Stonington -- Like most Americans, Bob Alessio of Stow, Mass.,
was overcome by feelings of patriotism after the Sept. 11 terrorist
attacks.
But
Alessio, 58, didn't just fly a flag from his home or make a donation
to a relief fund. He decided to run across the country to pay
tribute to the victims and the police, fire and other emergency
workers who responded, as well as the U.S. military.
On
Monday, Alessio ran from the Coast Guard Academy in New London
to the borough, where he spent the night in the mobile home that
friends and his daughter have used to accompany him. He has carried
a frayed American flag throughout the entire 5,450-mile run. He's
worn T-shirts that read, “Run Across America ––
For Enduring Freedom.”
Next
Tuesday, Alessio, a retired sales and marketing director for Compaq
and Digital Equipment, is scheduled to complete his 11-month trek
in Boston, where Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney will welcome him.
“It's
been my way of saying I support the United States, President Bush
and his mission of enduring freedom,” Alessio said Monday
while resting in the mobile home. “I wanted to show people
it's good to show patriotism.
|
Dana Jensen
Bob Alessio, 58, runs along Route 1 in Groton Monday during a leg
of his Run Across America — For Enduring Freedom trek. Alessio
started running in Los Angeles on April 23, 2002.
|
Stonington -- Like most Americans, Bob Alessio of Stow, Mass., was overcome
by feelings of patriotism after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
But Alessio,
58, didn't just fly a flag from his home or make a donation to a relief
fund. He decided to run across the country to pay tribute to the victims
and the police, fire and other emergency workers who responded, as well
as the U.S. military.
On Monday,
Alessio ran from the Coast Guard Academy in New London to the borough,
where he spent the night in the mobile home that friends and his daughter
have used to accompany him. He has carried a frayed American flag throughout
the entire 5,450-mile run. He's worn T-shirts that read, “Run
Across America –– For Enduring Freedom.”
Next Tuesday,
Alessio, a retired sales and marketing director for Compaq and Digital
Equipment, is scheduled to complete his 11-month trek in Boston, where
Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney will welcome him.
“It's
been my way of saying I support the United States, President Bush and
his mission of enduring freedom,” Alessio said Monday while resting
in the mobile home. “I wanted to show people it's good to show
patriotism.
“America
is the cradle of freedom and liberty. But we're so wrapped up in it
that we take it for granted,” he said. “Freedom is not a
God-given right. We have to constantly think about it, protect it and
value it and remember that without the people who died for us we wouldn't
have it.”
Alessio,
an experienced marathoner, said he had been planning to run across the
country as a personal challenge. But after Sept. 11, he saw it as a
patriotic endeavor.
He said people
have been tremendously supportive along the way, sometimes running with
him and offering assistance. He said there have been lots of honking
horns, crisp salutes and chants of USA, USA!
He ran with
the mayor of Pittsburgh, visited Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's
office during a tour of the Pentagon and was scheduled to run with President
Bush, a meeting that was canceled because of the space shuttle disaster.
Since he
began his run April 23, 2002 in Los Angeles, Alessio has covered an
average of between 26 and 30 miles a day and gone through a dozen pair
of running shoes. Nevertheless, he has added five pounds to his 175-pound
frame.
Donations
he has received have gone to the Brain Center in Mashpee, Mass., which
does research on neurological diseases and traumatic brain injuries.
Alessio's son died of head trauma at age 16.
Alessio has
paid for the trip himself, including the mobile home, which is draped
in banners advertising the run. Scattered across the inside are maps,
photos and scrapbooks. The walls are filled with American flags he has
picked up along the way, along with hundreds of patches from police
and fire departments. Each day he takes notes about his run, and hopes
to write a book.
He said he
is aware that his run is ending as the country prepares for war.
“I
know it's tied together with what I'm doing but I try to keep them separate,”
he said. “I want this to be a pro-American effort not a pro-war
or antiwar thing even though I am pro-war,” he said. “I
don't want someone to say I won't support him because he's pro-war.”
Today, Alessio
plans to run up Route 201 past Preston and spend the night at Foxwoods
Resort Casino.
