On Tuesday, November 11th, we pause to remember our brave veterans. Veterans Day is a day to honor all our military personnel who have served, whereas on Memorial Day we only honor our war dead. In today’s post I want to recognize the military personnel that did not return home in a casket, but sadly took their own life, after suffering from PTSD due to trauma experienced during their respective tours of duty.
This is the third year I have participated virtually in the annual Running to Honor 5K walk/run event at Heritage Park. Running to Honor was organized by a local veteran, Aaron Bartal, who served in the U.S. Army for six years and in 2019 created the first Running to Honor event, not only to memorialize comrades he lost on his Iraq tours, but also those military personnel that have died by their own hand after returning home. It may surprise you to learn that the U.S. loses 22 veterans daily to suicide, due to PTSD, some many years after their time served.
How I chose to honor the fallen.
This post is a bit more subdued than my usual posts about this venue …
… so, I’ll refrain from poking fun at the chickens that cross my path, or photographing the proud Canada Geese and Mallards with their young, or even telling a tale like the wily Seagull that swiped a fish right from under the noses, er … bills of the Cormorant and Heron.
Instead, I will fill this post with flowers, most of them red, white and blue and add in some photos taken by the event organizers on the day of the race.
However, I do confess I peeked in the rafters of the covered bridge for baby Barn Swallows and shaded my eyes from the sun to peer across Coan Lake for Mallard ducklings skimming across the surface of the water, but found neither. I did “double dip” on this walk to find a solitary Swallowtail Butterfly that flitted about the pinkish-purple Coneflowers in the perennial garden near the Old Log Cabin. I took some shots of that beautiful butterfly and will save those pics for mid-Winter when we will need a dose of Summer to soldier on through the balance of that season.
Running to Honor – 2025.
The event took place on Saturday, July 25th and, as in the past, I visited Heritage Park the day before to walk the course and take photos. This is a well-run event and there were many virtual participants from other states per Aaron Bartal’s Facebook posts.
Our swag arrived several weeks before, including the tee-shirt, finishing medal and bib with number.
First, I meandered over to the Francesca’s Heart sculpture found on the Conservatory grounds and, along the way, I dodged the automatic sprinklers that were on, something new that I have written about recently. I miss chatting it up with the friendly volunteers that were always hand watering and now I find myself shielding the camera with my hands, should a sudden burst of water from a nearby sprinkler drench us.
Francesca’s Heart sculpture was flanked by flowers.
It was sunny and the sun bouncing off the metal sculpture and the large, waxy Canna leaves had me taking a second shot from another angle to ensure at least one photo came out fine.
The red Cannas were vibrant and even though Cannas are considered Hummingbird magnets, there were no tiny visitors stopping by to sip from the blooms on that day.
At the sculpture were messages from the heart, or maybe I should say “heART”.
This sculpture was dedicated to Francesca Weatherhead, (née Vitale), a 25-year-old newlywed, tragically killed in 2014 by a parolee that was fleeing the police and broadsided her car.
In swerving and veering down another path to get from Point A to Point B without the camera or me getting wet, I found these red, white and blue flowers scattered in and around the Conservatory, the perfect accompaniment for this post.
The beautiful Snowball Bushes were not ready for primetime just yet.
Photos posted on the event’s Facebook site by Aaron Bartal.
There were many photos of the event, but I’ll just include a few here, like Aaron Bartal reading the names of the fallen soldiers that you will see pictured in the Field of Honor.
The Field of Honor, i.e. the flags and signs that honor the local soldiers that died, is arranged on the park grounds the evening before and an honor guard watches over them.
On the date of each fallen soldier’s death, Aaron Bartal also posts their photo and a remembrance on his Facebook site. On October 22nd, as Veterans Day neared, this message was posted:
I realize that I’ve inundated my blog with posts about this venue and, in reviewing my log of places visited/photographed in 2025, Heritage Park definitely topped the list many more times than Lake Erie Metropark, my usual frequent stomping grounds from Spring through Fall. But, by late July, there were lots of warnings on the news about ticks and an influx of visitors to the E.R.s, (some 61% more), to have embedded ticks removed. After getting the tick in my ear last year, even though I was lucky enough that it did not attach, I decided to play it safe and avoid the woodsy and rustic trails for a while, so tootling along the paved pathways here and at bigger parks with asphalt trails just made sense to me.
