A Son Overseas

Ed Kennedy was deployed in Afghanistan when he found out his father had been diagnosed with multiple myeloma. Being away from home and his family made the news just that much more difficult, and two years later in 2006, while deployed in Iraq, Ed received a message that his father was not going to make it. Within 24 hours he was back in the States and by his father’s side. During Ed’s visit, his father regained enough strength to spend time with his son outside the hospital; he even drove him to the airport to see him off again! The emergency was frightening, but it got Ed home to see his father. Sadly, 1 month later, while Ed was still overseas, his father passed away. Ed says his father was “an amazing man,” who was always there for his kids, no matter the occasion. “Even the Annapolis graduate that he was cheered for Army the four years I was a cadet at West Point,” he remembers. Ed continues to honor his father’s memory, not only with this race, but as he strives to emulate his father in his life, especially as a father to his own children.