SUMMER of 2008

RUN FOR THE FALLEN (www.runforthefallen.org) &

(www.tothemthatsgone.com)

Two members of Operation Honor Our Heroes (Nancy Glass and Lauren McIntyre) meet the Run for the Fallen as it crosses the Panhandle of Texas. They join team members to run a mile for MSG Robert M. Horrigan. Glass and McIntyre continue with the RFTF team as they continue eastward across the continent placing a flag each mile for each fallen servicemember. Middle school students from across the U.S. prepared memorial cards that were attached to each flag posted. The RFTF ended in Arlington Cememtery with a 5K/10K Run for the Fallen through Washington, D.C.

MAY of 2009

OPERATION HONOR OUR HEROES &

(www.lonestartrailofheroes.org)

500 mile Lone Star Trial of Heroes from Amarillo to Austin, Texas was run, walked and biked as a flag and memorial card was placed each mile for every fallen Texas hero. Memorial cards were prepared by JROTC students from Bowie High School and Leander ISD. Each student was responsible for researching a fallen hero and preparing a card of honor. A documentary film tells the story of this Run Across Texas as Gold Star families along the way joined to honor their heroes.

2009-2012

OPERATION HONOR OUR HEROES conducted many events , including several Run for the Fallen events and Shadow Runs with troops in Iraq an Afghanistan. At every event the flags and memorial cards for the fallen were displayed. Bowie High School JROTC began producing most of the memorial cards in 2011.

For Memorial Day 2012, Operation Honor Our Heroes posted almost 7,000 flags at the Long Center to honor fallen service members in Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation New Dawn, and Operation Enduring Freedom. To celebrate Veterans Day 2012, the organization posted a huge 30 by 60 foot flag at the Long Center while the Texas Military Forces band played a Veterans Day concert.

Shannon Ingram, now a senior, was instrumental in organizing the JROTC efforts to produce the memorial cards every year and began producing the cards herself. Although some of the students had used programs similar to photoshop for a few of the cards, Shannon took the cards to a new level and produced cards for heroes, such as, Brian Lundy (Sept. 2011) and Payton Jones (May 2012). When APD Officer Jaime Padron was KIA later that year, Shannon produced a couple of memorial cards for Officer Padron.

At the same time, it was decided that Christi-ana Crews, who had joined the organization, would produce a memorial card for Officer Padron with photoshop that could be taken and presented at his funeral. The results were so dramatic and powerful that Glass and Crews decided that all fallen servicemembers, fallen police officers, and fallen firefighters should be honored with the newly designed cards.

Our goal is to prepare memorial cards and flags for every fallen servicemember, fallen police officer, and fallen firefighter. Our ultimate goal is to post these flags in Washington, D.C.