KY Guardsmen hold Inaugural Mountain Warrior Memorial Ruck March

MIDDLESBORO, Ky. (WTVQ) – It was a long march to honor a fellow soldier’s memory.

Soldiers of the Kentucky National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 149th Infantry completed the Inaugural Mountain Warrior Memorial Ruck March over the weekend.

The march started and Friday and went from Ravenna to Middlesboro.

The 202-mile ruck march was held in honor of Lt. Col. Jeff Cole, a former commander of the infantry battalion who passed away from cancer in 2015.

The march started with a flag folding ceremony in Ravenna and continued for the next 51 hours as soldiers passed each of their armories on the way to Middlesboro.

Local residents and family members joined the soldiers for the last 1.5 miles through the streets of Middlesboro.

“The idea the Guard would conceive of something like this was amazing to me,” said Cole’s widow, Christi Cole, “Jeff would be very honored, but completely blown away that they would want to do something this huge. This holiday season has been especially hard for me and this weekend has been a really bright spot. It has made me remember, but it has also been something I could rally around. Just seeing these guys remember Jeff and his legacy, it’s just really powerful.”

Following the ruck, a memorial ceremony was held at the Middlesboro Armory.