The wife of a soldier who died Christmas Day in 2009 was
prepared for the flags. It was the picture of Army Staff Sgt. David
H. Gutierrez that got to her. Full article and video
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The wife of a soldier who died Christmas Day in 2009 was prepared for the flags. It was the picture of Army Staff Sgt. David H. Gutierrez that got to her.
“I knew about the flag holders because my mother-in-law flew up with us to be the one to hold David’s flag, I did not know about the photo stands,” said Patty Gutierrez after she participated June 25 in the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon in Seattle. “A flood of emotions swept over me.”
David’s three sons Andrew, Jeremiah and Gabriel were also there standing at the seven-mile mark of the half-marathon with David’s picture to honor their father with Gilroy ties who was killed by a hidden roadside bomb in Afghanistan.
Patty joined other friends and family of fallen soldiers in the Wear Blue: Run to Remember portion of the event.
“I decided that if my husband was able to do this daily, then I could do it once a year,” Patty said. “This was my very first half-marathon, and I did it for David.”
According to its website, Wear Blue: Run to Remember’s mission is to establish a running community that serves as a living memorial to the service and sacrifice of the American military, and was started by Lisa Hallett. Patty is connected to Hallett in another way. Their husbands served in the same brigade together.
Friends and family remembered David during the weekend which included a remembrance dinner for fallen soldiers before the marathon.
“I thought I had let out all my tears at the remembrance dinner,” Patty said. “But as soon as I started to speak about David during the interview, the tears kept coming.”
The interview she refers to is when KOMO 4 TV in Washington filmed her during a moment in the race in which she revealed she was running for David.
Not only were Patty’s mother and nephew there for encouragement, but David’s mother, cousin and three high school friends flew up for support as well.
“The wife of one of David’s old Lt. Colonel’s, who happens to still be in Washington, stuck with me the entire time documenting my progress,” Patty said.
The Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon benefits the American Cancer Society, and allowed Wear Blue to honor fallen soldiers during a portion of the run.
“It was an amazing experience,” Patty said. “My family got to see first hand how supportive our ‘military family’ has been for one another.”
