and mother of three young children. She passed away in 2010 from cancer.
The Memorial Day run was begun in 2011 by Kosciusko Youth Leadership Academy cadet Nate Stone as his White Paper Project as a way to honor her. After taking a year off in 2012, the 5K started back up in 2013 and has been held every year since.
Steve Yeager said, “Tracey impacted the community and it’s a great way to remember her. She passed away on Memorial Day, so we do this on Memorial Day, and say, ‘Hey, how about we help everyone remember and realize what this day is about.’ There’s some of that. And I think some people like the cause. It’s not feeding the hungry and it’s not curing cancer, but it’s for the community itself. The Tracey’s Trails Fund is a nice way to be able to spend your money on your registration and then immediately it goes straight into the community.”
He said the fund already has funded a couple of projects in the last two years that runners could see as they ran the route of the 5K. The first is the new shade shells on the Limitless Park at Winona Lake Beach, and the second is the parking area down at Roy Street and the Heritage Trail.
“The fund is held at the Kosciusko County Community Foundation and they actually have a committee that evaluates what type of things out there aren’t funded that really could make an immediate impact on the community. And that’s where we try to focus,” Yeager said.
As for participation in the 5K, he said it’s grown. The first year was huge but 2012 was down because it was a rainy day, but, “this continues to be, and has every time, the biggest 5K in the county.”
For the first time, the event had a guest speaker, Davis.
“We try to have a Memorial Day focus every year, just something to help people in this privileged community realize everything it took to have the freedom that we have,” Yeager said. “One of my guys had a connection with Sfc. Davis, who’s one of 79 living Medal of Honor winners, the highest award you can get in the military, the only Hoosier, so he’s going to speak. I’m going to keep my comments brief and let him inspire the crowd.”
Davis joined the U.S. Army from Indianapolis in 1965. As a private first class in November 1967, wounded and under intense enemy fire, Davis crossed a river to rescue three wounded soldiers near Cai Lay, Vietnam, according to information from event organizers. A year later Davis was awarded the Medal of Honor.
In his remarks, Davis said, “While we gather today with family and friends, on this official weekend of our summer, please take the time to remember that our nation sets aside this holiday in remembrance of those who have paid the ultimate price while engaged in defending our great nation. Please keep in mind, that these storied individuals have demonstrated with their own lives that our nation’s freedom is not free. While celebrating with our family and friends, please remember our honored fallen as they are the true heroes of America.”
He said he doesn’t consider himself a hero, but a soldier.
“I did for my brothers what I knew they would do for me. How could I not that night when I looked across the river and seen one of my brothers stand up and wave at me? How could I not go get him because I knew in my heart that he would come get me? You simply do for your brothers what you know they would do for you. That’s not being a hero, that’s being a brother,” he said.
Davis then spoke about the similarities between America’s current war and Vietnam.
“One of the similarities is the fact that so many people are disconnected with what’s happening, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but too much of America does not understand the dedication that our young men and women have today. And unlike in Vietnam, today we have both men and women in the combat zone doing combat. God bless them,” he said.
He said people need to get a better understanding of what these young men and women face, not only there but when they come home.
“We have 22 of our young soldiers every day commit suicide because of depression and post-traumatic stress, and that’s unacceptable,” Davis said. “The only way we can help that is to reach out to them and ask them questions.”
From experience, he said they will say they’re fine, but if “you are gently insistent and keep assuring them, they will eventually open up and it’s like opening up their heart and you get to look in. And that’s what helps them be better.”
Davis told a story about how he learned to play the harmonica in Vietnam, and then played the song “Shenandoah” on the instrument.
“I hope that song will help your heart remember that you don’t quit until you stop trying,” he concluded. “God bless you and thank you.”
Steve Yeager introduced Davis, which was preceded by Stone giving a prayer for the event.[[In-content Ad]]
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While 590 runners and walkers pre-registered for the event, by the time the runners left the finish line at about 9:30 a.m., there were 702 participants.
Guest speaker before the race was Medal of Honor recipient Sfc. Sammy L. Davis.
“It’s humbling what kind of community support this gets. Literally, we get as many people volunteering, I think, as a lot of 5Ks get participants, so it’s humbling just to see that kind of support,” Steve Yeager, Tracey’s husband, said before Monday’s event “There are 110 volunteer slots today – some of them are small, some of them are big, but they’re all filled.”
