'Carry The Fallen' event to support veterans group Active Heroes

Cranston resident Brooke van Eeghen is a major in the Air Force Reserves. She is organizing a ruck march-style event called “Carry The Fallen” for the charity Active Heroes, along with her friend Jeff Crowley, who is an Army veteran and currently serves as an MP in the Army National Guard.

“I carry my ruck and my flag all over the city of Woonsocket and surrounding towns for the hopes that anytime some sees me, they see a soldier. Not specifically me, Jeff, but just a soldier,” Crowley said.

“I served active duty for eight years and have continued my service in the reserves for another two years,” said van Eeghen. “As an Air Force pharmacist I have seen firsthand the devastating long-term suffering of our returning heroes.”

van Eeghen is married to Richard Wallace and they have three children. Chandler is 8, Ronnie is 7 and Sophie is 4. Crowley is married to Katelyn.

“Carry The Fallen” will be held on Dec. 12 and is 22 miles long. The number 22 symbolizes the number of veterans who take their own lives every day.

“It is a ruck march-style event like the ones the military often uses for training. Rucking is simply walking with a weighted pack. In this case we are symbolically carrying the weight of our fallen comrades,” van Eeghen explained.

The event will be held on Dec. 12 stating at 8 a.m. It will start and end at VFW Post 449 at 197 Providence St. in West Warwick. At this time, van Eeghen is searching for sponsors in her mission. You may reach her at Bve0723@yahoo.com.

“More often than not, it is the emotional suffering that does far more damage than any physical suffering they endure,” van Eeghen said.

The damage is deep, and often when a veteran leaves the support of a close-knit military community, they find themselves alone and misunderstood, surrounded by people who cannot possibly understand what they have been through.

“It is a tragedy of the highest order that any American hero survives to return from deployment and take their own life. We can and must do better by these heroes. The money we raise will go directly to programs and resources that help veterans in need,” van Eeghen said.

Active Heroes nonprofit organization with the mission to support all U.S. military service members, veterans and their families through physical, educational, and emotional programs in an effort to eliminate suicide.

“And I hope it’ll make them think of a family member that served, or an old high school classmate that left to fight in the war you haven’t heard from,” Crowley said. “And more importantly, the veteran you may know from work or the neighborhood that might need someone to talk to.”

More information can be found at www.activeheroes.org.