24-hour run at Ohio State raises scholarship money for relatives of fallen soldiers

An American flag and American Veteran’s flag fly at the 24-hour 1 Day for the K.I.A. endurance run hosted on OSU’s campus April 5. Numerous members of the OSU ROTC, OSU alumni and US veterans gathered on the Oval to raise money for a scholarship that would support relatives of fallen military service men and women. Credit: Leisa DeCarlo / Lantern photographer

The ROTC gear of a participant of the 24-hour 1 Day for the K.I.A. endurance run, hosted on OSU’s campus, rests near a tent April 5. Numerous members of the OSU ROTC, OSU alumni and US veterans gathered on the Oval to raise money for a scholarship that would support relatives of fallen military service men and women. Credit: Leisa DeCarlo / Lantern photographer

Allison Siemer makes a sign to support her brother, who served in the US Air Force, at the 24-hour 1 Day for the K.I.A. endurance run, hosted on OSU’s campus April 5. Numerous members of the OSU ROTC, OSU alumni and US veterans gathered on the Oval to raise money for a scholarship that would support relatives of fallen military service men and women. Credit: Leisa DeCarlo / Lantern photographer

Larry Schrader sits in support of his daughter, Katie Schrader, a fourth-year in human development and family sciences, at the 24-hour 1 Day for the K.I.A. endurance run, hosted on OSU’s campus April 5. Numerous members of the OSU ROTC, OSU alumni and US veterans gathered on the Oval to raise money for a scholarship that would support relatives of fallen military service men and women. Credit: Leisa DeCarlo / Lantern photographer

Brandon Cruz, a first-year in political science and economics, runs for the OSU Navy ROTC at the 24-hour 1 Day for the K.I.A. endurance run, hosted on OSU’s campus April 5. Numerous members of the OSU ROTC, OSU alumni and US veterans gathered on the Oval to raise money for a scholarship that would support relatives of fallen military service men and women. Credit: Leisa DeCarlo / Lantern photographer

Adeline Bell, 3, supports her father, a participant of the 24-hour 1 Day for the K.I.A. endurance run, hosted on OSU’s campus April 5. Numerous members of the OSU ROTC, OSU alumni and US veterans gathered on the Oval to raise money for a scholarship that would support relatives of fallen military service men and women. Credit: Leisa DeCarlo / Lantern photographer

Michael Fisher watches his Red, White and Blue teammates as he prepares for the 24-hour 1 Day for the K.I.A. endurance run, hosted on OSU’s campus April 5. Numerous members of the OSU ROTC, OSU alumni and US veterans gathered on the Oval to raise money for a scholarship that would support relatives of fallen military service men and women. Credit: Leisa DeCarlo / Lantern photographer

Veteran Air Force Captain and 2006 OSU alumnus Phil Hinson adds another lap to his mileage at the 24-hour 1 Day for the K.I.A. endurance run, hosted on OSU’s campus April 5. Numerous members of the OSU ROTC, OSU alumni and US veterans gathered on the Oval to raise money for a scholarship that would support relatives of fallen military service men and women. Credit: Leisa DeCarlo / Lantern photographer

Katie Schrader, a fourth-year in human development and family sciences, runs the track at the 24-hour 1 Day for the K.I.A. endurance run, hosted on OSU’s campus April 5. Numerous members of the OSU ROTC, OSU alumni and US veterans gathered on the Oval to raise money for a scholarship that would support relatives of fallen military service men and women. Credit: Leisa DeCarlo / Lantern photographer

Natalie Adams (left) and Amanda Mowry run for their team, Red, White and Blue, at the 24-hour 1 Day for the K.I.A. endurance run, hosted on OSU’s campus April 5. Numerous members of the OSU ROTC, OSU alumni and US veterans gathered on the Oval to raise money for a scholarship that would support relatives of fallen military service men and women. Credit: Leisa DeCarlo / Lantern photographer

A stack of American flags rests on a team table for participants of the 24-hour 1 Day for the K.I.A. endurance run, hosted on OSU’s campus April 5. Numerous members of the OSU ROTC, OSU alumni and US veterans gathered on the Oval to raise money for a scholarship that would support relatives of fallen military service men and women. Credit: Leisa DeCarlo / Lantern photographer

Amanda Mowry takes a break from running the relay to watch her Red, White and Blue team tent at the 24-hour 1 Day for the K.I.A. endurance run, hosted on OSU’s campus April 5. Numerous members of the OSU ROTC, OSU alumni and US veterans gathered on the Oval to raise money for a scholarship that would support relatives of fallen military service men and women. Credit: Leisa DeCarlo / Lantern photographer

Brandon Cruz, a first-year in political science and economics, runs for the OSU Navy ROTC at the 24-hour 1 Day for the K.I.A. endurance run, hosted on OSU’s campus April 5. Numerous members of the OSU ROTC, OSU alumni and US veterans gathered on the Oval to raise money for a scholarship that would support relatives of fallen military service men and women. Credit: Leisa DeCarlo / Lantern photographer