Proceeds from the race, established in memory of Winona Lake resident and veteran Tracey Yeager, benefit Tracey’s Trails Fund. The fund helps build, improve or maintain areas for outdoor family recreation and fitness in Kosciusko County.
Tracey Yeager graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1990 and served as a Naval officer, flying CH-46 helicopters. She earned the rank of lieutenant, and resigned in 1999 to pursue her calling as a wife and mother of three young children. She passed away in 2010 from cancer.
The Memorial Day run was begun in 2011 by Kosciusko Youth Leadership Academy cadet Nate Stone as his White Paper Project as a way to honor her. After taking a year off in 2012, the 5K started back up in 2013 and has been held every year since.
Steve Yeager said, “Tracey impacted the community and it’s a great way to remember her. She passed away on Memorial Day, so we do this on Memorial Day, and say, ‘Hey, how about we help everyone remember and realize what this day is about.’ There’s some of that. And I think some people like the cause. It’s not feeding the hungry and it’s not curing cancer, but it’s for the community itself. The Tracey’s Trails Fund is a nice way to be able to spend your money on your registration and then immediately it goes straight into the community.”
He said the fund already has funded a couple of projects in the last two years that runners could see as they ran the route of the 5K. The first is the new shade shells on the Limitless Park at Winona Lake Beach, and the second is the parking area down at Roy Street and the Heritage Trail.
“The fund is held at the Kosciusko County Community Foundation and they actually have a committee that evaluates what type of things out there aren’t funded that really could make an immediate impact on the community. And that’s where we try to focus,” Yeager said.
As for participation in the 5K, he said it’s grown. The first year was huge but 2012 was down because it was a rainy day, but, “this continues to be, and has every time, the biggest 5K in the county.”
For the first time, the event had a guest speaker, Davis.
“We try to have a Memorial Day focus every year, just something to help people in this privileged community realize everything it took to have the freedom that we have,” Yeager said. “One of my guys had a connection with Sfc. Davis, who’s one of 79 living Medal of Honor winners, the highest award you can get in the military, the only Hoosier, so he’s going to speak. I’m going to keep my comments brief and let him inspire the crowd.”
Davis joined the U.S. Army from Indianapolis in 1965. As a private first class in November 1967, wounded and under intense enemy fire, Davis crossed a river to rescue three wounded soldiers near Cai Lay, Vietnam, according to information from event organizers. A year later Davis was awarded the Medal of Honor.
In his remarks, Davis said, “While we gather today with family and friends, on this official weekend of our summer, please take the time to remember that our nation sets aside this holiday in remembrance of those who have paid the ultimate price while engaged in defending our great nation. Please keep in mind, that these storied individuals have demonstrated with their own lives that our nation’s freedom is not free. While celebrating with our family and friends, please remember our honored fallen as they are the true heroes of America.”
He said he doesn’t consider himself a hero, but a soldier.
“I did for my brothers what I knew they would do for me. How could I not that night when I looked across the river and seen one of my brothers stand up and wave at me? How could I not go get him because I knew in my heart that he would come get me? You simply do for your brothers what you know they would do for you. That’s not being a hero, that’s being a brother,” he said.
Davis then spoke about the similarities between America’s current war and Vietnam.
“One of the similarities is the fact that so many people are disconnected with what’s happening, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but too much of America does not understand the dedication that our young men and women have today. And unlike in Vietnam, today we have both men and women in the combat zone doing combat. God bless them,” he said.
He said people need to get a better understanding of what these young men and women face, not only there but when they come home.
“We have 22 of our young soldiers every day commit suicide because of depression and post-traumatic stress, and that’s unacceptable,” Davis said. “The only way we can help that is to reach out to them and ask them questions.”
From experience, he said they will say they’re fine, but if “you are gently insistent and keep assuring them, they will eventually open up and it’s like opening up their heart and you get to look in. And that’s what helps them be better.”
Davis told a story about how he learned to play the harmonica in Vietnam, and then played the song “Shenandoah” on the instrument.
“I hope that song will help your heart remember that you don’t quit until you stop trying,” he concluded. “God bless you and thank you.”
Steve Yeager introduced Davis, which was preceded by Stone giving a prayer for the event.[[In-content Ad]]
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