LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — “Who do you carry?” is the question asked during the Carry the Load Relay, a 20,000-mile march that leads up to Memorial Day Weekend in Dallas. On Friday, marchers with the caravan will pass through Las Vegas in a remembrance walk paying tribute to fallen military and first responders.
“It’s really just a great way to share that feeling and also just to make sure these people know that we’re never going to forget their loved ones,” said David Lindsey, a retired Dallas firefighter, and now the West Coast route manager with Carry the Load.
Lindsey began walking the West Coast route with Carry the Load in April. However, his journey in honoring fallen heroes began in 2011 after his cousin, Todd, a Dallas firefighter who died after falling through the roof while battling a blaze in a structure fire. Lindsey joined the Carry the Load caravan pinning his cousin’s name to a bag.
Marchers carry weighted backpacks, folded American flags, banners, t-shirts, or just a relay bib with the name of a loved one scribbled on the paper. The relay has been described this relay as “therapeutic.”
“It’s a connection I had for healing on my own part from losing a family member in service,” Lindsey said. “To meet with all these military families and police members who have died in the line of duty.”
Marchers are traveling through different routes. On Memorial Day, they will meet in Dallas where the first Carry the Load march took place.
Las Vegas is on the West Coast Route. The caravan will make the following stops:
9 a.m. Majestic Park, 3997 Hualapai Way, Las Vegas, NV 89129
11 a.m. Big Lots, 8570 W Lake Mead Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89128
1 p.m. All American Park, 1551 S Buffalo Dr, Las Vegas, NV 89117
3 p.m. West Flamingo Park, 6255 W Flamingo Rd, Las Vegas NV 89103
6 p.m. Clark County Fire Station 11, 5150 S Las Vegas Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89119
8 p.m. Target, S Maryland Pkwy, Las Vegas, NV 89119
9 a.m. Smith’s 3850 E Flamingo Rd, Las Vegas, NV 89121
Carry the Load invites anyone who wants to participate in the relay. Anyone who is interested in filling out a relay bib with the name of a fallen loved one, can meet the caravan at one of the locations, and one of the marchers will carry it to Dallas where a final Memorial Day ceremony will take place.
For more information, or to donate, go to CarrytheLoad.org.
