105-116

WHITE, JOHN G

WHITE, JOHN S

WHITE, LEWIS ELMER

WHITE, SAMUEL MAX

WILL, WALLACE K

WILLIAMS, JAMES J

WILLIAMS, WALDON

WILSON, GENE L

WILSON, RONALD

WOOLEY, CLOYD

WRIGHT, ROBERT S

YOUNG, JAMES WARREN

James J Williams USMC was killed in combat at Iwo Jima.

101-104

VANCE, DAVID H

VEST, WILLIAM LEROY

WARDLE, LELEN TAYLOR

WHITE, CHARLES WILLIAM

95-100

SPILLMAN, EARL

STRINGHAM, IRVING RAY

SUNDAHL, JOHN C

SWENSON, LYMAN K

THOMAS, HARRY

TURLEY, GRANT

These names were done as part of a hike up Squaw Peak in Provo, Utah. It was a beautiful hike, and I was able to concentrate on the sacrifices and efforts that these men made. The hike was 7 miles, but I only used 6 names from our wall. The last name that I hiked for was Delynne Peay, a much loved dance instructor at BYU. I was in her class for over a year and performed on her Spring tour team. I was inspired, motivated, encouraged, and loved by her. She helped me to find a genuine happiness in dancing, which served me well in a few dark patches of my life that I went through later. I had to include her in the hike, and it worked out incredibly that with her counting as a 7th mile, the 6 names that I hiked for made my mile count hit an even 100. I'm almost halfway through the 210 names on the wall and can't wait to get out and run the rest.

Delynne Peay

91-94

SNOW, CLAUDE S

SNOW, RAY B

SORENSEN, W SAM

SPENCER, FARLEN L

Skousen, Murr

       
                Murr Skousen is the man in the middle of the group crouching down. You know, the one that looks like a total boss? He's staring down the camera because he wants everyone to know he's the toughest guy there.

                  Born during WWI in Mesa, Arizona Murr Eldred Skousen was an excellent athlete. He played high school football and eventually wound up on the BYU football team as a halfback. Due to his height of 5'7" and his tenacious nature, he gained the nickname, the "Mighty Mite."

              He left BYU and joined the Army Air Corps when WWII broke out, becoming the captain of a B-29 Bomber. He flew several successful bombing missions over Japan, and proved to be smart, resourceful, and courageous. An example of this is shown in the following story.

              During training in Pratt, Kansas, Murr had a scare. He was returning to base in a B-17 one night and found that his wheels wouldn't come down. Unable to land properly and running out of fuel, he circled the field to try again. Unsuccessful in his efforts to lower the wheels, Murr ordered his crew to bail out. When they asked why, he told them that he was going to try and take it in on its belly. The crew refused to leave him alone and trusted him so much that they all stayed in the plane with him. Murr made an outstanding emergency crash landing on the runway. In a letter to his parents he wrote:
 "Had a little trouble the other night and here is a picture to let you see how it was turned out. No one was hurt or scratched....Was complimented on the landing & everybody was pleased with it."  

Crash-Landed B-17 flown by Murr Skousen

                    Murr was a talented pilot, but the sky is harsh and unforgiving. Aviation has come a long way since the Wright Flyer, and is relatively safe and predictable, but in WWII it was more dangerous than ever. Thousands of brave young men and women perished in training accidents and missions due to reasons such as faulty equipment, lack of experience and training, and lack of standards and regulations.

                    When stationed in China, on July 29, 1944 Murr left on a routine training mission. One of his 4 engines failed, and he radioed that he was returning to base. He skillfully flew the plane back to the base(having one of 4 engines out drastically changes the flight characteristics and balance) and was about to attempt a landing, when he saw a plane already on the runway. Wanting to keep that plane out of danger, Murr decided to go around the pattern and try again. Tragically, his 3 working engines didn't have sufficient power to climb over a nearby hill. He crashed into the side of it and was killed.



Murr was a hero, and I'm proud to have run a mile for him. I know I can't repay his sacrifice at all by running, but I'll do what I can. I hope that this everyone reading this can take a few seconds to thank him, and all of the other men on this page.


-Brett
****Special Thanks to Alex Greaves. Murr is her great Uncle and she was invaluable in my research process

77-90

RICE, SARGENT GRANT

RICHINS, OTHELLO D

ROPER, HUGH RAWLIN

RUST, GEORGE NELSON

SECOR, ARTHUR E

SEELY, MAX M

SHARP, IVAN PAUL

SHELLEY, DAVID EDWARD

SIMMONS, GERALD L

SKOUSEN, MURR

SMITH, HEBER JOSEPH

SMITH, PAUL HONE

SMITH, VICTOR E

SMITH, WENDELL OLSEN

     I ran 8 of these names last week, and the other 6 today. It's a great feeling to look at the mile counter and see such a high number. Honestly, I knew I would be able to do it, but it's so exciting to see this plan actually work. I know I'm still not even halfway, and sometimes think that I've bitten off more than I can chew....but then I think about the lives of these men. I think about their names and their service. It makes me want to dig deep and finish what I've started.

Provo has had a lot of snow and low temperatures for the past few weeks. Add that to me getting pretty sick for a few days and it was hard for me to find the time or motivation. But honestly, I'm running more consistently in the winter months than I ever have. Usually I use the winter to take a break from running and hibernate, but these guys are keeping me at it. Why? I feel an obligation, a debt to them. They're my brothers. They're my heroes. I can't let them down. We have so much in common. 

     They all went to BYU to gain an education. They came to be around people with their same beliefs. They came to play sports. They came to meet girls. They were associated with this school for most of the same reasons why I came here. A lot of these guys didn't graduate. They gave up their futures and comfort to serve their country. I don't want to get into the politics of the draft, but whatever their stance on the war, I know that they did far more than they had to. I can't imagine leaving home to face enemy fire in another country. Their experience is so incredible that I feel compelled to learn more about them, to honor them, and to share their stories.

       The next post is going to be a profile of just one of these men. I feel bad lumping all of these names together and want to be able to highlight specific individuals. His experience isn't unique, but it was still an individual sacrifice. I ran a mile for him, but he gave his life for me.

73-76

PREECE, LELAND

RASMUSSEN, CANNON

REHOR, WILLIAM G

REX, DALE B

I ran these four names yesterday. I wanted to write a lot about them and highlight their sacrifices because when I run long distances some might get lost in the mix. So I had the idea to do some extra research and make these special. However, it's been hard to find out information for some names. I know that Cannon Rasmussen, for example, was a kindergarten teacher, but I don't know how he died. I know that Dale B Rex was a farmer and had completed 3 years of college at BYU before he enlisted, but I don't know what branch he served in.

I wish I could find out more about these men.

 Maybe I'm not tapped into the right databases, the right sources. Maybe, there aren't enough digitized and searchable documents. I might be able to find some information at the BYU library, but the archives are vast and hardly lend themselves to be searched. Moreover, it's a lot harder to find information about a single student who was only there for a few years, who didn't even graduate. If I'm lucky, I can usually find a picture of the headstone for their grave, or a copy of their enlistment record. If not, I could fruitlessly search all of these sources and find no record of these men or their sacrifices. 

That's just one more reason to run. I hope that through this, their legacy can live on, their names can be spoken, and their sacrificed can be honored. One of my secret hopes is that a relative or descendant of one of these men can one day stumble across this basic, elementary blog, look past the blemishes and unpolished nature of it, and come to learn that somebody, somewhere appreciates their loved one. If I can do that, it will have all been worth it.