Event organizer Aaron Bartal reported that there were 700 in-person and virtual participants in this event and the number of youngsters participating grows from year to year. The oldest participant was 88 years old. The fastest runner was 16 years old with a time of 17 minutes and 6 seconds. The race registration fees and donations yielded $11,675.85, distributed to various local charities for veterans. I think this is a worthwhile endeavor and I plan to participate next year as well.
Note: I am not participating this week in Terri’s Photo Challenge: Leaf Peeping.
Instead I wanted to do this post for Veterans Day and Wednesday I will do a Wordless Wednesday post (pics) to remember the crew of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald that sank in Lake Superior during a bad storm 50 years ago tomorrow (11/10/75). I watched this documentary, a “backstory”, on this freighter, the storm and the crew and found it very interesting, so I thought I’d share this YouTube link. I’ve already shared it with my fellow Michigander bloggers over the weekend. It is a little over an hour long. Click here.
Linda Schaub
WALKIN', WRITIN', WIT & WHIMSY 
A beautiful tribute and a worthy cause! 💖 It is tragic that so many veterans commit suicide due to PTSD. My father, a Korean War vet, had it also, but it manifested differently. And what a sad story about newlywed Francesca! 💔 Her sculpture is a wonderful monument as well. I’m glad they were able to raise so much for the various charities.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thank you Debbie! I think it is a worthy cause and a good way for Aaron to honor those, not only whom he served with, but others that suffer(ed) from PTSD as a result of wartime activity. I like that he has out-of-state participants as well that are taking an interest in this effort. The sculpture is beautiful and always flanked with flowers during the growing season and it is decorated with lights around the sculpture at the holidays, all which enhance this monument to a young woman gone too soon.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Loved your heART!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Anne!
LikeLike
This was a very nice way to appreciate the veterans who are with us and especially those who are not.
Every time I wonder if I should spend more time out in nature, I read something that says “Nope, you’re fine.” Today it is ticks.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I like this effort too JP. It is heartwarming to see Aaron’s efforts to help out veterans in need or to memorialize the veterans who are no longer with us. You are smart to be careful with ticks. Meteorologists said our brutally cold temps last Winter would kill off all the ticks but it didn’t – instead there were a lot more. We’ve had a hard freeze, so I understand it is safe to go in the woods now, but there’s not much see in the gray and gloom that is November (except your state and mine had snow … I hope it didn’t impact your area/job too much).
LikeLike
A very nice tribute to soldiers everywhere.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Kate. I always hope they are not forgotten, no matter when they served, or, if still alive, but troubled by their time in the service.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It blesses local communities to honor their fallen heroes in such heartfelt ways, Linda. Your contribution as a virtual participant and as a local photographer and blogger brings awareness to these causes. Lovely shots of the venues.
I’m honoring my dad with my flower hours post tomorrow. Your red, white and blue florals will fit right in, so please feel free to link to the post. May me never forget!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I agree with you Terri. Our City has an annual bell-tolling service tonight near City Hall. The City turned 100 years old this year, so we have war dead names on a monument in Memorial Park representing all the wars beginning with WWI. Yes, may we never forget! That will be a nice tribute to your dad with the red, white and blue and I never thought about joining in on your flower challenge with my Veterans Day patriotic flowers and the heart-shaped Caladium, so thanks for reminding me. So I’ll still be a participant this week. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
The bell tolling service would be amazing to hear. I’m glad I can offer two challenges now!
LikeLiked by 1 person
We have a City videographer who usually does still shots and records the bell tolling. I forgot it is not tonight, but tomorrow night – they do it on actual Veterans Day. I watched the annual bell tolling at Mariner’s Church in Detroit for the Edmund Fitzgerald crew. They had that ceremony in Detroit, but tonight will be at Lake Superior at the SS Edmund Fitzgerald Museum. The survivors (“wives and the sons and the daughters” as you know from the song) gather – each crew member has one person come forth to toll the bell there as well. At the Museum they have the actual freighter’s bell retrieved from the wreck. They have special ceremonies as today is the 50th anniversary. I’m going to watch the ceremony later. I don’t have TV, so I’ll find it on YouTube.
Yes, two challenges for you and I will be able to join that as I roll out some Spring/early Summer posts. I have some gorgeous wildflowers, then two posts which will have flowers with butterflies.
LikeLiked by 1 person
A wonderful post Linda. We should always remember the sacrifices they have made. Our Legions, here, do a candlelight ceremony the night before Remembrance Day and then the ceremony on Remembrance Day.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Susan. Yes, I hope we can always remember the men and women who fought and died, or now carry physical and mental scars from time served in the military. I remember the Remembrance Day ceremonies and the ceremonies the day before that took place from when I still lived in Canada. We had a ceremony at school as I recall and even as children always wore our felt poppy pinned to our coat.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes we usually start wearing our poppies on November 1st and most people do not decorate for Christmas until after November 11th. I wonder if that’s the same everywhere?
