Michelle Rodriguez
Run: 10K in 59:46
9/26/2021
I hadn’t run in months so I wasn’t going to sign up for this event…but then Kabul happened and it reminded me of how much so many have sacrificed. It reminded me of the death notification I had to make for Master Sgt. Gregory T. Kuhse in 2015 when his helicopter crashed in Afghanistan. It reminded me of the death notification my husband had to make in 2006 for his friend and fellow Marine Cpl Christopher Esckelson who was shot during a gunfight in Iraq. It reminded me that I owe so much to so many.
I’m stationed overseas so I didn’t have time to get the shirt or the medal (they’re on their way and I’ll wear them with honor and pride!), so instead I wore a shirt from the annual A1C Cuddeback 5K that I’ve participated in over the years. A1C Cuddeback wasn’t supposed to work on March 2, 2011, but they needed him to go pick some Security Forces members up at the Frankfurt Airport so they could return to Ramstein Air Base and move on to Afghanistan. Unfortunately, a terrorist boarded the bus opening fire, killing Zachary Cuddeback and Senior Airman Nicholas Alden, and seriously injuring two more. That was the first 9/11-related terrorist attack in Germany. So, today I run for A1C Cuddeback, MSgt Kuhse, Cpl Esckelson, the 13 from aiding in a humanitarian evacuation in Kabul, and the thousands more whom I’m forever indebted to…and to their families and loved ones.