MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. -- At 8: 46 a.m. Sept. 11, 2001, the first tower collapsed and the nation stood still. Seven years later more than 800 supporters aboard Pendleton decided it was time to walk in honor of those lost.
Students, parents and staff from Mary Fay Pendleton Elementary School, Camp Pendleton remembered those lost with their 2nd Annual Freedom Walk around the school’s local community, Sept. 11.
“Over the past several years it has been hard for most of our students with active-duty moms and dads deployed,” recalled Lynn Gilstrap, principal, Mary Fay Pendleton Elementary. “We walk to remember those lost and those who answered the call.”
The Freedom walk began with a base-wide moment of silence and a presentation of the nation’s colors performed by Marines with Security Battalion, Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton. The students then participated in a school-wide pledge of allegiance and listened to several guest speakers.
Guests that attended the walk included Dr. Janice Schultz, superintendent, Fallbrook School District and her assistant Jim Whitlock, as well as Lt. Col. Sam Pelham, School Liaison Office, MCB Camp Pendleton.
Students began their walk waving flags and carrying banners with parents and staff by their side. They were led by four Marines in the color guard.
“We walk to show them we are here for support and that we care as an entire school community,” said Gilstrap.
The first Freedom Walk was originally planned at a staff meeting at the end of August 2007, and after the second year walking, we hope to make it a tradition at Mary Fay Pendleton, said Gilstrap.
Mary Fay Pendleton has been a public school since its inception in 1952 into Fallbrook Union Elementary School District. It continues to serve the families aboard Camp Pendleton today.
Kids Korps and Home Front San Diego, two non-profit organizations, also donated their time for the walk. At the beginning of the school year, they also supplied the school with more than 50 backpacks and numerous notebooks.
By having our family members join their children during the Freedom Walk, we are showing them we are here, as a whole school community, to support them and show that we care, said Gilstrap.
When the color guard presented the colors, one could look at the faces of the children and see how exceptionally proud they are of their flag, which represents the freedom that we all have and that all deserve. “Being at Mary Fay is an honor,” said Gilstrap.