Old Glory comes to Chester
<span>CHESTER -- With much fanfare, the American flag crossed the Chester Bridge on Oct. 23, completing another leg of the Old Glory Coast-to-Coast tour that started on Sept. 11 in Sacramento, Calif., and is scheduled to end on Veteran's Day at the Walter Reed Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland.</span>
<span>Local veteran Ron Rathert, who served two tours in Vietnam, accepted the flag from those involved with the 70-mile Potosi, Mo., to Chester leg and </span><span>walked the remaining 100 yards to the Popeye Statue at the Chester Welcome Center.</span>
<span>There, the flag was retired for the day.</span>
<span>Team Red, White and Blue Board Member Joanna Graham, who is accompanying the flag on its journey, said Team RWB was founded four and a half years ago by U.S. Army Maj. Mike Erwin, who was dissatisfied with a lot of the support services veterans were receiving.</span>
<span>"We get involved in our communities," said Graham, who added Team RWB has 52,000 members and 120 chapters nationwide. "We organize weekly physical activities such as rock climbing, cycling and yoga.</span>
<span>"Yoga has proven to be a beneficial outlet for veterans and others who are suffering from stress."</span>
<span>Graham, whose husband is currently serving overseas, said Team RWB's chapters are made up of 70 percent veterans and 30 percent civilians. Ninety percent of everything Team RWB raises goes back into veterans' programs.</span>
<span>"Everything has been very grass-roots oriented," she said. "We've grown very much by word of mouth."</span>
<span>Team RWB organized the 3,800-mile Coast-to-Coast relay to raise awareness of the challenges that face the nation's veterans. The flag will be retired once it reaches its final destination.</span>
<span>"We wanted to get the word out about the RWB and wanted to get the word out about veterans," Graham said. "We don't pass through major cities, we go through much smaller markets and smaller communities."</span>
<span>According to its website, Team RWB's mission is to enrich the lives of America's veterans by connecting them to their community through physical and social activity.</span>
<span>"One of the reasons why I signed up for this is that I've seen a lot of stories about people who bike or walk across America by themselves and sometimes you forget about what they're doing this for," Graham said. "It's just really a great way to pay homage to our country."</span>
<span>Ryan McKennedy, a 2013 SIU-Carbondale graduate who was the captain of the Chester to Marion leg of the relay, said his team has a variety of backgrounds.</span>
<span>"Our leg was full of a diverse crew," he said. "We have VA employees, SIU employees, National Guard soldiers, civilians, spouses and a lot of different running groups.</span>
<span>"What's unique about our leg is we have a couple of people running through their hometowns and they're really excited to carry the American flag through there."</span>
<span>Each leg of the relay is roughly 65 miles in length. The Chester leg was 63.4 miles long, taking runners along County Farm Road toward Campbell Hill and around the back side of Kinkaid Lake near Murphysboro.</span>
<span>"Almost everyone that ran Friday is from the local area," McKennedy said. "That's beneficial for us. A lot of us stay here in the local area and they have the benefit of returning to their homes at night."</span>
<span>For more information on the relay, or to donate, visit www.teamrwb.org.</span>