6/19/08 UPDATE: With the Run for the Fallen under way, readers may find the info below timely. – the editors

As we head into this three-day weekend, we thought it appropriate to pause to acknowledge the men and women who have given their lives in service to our country. It’s easy to forget why we’re all enjoying a three-day weekend, amid the traveling and barbecuing and so on. So, let’s not forget.

It also seemed like a good time to spotlight the Run for the Fallen, which begins next month. As described by Andrew McKay, who is producing a documentary film of the run…

A friend of mine, Jon Bellona, has organized Run for the Fallen to be an apolitical event to honor every soldier who has been killed in the Iraq war, by running across the country, one mile for each soldier killed in the conflict.  Jon was inspired to undertake this project by the death of his best friend, 1st Lt. Michael Cleary, who was killed in Iraq in 2005, at age 24.

Jon has put together a team of 5-10 runners (lead by himself) who will relay daily, 5-10 miles each, over the course of about 70 days, across 13 states.  The Run begins June 14, 2008, in Fort Irwin, CA, and is scheduled to end on August 24, at Arlington National Cemetery, VA.

For more info, visit www.runforthefallen.org.

Meantime, how do you plan to observe Memorial Day? Any current or former members of the military out there? Let us know in the Comments section, below.