Mom and Dad walk 1,000 to honor fallen son

1,000 miles of footsteps to remember fallen GI
April 13, 2012
JAKOB RODGERS
The Gazette

Step by step, their hands clasped together, Michelle and Dan Benavidez walked down the street her son never had the chance to travel.

Ft. Carson soldiers line Nelson Blvd. to pay their respects to Michelle and Dan Benavidez as they head out on their 1000 mile trek to honor their son. The Benavidez family is marching from Ft. Carson to Illinois to honor the memory of their son, Army Sgt. Kenneth Mayne, who was killed in Iraq. They are going to see the Middle East Conflicts Wall Memorial (The Gazette/Jerilee Bennett)

Four horses, one with a uniformed rider carrying the American flag, led the way.

More than 1,000 Fort Carson soldiers stood on either side of Nelson Boulevard to see the procession pass Soldiers Memorial Chapel where countless families have mourned fallen soldiers.

To cheers, the couple walked out Fort Carson’s main gate.

Only 1,087 miles to go.

They embarked on the ambitious journey Friday to walk from Fort Carson to Marseilles, Ill., where their son’s name is engraved in marble at the Middle East Conflicts Wall Memorial.

“This is our way or keeping his memory alive,” said Dan Benavidez, after finishing the ceremonial first mile.

An insurgent bomb killed Staff Sgt. Kennith Mayne, 29, as he rode in a truck on Sept. 4, 2008 in Baghdad, Iraq. He went to war from Fort Hood, but would have been stationed at Fort Carson shortly after returning.

His parents recently learned of the granite memorial on the banks of the Illinois River. On a whim, Dan Benavidez asked his wife if she’d like to go see it.

“I wanted to go the wall — I didn’t know he’d make me walk to the wall,” said Michelle Benavidez, breaking into laughter.

On Friday, they were ready to start walking.
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