LikeLiked by 1 person
I like that timeline better than here Susan. I like the idea of Thanksgiving in October as it’s more representative of the harvest and, unlike here, it is a whole separate event, long before the “holiday season” as more and more the Thanksgiving holiday here is like a stepping stone. Halloween happens (and Halloween is very big over here, second only to Christmas as to home decor and expense) and you’re catapulted into the holiday season. Maybe it is because of Black Friday which has now become Gray Thursday in which people leave the Thanksgiving table, hop in the car and head to the mall for sales. It has probably tempered a bit now by online shopping and Amazon’s deals, etc., but to me it’s just one run-on holiday from the end of November to New Year’s Day.
When we moved to the States in 1966, we realized that Veterans Day is not as solemn and observed widespread like Remembrance Day. There are ceremonies here to honor veterans today, but sadly, they did not happen in the larger cemeteries as to placing flags or wreaths on grave markers because of the government shutdown. I would think not decorating until after November 11th is a good idea. I’ve already seen a few front lawns with Christmas inflatables!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Those inflatables crack me up, when you’re driving around and there are just these big lumps on front lawns until they inflate! I’m not fond of them but it is funny to see them lying “dead” on the front lawns. Halloween is big here too, sadly this year it rained all evening but we still had a lot of children come by. I often wondered why your thanksgiving was so late in the year, or maybe ours is early! Boxing Day sales are very popular here but going shopping that day holds no appeal to me. We have Black Friday sales here but not to the extent you guys do. I don’t like shopping anyways lol
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, those inflatables look funny lying “dead” in the front yards. I pass one house with big Christmas inflatables when I walk to Council Point Park. We’ve had very gusty winds all week and this person doesn’t let them “die” overnight, so there they were, four of them, all listing to one side. 🙂 Today I saw two gingerbread people on another lawn – that was a first for me seeing them. We have homeowners with Thanksgiving inflatables too – turkeys sitting on pumpkins mostly, some Charlie Brown characters too. I don’t care for shopping anymore either, now that I am retired and even before I retired, as I worked from home from 2011 to 2024. But one year I went to a mall for Black Friday and it was not just a crowd, but a throng of people that moved together, like sheep, each person/persons veering off at the store they wanted to shop in. We literally moved along together and they have glass elevators and people were getting on them, looking, to me, like the jellybeans in a jar that you try to count at the fair. I thought “surely they have a limit of people for each elevator!” The first exit, I got out of there.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Congratulations on the 5K, Linda. Thanks also for bringing to our attention a very worthy cause. I had no idea that so many veterans have been lost to PTSD-related suicide. That is tragic!
Beautiful flower photos are a good way to honor and remember.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Laurie! Until I read a story about Aaron’s efforts, I had no idea how many veteran suicides from PTSD occurred. I signed up for the 5K the next year. I like that people from other states participate virtually as well. Everything is done with reverence for those that passed away and they have an honor guard standing watch over the field of honor which is placed there the evening before the race – very touching. I thought I could make this post more subdued with flowers and was happy to see I could incorporate some patriotic colors in it as well.
LikeLike
God bless you, Linda, for participating in the run honoring veterans. How wonderful that Aaron is bringing attention to the suicide rate among those suffering from PTSD. I pray veterans and their families seek the help they need from suc reputable organizations as Mighty Oaks Warrior Programs, PTSD Foundation of America, and REBOOT Combat Recovery.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Nancy – I feel Aaron is doing a great job bringing attention to these veterans and helping them as well as enlightening the rest of us on how PTSD is affecting the veterans long after they remove the uniform and settle back into civilian life. Those organizations sound very reputable and helpful to veterans and I have been hearing about an organization called “Canines for Warriors” which pairs trained service dogs (many which are rescue pets) with veterans as emotional support dogs at no cost to the veteran.
LikeLike
A great way to honor our vets, Linda. The red, white and blue flowers are so appropriate.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Ruth! I really admire Aaron’s work in raising funds to provide needed support toward these veterans in this worthwhile cause. I was happy to find so many red, white and blue flowers, especially the beautiful heart-shaped Caladium which was perfect for the post.
