The fourth annual Veterans Day 5k run attracted more than 130 participants, the largest crowd since it's creation in 2005.
Hosted by the Maverick ROTC program, the 5k run provides civilians and veterans alike the opportunity to raise a little money and pay respect to all veterans. The profits of the run are used for the Michael J. Fasnacht scholarship, named after a Minnesota State graduate who was killed in Iraq June of 2005.
1st Lt. Fasnacht was stationed in Tikrit Iraq, the birth-place of Saddam Hussein and the heart of the Sunni insurgency. He graduated from the MSU with a bachelor's degree in microbiology. Shortly after his graduation, he began basic training for the Army.
Fasnacht went onto complete Ranger training and went into active duty in 2003. During a routine patrol 10 miles south of Tikrit, an improvised roadside bomb detonated next to Fasnacht's Bradley Fighting vehicle, fatally wounding the 25-year- old Army officer.
"It was very appropriate to name the scholarship in his honor" MSU cadre member Joel Stephen said.
The scholarship is given out to the ROTC cadet showing outstanding academic and leadership achievements.
Steven Piroso is a Reporter staff writer
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