“We realize that you may never walk a mile in one of our nation’s heroes’ shoes, but you do have the opportunity to walk alongside them to honor what they’ve done.”
This is what I read about “Carry the Load,” a group of people walking from West Point, New York, to Dallas, Texas, to bring recognition to the true meaning of Memorial Day. I fell in with the group at a fire station in Chattanooga, was immediately handed a U.S. flag and jumped in line behind a group from the Chattanooga Fire Department, a veteran honored with the Purple Heart, several representatives from Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College and various other supporters.
Everyone had a story – why they were walking, who they were walking for and how their lives were impacted by those that fight for us, protect us, sacrifice their lives and make the way that we live possible. I realized how many of these people never get recognition, and often we don’t even realize who those people are that make our country great.
Many people in Chattanooga supported the Carry the Load campaign and walked in honor or memory of someone they knew who had served our nation.
As I walked over the Veterans Bridge, I thought of those I work with – people who make the world better every day, improving transportation, providing clean water, reducing flooding – and was moved at how many of these same people had been willing to go the extra mile and risk their lives for our country.
- LDA Geomatics Manager Jim Albert was a lance corporal in the U.S. Marine Corps as a machine gunner.
- Disciple Lead and Vice President Lee Gentry served as a sergeant E-5, engineering battalion, in the U.S. Army.
- Client Services Manager and Vice President Ed Crowell served on the USS Detroit and USS Grand Canyon as a Navy radioman.
- Discipline Lead and Vice President Greg Jones is a retired master sergeant with the Air National Guard and served in the 134th Civil Engineering Squadron Power Production.
- Associate Engineer Jason Foster was a specialist in the U.S. Army.
LDA Engineering is fortunate to have great employees who have served, and we owe them a huge thanks.