A "Fallen Soldier March" is scheduled for Saturday, August 1st in Sioux City. Organizers say the nine-mile walk — which they hope to make an annual event — is designed to highlight the sacrifice of soldiers who’ve lost their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Sergeant Thomas Peck, who serves in an Iowa National Guard Cavalry unit based in Le Mars, says they plan to remember soldiers who are missing in action, too.
"We do have Memorial Day that honors (every soldier who) has passed away," Peck says. "But we wanted a day where people will stop and look at us and say, ‘Wow. What are these guys doing this for?’ and actually make them think a little bit."
A Tennessee man is credited with coming up with the concept. "They had nine fallen soldiers in Tennessee," Peck says. "And he went out one day and just walked one day and walked a mile for each one of them."
Peck’s friend and fellow soldier Daniel Sesker of Boone was killed in Iraq in 2006. Peck and other soldiers in his unit decided a "Fallen Soldier March" along the Missouri River would help honor Sesker’s memory.
"But we’re opening it up for anybody who’s either effected directly or indirectly," Peck says. "If they want to come out and walk — come out and walk."
Registration for the march starts at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday, August 1st at the Anderson Dance Pavillion in Sioux City and the walk itself starts at nine o’clock. For more information, call 712-898-3528.