Gatlinburg, TN—Teams of Appalachian ROTC cadets participated in the 9th annual Mountain Man Memorial March to honor the nation’s fallen service members and their Gold Star families. The march was originally organized as a way to honor First Lieutenant Frank B. Walkup IV, a 2005 University of Tennessee graduate and ROTC alumnus, who was killed in action in Iraq in 2007.
The march took on a special meaning for the Mountaineer Battalion in 2012 when Cadet Christopher Hasbrouck, an Appalachian State junior, collapsed while participating in the 5th annual march. He later passed away on May 2, 2012. That year, Hasbrouck and his fellow cadets were marching in honor of Sargent Rhys Klasno. As a result, Klasno’s father, along with the Gold Star Dads of America, renamed their award the Christopher Hasbrouck Espirit De Corp Award, which has been given to a deserving Appalachian State University cadet every semester since it’s inception.
The march consists of team and individual, heavy and light and full and half marathon marches. All teams are entered as either military or civilian. This year, Appalachian State University swept the military heavy team and individual events. Cadet David Coveney placed first in the individual heavy-full event and set a new course record of 26.2 miles completed in 5:16:34. Due to the teams’ dedicated training regimen, all cadets completed the event with zero injuries.
Cadets participating in the 9th annual Mountain Man Memorial March
Appalachian State University cadets participating in the 9th annual Mountain Man Memorial March