Brandon Cruz, a first-year in political science and economics, runs for the OSU Navy ROTC at the 24-hour 1 Day for the K.I.A. endurance run, hosted on OSU’s campus April 5. Numerous members of the OSU ROTC, OSU alumni and US veterans gathered on the Oval to raise money for a scholarship that would support relatives of fallen military service men and women. Credit: Leisa DeCarlo / Lantern photographer

Cristian Turain, a first-year in political science and intelligence and security, prepares for his turn in the relay at the 24-hour 1 Day for the K.I.A. endurance run, hosted on OSU’s campus April 5. Numerous members of the OSU ROTC, OSU alumni and US veterans gathered on the Oval to raise money for a scholarship that would support relatives of fallen military service men and women. Credit: Leisa DeCarlo / Lantern photographer

Vincent Burwell, a second-year in chemistry, and Michael Ditzler, a first-year in aerospace engineering, light the luminaries on the perimeter of the track for the 24-hour 1 Day for the K.I.A. endurance run, hosted on OSU’s campus April 5. Numerous members of the OSU ROTC, OSU alumni and US veterans gathered on the Oval to raise money for a scholarship that would support relatives of fallen military service men and women. Credit: Leisa DeCarlo / Lantern photographer

From left: Israel Vento, a first-year in art education, Zach Resler, a third-year in communication, Nick Morris, a third-year in mechanical engineering, and Toby Weinert, a third-year in human nutrition, watch as luminaries are lit around the Oval at the 24-hour 1 Day for the K.I.A. endurance run, hosted on OSU’s campus April 5. Numerous members of the OSU ROTC, OSU alumni and US veterans gathered on the Oval to raise money for a scholarship that would support relatives of fallen military service men and women. Credit: Leisa DeCarlo / Lantern photographer

Luminaries line the Ohio State University Oval for the 24-hour endurance run “1 Day for the K.I.A.,” hosted on OSU’s April 5. Numerous members of the OSU ROTC, OSU alumni, and United States veterans gathered to remember fallen military service men and women. Credit: Leisa DeCarlo / Lantern photographer

On Oct. 30, 2007, Brittnay McCall opened her door to a military officer and a chaplain.

“On behalf of a grateful nation, we regret to inform you…” the officer read as he informed her of her husband’s death.

McCall said that was only the start of a long journey.

“For a long time, I didn’t know how to accept it, how to incorporate it, how to balance it with everyday life but still make it a part of life in general,” McCall said. “When I decided I wanted to go back to school, I wanted to incorporate what I’d been through into me being able to help other people.”

Almost six years after her husband, Sgt. Daniel McCall, was killed in Iraq, Brittnay McCall enrolled at Ohio State as a pre-nursing student.

“The war has been so big and there are ridiculous amounts of families affected,” McCall said. “It’s not just the spouse or the mother or the father, it’s siblings and sons and daughters, too.”

One student organization is looking to help those families.

This weekend, the student-founded philanthropic organization 1 Day for the K.I.A. raised money for families of fallen soldiers in a 24-hour endurance run.

McCall attended the event to cheer on the runners.

The money is set to be used to fund the Living Legacy Scholarship to benefit children and siblings of fallen military soldiers at OSU, said Air Force ROTC cadet Duck Yim, co-founder of 1 Day for the K.I.A. and fourth-year in architecture.

“What we mean by fallen is soldiers who have been killed in action, missing in action, held prisoners of war or 100 percent disabled due to being in war,” Yim said.

Yim did not provide the total amount raised by Sunday evening.

Five OSU Air Force ROTC cadets were considered sponsored runners, earning money for each mile they completed around the Oval from 9 a.m. Saturday to 9 a.m. Sunday. Up to 50 community members or groups were also permitted to participate if they made a minimum donation, according to the 1 Day for the K.I.A. website.

The minimum donation was $320 per individual, or for a group, $320 for the first person plus $50 for each additional group member. There were 50 slots, which could each be filled by either one person or one group, according to the 1 Day for the K.I.A. website.

When $50,000 has been raised, the funds are set to be placed into an endowment managed by OSU’s Development Team where interest accumulated will generate the funds for the scholarship annually, Yim said.

All of the money raised at the race goes to fund the scholarship, Yim said.

Yim said practical and emotional factors led him to start 1 Day for the K.I.A. sometime around July 2013.

“Our country has been involved in war for about 10 years now, and so far, 6,800 soldiers have been killed and another 51,000 have been wounded,” Yim said. “If you look at their families, the number of affected family members is over 202,000, over the population of a city.”

The Living Legacy Scholarship would help alleviate some of the financial strain put on these one-parent households as their children prepare to attend college at OSU, Yim said.

“Our team is 20 people right now, and a little more than half of those are ROTC cadets so we’re about to embark on our military career,” Yim said. “This scholarship is something that my kids could be receiving potentially and that’s what rings us at our core and what drives us.”

Matt Ovnic, a first-year in civil engineering and Air Force ROTC cadet, said he decided to participate as a sponsored runner because he loves a challenge and believes in the cause.

“I love this university, and if there’s someone who couldn’t go to this university because their family member passed away, but we can still give them that opportunity, I think that means a lot,” Ovnic said. “When you compare the pain of a 24-hour race to someone who was taken a bullet for this country, I definitely have the easier end.”