The Willow Creek Triathlon offers a chance for the community to honor veterans, and the 13th annual event won’t be any different.
And Gold Star families are again being invited to remember their lost loved ones.
The triathlon will be held at 9:30 a.m. on Aug. 4; the event begins in Allegany State Park in New York at the Quaker Lake beach house and finishes at the Willows Restaurant.
The Willows Restaurant venue provides more fun and entertainment with raffles, food, refreshments and a band, according to the Willow Creek Triathlon website.
Registration will start at 7 a.m., with a rule meeting at 9 a.m. Both individuals and teams of two or three may participate.
All funds raised during the event will be used for the Disabled American Veterans Transportation Network; the money stays within the local area being evenly divided between the McKean and Warren County DAV Chapters, according to the Willow Creek Triathlon website.
However, this is not simply a triathlon to raise money for veterans. It holds extremely personal value and sentiment to Dr. Dennis Faucher, who is a long time sponsor of the event.
A previous article described his personal experience with the families of those who gave their life for their country — and why he wants to honor Gold Star families at the triathlon.
“More than 40 years ago, two young warrant officers gave up their R&R to perform a solemn duty — escorting the bodies of fallen brothers back from Vietnam to their families in the U.S.
Decades later, those two men — Jim Crigler of Winona, Minnesota, and Dr. Dennis Faucher of Bradford — want to make sure those who have lost their lives on active duty are not forgotten,” an Era article from 2017 stated. “Crigler and Faucher gave up their rest-and-recuperation leave to make the solemn trip back to the U.S. (to return the deceased soldiers).”
At the Willow Creek Triathlon, Faucher will possess Gold Star coins that were created by his Vietnam co-pilot Crigler to honor families who lost someone in military service of their country.
Crigler, author of “Mission of Honor,” will be this year’s speaker and will personally hand out coins, which he commissioned with a Gold Star on one side, and a message about sacrifice on the other.
Faucher is looking for local Gold Star families to honor at the upcoming Willow Creek Triathlon. In order to be a Gold Star recipient one must be the parent, guardian, sibling, spouse or child or a member of our Armed Services killed in combat.
Also, the event organizers want to honor as many veterans as possible, both past or present. They are encouraging local people to submit information about a veteran, including a name and biography via a form on the group’s website, which can be found under the tab “Honor Your Veteran” at http://www.willowcreektriathlon.org/. All honor request entries are due by July 26.
During the race portion of the event, the name of the veteran will be worn by a participant. At the finish line, a presentation with a short biography of his or her military career as submitted to the group will be exhibited.
