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Carry The Load keeps fallen military, first responders’ memories alive

May 29, 2025

Fort Cavazos Sentinel

By: Heather Ashley

Fort Cavazos welcomed the West Coast Relay Team from Carry The Load May 22 at the 1st Cavalry Division Horse Cavalry Detachment as the group made their annual Memorial Day stop.

The Carry The Load group, escorted from Leander, Texas, by members of the Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association, was welcomed by U.S. Army Garrison-Fort Cavazos Commander Col. Lakicia Stokes and retired Lt. Gen. Paul E. Funk before a demonstration by the Horse Cav. Det. and a pizza lunch served by the CVMA riders.

“Carry The Load began in 2011 as a grassroots effort by two veteran Navy SEALs,” Stokes explained. “What started as a 20-hour and 11-minute memorial march has grown into a national movement, a relay that spans thousands of miles from the West Coast, East Coast and Midwest, all converging in Dallas, Texas, over Memorial Day weekend.”

The event at Fort Cavazos included photo boards commemorating service members and first responders of whose memories the participants carry with them as they stop at communities along the way to Dallas.

“Along the way, communities like ours pause to reflect, remember and recommit to the true meaning of Memorial Day,” the garrison commander said.

Many of those at and around Fort Cavazos are painfully aware of the true cost of Memorial Day and their lost loved ones.

“At Fort Cavazos, this mission deeply resonates with our Soldiers, families and civilians,” Stokes said. “We remember, we honor and carry their legacy forward.”

In his remarks, Funk, who helmed then-III Corps and Fort Hood from 1993-1995, said Carry The Load is about caring about fellow men, women and those who serve the communities and the country.

“The theme of Carry The Load is ‘Do your best,’ and you all are literally carrying people on your backs because that is what this organization is about — supporting those who have sacrificed and are sacrificing every day,” the retired lieutenant general said.

After leaving Fort Cavazos, the group continued their month-long trek to Dallas for the culminating event to wrap up Memorial May, the nonprofit’s annual campaign to benefit military, veterans, first responders and their families to provide access to counseling, adaptive training, suicide prevention, equine therapy, service dogs, job placements, transition, home improvements, scholarships for children and more, according to the nonprofit’s website.

Carry The Load National Ambassador Colton Morrow brought the West Coast team to Fort Cavazos. He reemphasized the depth of Memorial Day in his remarks before the mounted cavalry demonstration.

“Just remember that Memorial Day is more than just one day,” Morrow said. “It means something. It’s not hamburgers, hot dogs, a day off and a mattress sale. Somebody gave their life for the freedoms that we have today.

“And it’s not just one day. It should be every day, because the families of those that have lost a loved one, they hurt. They hurt every day when they get up,” Morrow continued. “The least we could do is get out and walk a little.”

Morrow was working as a paramedic in 2018 when he and his partner were called to escort the Carry The Load team that was walking through his northeast Texas hometown of Sulphur Springs.

In 2019, Morrow joined the relay again, escorting the relay team in the morning when they walked through Sulphur Springs again. During that escort, he spoke with the team medic who encouraged Morrow to apply to join the team. He was selected to join the East Coast team in 2020, but the event did not happen because of the global pandemic.

In 2021, Morrow participated with his then-partner on the ambulance, Eric Hill.

“He took his own life in 2021 after Carry The Load, so that’s when Carry The Load really hit home,” Morrow said.

Today, Morrow carries Hill’s name and four others on his bib as he travels the route with Carry The Load.

As he walks, Morrow and others share stories about their fallen and it is healing, he said.

“By sharing, it makes our load a little bit lighter,” he expressed. “You share, it lightens your load a little, and then you share yours, and we all carry together. So we’re a team effort instead of just a singular person carrying.”

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