Chicago Marathon 10/10/10: Saluting the troops

In a later post I will report on the runners who participated in Sunday's Bank of America Chicago Marathon, but I want to focus on the men and women who fight for our freedom--the troops.

Many members of our military leave lucrative jobs to serve our nation. But bills still need to be paid. Team Salute helps out. I saw about a dozen runners wearing "Got Freedom?" T-shirts during the race.

Click on any image to make it larger.

The gentleman on the right was wearing camouflage fatigues on a very warm day--although I encountered him early in the race when the temperature was only in the low 70s. I could only make out the top part of the message on the back of his shirt--that part reads: "Honor those who serve. They are protecting YOUR freedom of speech." He may not be wearing combat boots, but he's certainly not wearing running shoes.

"All gave some, some gave all" is a well-known military motto. Major J.B. Anderson gave all on October 13, 2009--he was killed in action in Afghanistan. The Chicago Marathon runner on the left dedicated his race to Anderson. Unfortunately, after searching the web and accessing American, Canadian, British sites that list the fallen, I couldn't find a Major J.B. Anderson--I try to do more than post pictures here. Of course he could have been Australian or Norwegian. God bless Major Anderson all the same.

Earlier posts:

Miss Black Illinois completes Chicago Marathon
My 21st consecutive Chicago Marathon