March of the penguins

Image courtesy: Sgt. Heidi Agostini

In the fall of 2006, Maj. Megan McClung called home and asked her parents for an item not typically included in care packages for Marines in Iraq. The 34-year-old volunteer warrior wanted a stuffed animal doll, and it had to be a penguin. Maj. McClung was captivated by the writing of John Bingham, a bestselling author and columnist who aims to inspire runners around the world. Bingham, a slow runner who nicknamed himself "the penguin," believes that finishing a race is more important than winning. He has written several famous passages about his favorite pastime.

"As an athlete, when you least expect it, you may find yourself standing on the threshold of an accomplishment so monumental that it strikes fear into your soul. You must stand ready, at any moment, to face the unknown. You must be ready to walk boldly thru the wall of uncertainty."

Walking boldly was part of McClung's personality long before she read Bingham's words. After all, she had been busy instructing public affairs officers to "be bold, be brief, be gone" when dealing with the media. Yet as she helped plan a satellite run of the Marine Corps Marathon in Iraq, McClung was also facing the unknown. The ambitious 34-year-old did not know death was just three months away, or that her accomplishments, as well as the motto she recited, would one day be remembered as monumental. She also did not realize the stuffed penguin toy she awarded to the last runner of the 2006 satellite Marine Corps Marathon at Camp Al Asad would become a tradition.

On August 14 at Camp Leatherneck in Afghanistan, more than 425 runners participated in the first-ever satellite version of the Maj. Megan McClung Memorial Run. American service members took a brief break from combat to run a 5k in memory of their fallen comrade on the same day as the 4th annual Memorial Run on Whidbey Island in Washington state.

"She was a very low-key person and anybody who knew her saw the balance of energy that she had, but she didn't try to draw a lot of attention to herself, so part of it is you wonder if she would wonder what all the fuss was about over one woman," Master Sgt. Mark Oliva told 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing (Fwd) Public Affairs. "But part of it, I think she'd be very humbled to know that these people are coming out and racing in her memory and racing in her honor."

As Marines behind him stretched before a run through the Afghan sand, Master Sgt. Oliva had an important message for McClung's parents.

"Meg's always going to be a part of us," he said. "It was an honor that they shared their daughter with us, that we got to have a piece of their lives that's forever going to be within our hearts and that we're going to be able to carry that memory with us. They just raised an amazing daughter, raised an amazing woman, and I feel like me personally, I was blessed to have known her."

McClung was killed by a roadside bomb on December 6, 2006, in Ramadi, Iraq, alongside Army Capt. Travis Patriquin and Spc. Vincent Pomante. As I quickly learned after visiting her grave at Arlington National Cemetery in January, she is the highest-ranking female Marine to be killed in the Iraq war and the first female graduate of the United States Naval Academy to die in combat. Yet as her father, Dr. Mike McClung, has told me in the past, she is also recognized for her career-long efforts to assist wounded warriors. It's precisely why proceeds from the annual runs go to the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund.

“What we get to do with this race is keep her memory alive,” Dr. Re McClung, Megan's mother, told Sgt. Heidi Agostini. "We’re carrying out the things she wanted to do, which was contribute to the health and welfare of her fellow Marines."

Sgt. Agostini's article also quotes Maj. William Conner, who attended the Naval Academy with McClung and organized the satellite race. McClung served with the I Marine Expeditionary Force (FWD) in Iraq, which is now deployed in Afghanistan. Despite the demands of war, Maj. Conner believes pausing to salute Maj. McClung is highly appropriate during a demanding summer on the Afghan front.

"Our operational tempo is very high right now, and we’re all very busy," Conner said. "But there’s always time to honor one of our fallen comrades, in my case a friend. Megan gave her all to the Marine Corps and to her country. It’s important for us to remember her."

Unlike the family, friends, and fellow Marines quoted above, I didn't know Megan McClung. Yet since January 21, she has never been absent from my thoughts. I was leaving Section 60 of Arlington National Cemetery when "be bold, be brief, be gone," which is engraved on her majestic headstone, happened to catch the corner of my eye. Writing and speaking about this American hero, as well as corresponding with her father, continues to be an immeasurable honor and driving force behind this site and its mission. And when I jump on the treadmill, the BeBoldM3 hat on my head always stops me from quitting early.

At the end of each Marine Corps Marathon, which I am looking forward to witnessing in October, the McClungs present a stuffed penguin doll to the race's final competitor. Just as John "The Penguin" Bingham's most famous quote struck the heart of Maj. Megan McClung, more than 650 runners from Washington state all the way to Afghanistan demonstrated how her bold, selfless legacy is pushing them toward the finish line, no matter how long it takes.

"The miracle isn't that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start."

Note: To learn more about the life and legacy of Maj. Megan McClung, please visit the Memorial Run website.