Motivational cadence rang through the morning air as Marines and sailors participated in a memorial five-kilometer run on Camp Foster May 12 for two fallen combat camera Marines who died in a helicopter crash in Nepal.
The run marks the one-year anniversary since Cpl. Sara A. Medina, 23, a combat photographer and Lance Cpl. Jacob A. Hug, 22, a combat videographer assigned to Headquarters and Support Battalion, Marine Corps Installations Pacific-Marine Corps Base Camp Butler, Japan died while performing earthquake relief efforts in Nepal during operation Sahayogi Haat on May 12, 2015.
The combat camera crew that Medina and Hug served with really enjoyed the camaraderie, according to Lance Cpl. Sean Evans, a combat photographer with H&S Bn., MCIPAC-MCB, Camp Butler, Japan who served with the two Marines during their time on Okinawa.
“We were amazed to see all of the support,” said Evans, a Monroe Township, New Jersey, native. “Marines and sailors all over Okinawa came to be a part of this event.”
This year is the start of the annual run, and the combat camera Marines who put the event together ensure that the run will continue to happen in remembrance of Medina and Hug.
Plans are being made to make next year’s memorial run even better, according to Chief Warrant Officer Clinton Runyon, a combat camera officer with H&S Bn., MCIPAC-MCB Camp Butler, Japan who was in charge of Medina and Hug during their time on Okinawa.
“We want to have a simultaneous five-kilometer and 10-kilometer next year,” said Runyon. “We started small and it will get bigger. Medina and Hug were a big part of our lives and we will remember them forever.”
Story by Cpl. Douglas Simons
