Relay to honor country’s fallen visits Clovis and Fresno, heads to Texas for Memorial Day

The latest leg in the nationwide relay honoring the country’s fallen veterans and more kicked off in Clovis on Sunday morning with stops in Fresno before moving on to Bakersfield and ending on Memorial Day in Dallas, where the nonprofit Carry the Load will hold its Memorial March.

The first stop was a flag raising at Buchanan High School.

“We’ve communicated with Clovis and they pass on to us what has occurred here, losing eight young men from a single high school is incredible,” said Michael Golden, the West Coast relay manager for Carry the Load.

“What a sacrifice. The people of Clovis embody what Carry the Load is about. They’re trying to honor these young men discreetly, but make sure their memories are never forgotten. That’s the purpose of Carry the Load. We want these young men and women remembered.”

The organization was started in 2011 by two U.S. Navy Seals to honor fallen soldiers and first responders.

In its 10th year, Carry the Load has four relays headed to Dallas, covering more than 15,000 miles over 32 days and raising awareness and fundraising to highlight the meaning of Memorial Day and to support veterans and military families through a number of charities.

The West Coast relay started in Seattle on April 29. Volunteers walked, biked and bused their way through Oregon and Northern California on the way to the valley. It will continue Monday in Santa Maria before heading through Los Angeles, San Diego, the Inland Empire, over to Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico and then to Texas.

There also are relays that run through the mountain states, Midwest and the East Coast, all ending Memorial Day in Dallas, and a two-day celebration of heroes, remembrance of the fallen.

“We’re covering almost all of the states,” Golden said. “Our founders were two Navy Seals who had lost brothers in arms and felt like Memorial Day wasn’t being honored the way it should be, so they put on backpacks, put weights in those backpacks and started to walk. An older gentlemen asked them who they were carrying, which perfectly embodied what they were doing. They did that for 20 hours in 2011, and from there 10 years later we’ve raised more than $26 million for organizations that help veterans and first responders.”

This story was originally published May 9, 2021 at 12:00 PM.