BETHEL — Plans are under way in Maine to assist Army veteran Mike Ehredt, who began a solo and unsupported trek this spring running across America to honor and remember U.S. servicemen and women who have sacrificed their lives in Iraq since 2003.
The retired postal clerk is expected to arrive in Bethel on Oct. 7, having started on May 1 from the Pacific Ocean at Delaura Beach near Astoria, Ore. The Project America Run trek will end on the Atlantic Ocean in mid-October in Rockland.
At each mile along the 4,751-mile route, Ehredt of Driggs, Idaho, is placing a small American flag with each service member’s name, rank, hometown, age, and date of death as a memorial and silent symbol of thanks, according to a report on Tuesday from Jerry Greenwell of Bethel.
“It is my objective to create an invisible holding of hands from one service member to the next, flag to flag, ocean to ocean,” Ehredt said. “One Life. One Flag. One Mile.”
Greenwell said Ehredt will be welcomed into Maine by the Maine State Police, Oxford County Sheriff’s Department, American Legion Riders, Patriot Guard, National Guard and honor guards from various veterans’ organizations, among others, as he completes his journey and tribute.
He said, Ehredt will be taking Route 2 from Gorham, N. H., traveling through Bethel and stopping at Bear River at the intersection of Route 26 and Route 2.
Ehredt, an accomplished ultra-marathoner and cyclist, pushes a jogging stroller to carry flags, supplies, communications and emergency gear, the report stated.
He averages 30 miles a day and will have run 4,751 miles in 157 days by the time he arrives in Rockland next month.
Along the way across America, Ehredt has spent the night with host families, and will stay with Greenwell and his wife, Jeri Brooks Greenwell, when he crosses into Maine.
“Communities and residents along the route are encouraged to display their flags and wave to Ehredt as he progresses along his route,” Greenwell said. “Additionally, drivers along the route are encouraged to slow down and give Ehredt plenty of room.”
For more information, visit www.projectamericarun.com/may.htm or contact Greenwell at 824-2532 or jag@megalink.net.
tkarkos@sunjournal.com
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