LikeLiked by 1 person
A beautiful tribute to our veterans. Wouldn’t it be nice if there were no more fallen soldiers to honor, remember, and morn? Those statistics from the war in Afghanistan were staggering.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Janis – I am happy to participate in this worthwhile cause and Aaron does a great job organizing it and memorializing all the fallen comrades out there throughout the year. It is staggering to see those statistics and I had no idea about the PTSD deaths until I read a story about Aaron’s involvement and I started following him on Facebook, then signed up to support this cause. It would be wonderful indeed. Our City turned 100 years old this year and we have war dead as far back as WWI. They are all listed on a large stone monument in Memorial Park.
LikeLike
I’m glad you support this cause and inform people about the PTSD deaths occurring every day as a result of the wars our country involves us in. I also honor the veterans and wish the government would serve them better than they do. We shouldn’t have to have fundraisers for this.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Eilene. I never realized how many servicemen and women suffer from PTSD and end up taking their lives until I read an article about Aaron’s work. I agree about the government treating them better and there should not be a need for fundraisers. I once spoke with a homeless vet at our City’s Memorial Park which honors our war dead. He had Agent Orange and was very ill and sleeping on a park bench overnight and would stay in the park during the day. He had difficulty walking as he broke both legs while in the military. I felt badly for him. He had a friend he’d known for years, who took him home sometimes for a home-cooked meal and let him stay overnight, but the friend’s wife was not keen on the idea. I told him about a church we have in the City that has accommodations and free meals, but he was reluctant to go there, but didn’t say why and I didn’t press him on it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
What rich history you have in the area, Linda.
LikeLiked by 1 person
A wonderful way to remember, Linda xx
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Jo. It is important to remember our veterans, especially those who lived, but struggle(d) to return to civilian life after their wartime experience. Aaron Bartal is very dedicated to memorializing those veterans that passed away and helping those that still struggle.
LikeLiked by 1 person
What a great event to participate in. I love all the red, white and blue flowers you found.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think it is a great event too Rebecca and Aaron does a great job of putting the event together and honoring veterans throughout the year as well. I was happy to find some red-white-and-blue flowers and even the heart-shaped Caladium plants.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Miss Linda………………………………….I liked reading your Veteran’s Day blog………………….Thank you for participating in the event honoring our military no matter which branch………………………The red and white and blue flowers are gorgeous…………………………….Where I live we have quite a few of veterans to thank for their service…………………………
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Ann Marie. I think Aaron Bartal does a great job organizing this event and it’s such a worthwhile cause. I was happy to find some red, white and blue flowers to sprinkle throughout the post, including those beautiful and bright-red Caladium. Did they recognize the veterans where you live now, or you are just aware of which are veterans from speaking with them?
LikeLike
I love the displays of red, white and blue, so thanks for sharing these.
My WP Reader on my phone has been wonky. It has not allowed me to “like” anything, and has also eaten a few comments I have made here and there – one of them being here. I am sure that what I said the last time was far more brilliant. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Actually JP, I remember your comment about not going into nature due to ticks – the comment is still there – I just checked. I’m glad you liked the red, white and blue flowers – they were perfect for this post about military men and women. I hate WP Reader/Comment issues. A few times over the years I did a special/holiday post, only to have it not show up in Reader until days later – grrr.
LikeLike
🧡
LikeLiked by 1 person
What a lovely post Linda! the flowers…..the art….that’s quite a large event they have organized. The youtube video looks good too – I bookmarked it to watch later.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Joni! This event is growing yearly and I like that people from other states are walking/running virtually to support the cause. I especially like the Caladium – they are very pretty in the color combo here. It is a very good video and you’ll enjoy it. It was a TV show a week ago Friday and Paul Gross, a meteorologist I follow on social media and appears in the video, said the video has even more info than was on the TV show. It was interesting and you’ll learn some things you never knew about the Edmund Fitzgerald and some theories on why it sank.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I plan on watching it some night this week and will pass it on to my neighbour who is a boat enthusiast.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think you’ll both enjoy it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Veterans Day is called Remembrance Day here and there are wreath laying ceremonies in every town and city, even the smaller ones are organized by the local Legions
LikeLiked by 1 person
I remember about it being called Remembrance Day from my Canada days as I always had my felt poppy on my coat in November. When we moved here to the States, we were surprised that it is Memorial Day which is treated more or less like Remembrance Day, for honoring the war dead and here for Veterans Day, although there are wreaths laid in big cemeteries like Arlington in Washington, D.C. and also smaller military cemeteries, it is also a time to honor the living veterans as well and you’re supposed to thank them for their service; restaurants usually give free meals or drinks if they show their military card.
LikeLiked by 2 people