Memorial Day Flag Runners

Two flags...100 runners...covering more than 80 miles! A couple of Navy chaplains, their family and friends weren't at the beach this Memorial Day. The group spent the holiday pounding the pavement, running from Mobile to NAS Pensacola to honor our veterans. The runners carried two American flags, hoping their patriotic journey would let others know what Memorial Day is really all about.

"People these days try to use Memorial Day just as a goof off or to go to the beach," says flag runner Hunter Lee. "But we're out here to try to make sure people remember why we really have Memorial Day."

The first-ever run is called the "Ernest P. Roy Memorial Day Relay"...named in honor of a local soldier killed in action during World War Two.

"This is in his honor," says Chaplain Lee Rutledge. "But this is really in honor of all our servicemen and women who have died fighting for our freedom."

When the group arrived at NAS Pensacola, they say gave one of the American flags to a family who recently lost a loved one in Operation Iraqi Freedom.