FOND DU LAC (NBC 26) — Memorial Day weekend is a time to remember and honor American veterans who have fallen.
It's also a time to shed light on an important issue facing many living veterans: the trauma from the battlefield that still threatens the lives of many.
According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, about 20 veterans take their own lives each day.
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A Wisconsin organization, Salute The Troops is hoping to provide assistance any way they can for those suffering.
The organization's mission is to support local service members, veterans, and their families through advocacy, education, training, financial assistance, and supportive programming.
This Saturday, the organization hosted its 10th Annual Race and Ruck at Lakeside Park in Fond du Lac.
Races included a half marathon, Dobogai Memorial 5k run/walk, Brandon Michael Van Asten ruck march, and a kids race.
Brandon Michael Van Asten was a veteran who died as a result of suicide a few years ago.
Organizers of the event say all of his family was at the event in his honor.
"I wanted to be a part of this because of my passion for the veteran community. Over the last few years, since I exited the service in 2017, I have been informed from my soldiers that we lost at least 1 person every year to suicide,“ said Tom Shuler.
“It happens and unfortunately I don’t think its going to stop happening but I’d like to decrease it as much as we can,” Shuler said.
The Dobogai Memorial 5K Run/Walk is in memory of Derek Dobogai. They said Derek was a law enforcement and justice administration major at Western Illinois University, graduating in 2003.
He received an active duty commission in 2003 as a second lieutenant in the United States Army through the Reserve Officers Training Corps. He then attended the Infantry Officer Basic Course at Fort Benning, Georgia. He was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.
That year, he was named Lieutenant of the Year for the 25th Infantry Division. Derek was deployed to Iraq and served as the Brigade Scout Platoon Leader. On 22 August 2007, Derek and his ten-man scout team were returning to FOB Warrior after a successful mission. The Army Blackhawk helicopter they were flying in - call sign "Jenna" -- crashed. Derek, his scouts, and the four-man Blackhawk crew were killed. Since 2009, Derek's family has been honoring his memory and the memories of his comrades with a Memorial 5K Race in Fond du Lac.
This year, the event had a boot garden where those participating in the races could submit a picture and a blurb for their loved ones.
Funds from this weekend’s race go towards resources for Wisconsin Veterans.
"We do a lot of resource brokering, helping find people what they need, where they need to look for their resources because most people don't know when they get out of the service what is available to them,"Vicky Suprenand, Support the Troops Board Member.
