BILLINGS — Behind every headstone in a veteran's cemetery is a family, a veteran and a story. On Sunday, every mile that was run helped contribute to the upkeep of these graves and putting their loved ones to rest.
Watch the race here:
The race, known as the Patriot Run, is held each year in early November around Veterans Day. The race is now in its fourth year, and organizers host a 5K and a 2K annually.
This year, Parks and Recreation's Sara Heywood took over organizing the race, raising money for needs both expected and unexpected.
The funds go toward grave upkeep and supporting veterans who choose to be buried there, so they can be laid to rest at little to no cost.
"It's going to go towards upkeep, making sure all of our veterans' graves look really nice. It also goes to support our veterans that choose to be buried here, so then we can hopefully give them little to no cost to get buried," Heywood said.
"We had some people that had accidents that hit stuff ... with stones that have been hit, I can only imagine how expensive that probably is ... just having a cushion for the funds is really helpful," Heywood said.
That cushion also helps families. Graves are free, but opening, closing and preparing one for a service can cost around $2,000.
"Our veterans are so important part of our country. They've sacrificed so much for us to be able to live in such a wonderful and free country," Heywood said.
"Being able to give back in any way that we can, especially at a very tough time in a lot of people's lives with having to put a loved one to rest, if we could just make that even a little bit easier for our veterans, I mean, that just speaks volumes."
The event has grown each year.
Heywood said last year's race drew about 86 runners, and this year's field was close to 100.
"I really hope that it adds just a deeper feeling of gratitude for our veterans, just for remembrance, especially with Veterans Day so close," Heywood said.
The race was founded by Brandon Schmidt, a veteran who came to the city in 2020 after a long career in the Navy. He started the event to find a way to give back to the veteran community.
"I served 24 years in the Navy ... just being part of that community and then coming here and then just finding some way to contribute. So I started this race. I got some community members to jump in and help with ... I started that four years ago today," Schmidt said.
For Schmidt, the cause is personal. His grandfather served in the Navy and his mother served in the Coast Guard, and both are buried at the cemetery.
Schmidt said the cemetery has a long veteran history, with people dating back to the Civil War buried there.
While a national cemetery has since opened in Laurel, he described this location as the original one in the area.
"Particularly when I was the cemetery supervisor just walking around here, it means something different.
There's connections to — these are all my brothers and sisters here," Schmidt said. "So it's special to have that here."
Schmidt said the strong turnout reflects how deeply the community supports those who served.
"Everybody knows a veteran or was related to one. So there is tremendous support in the community for the veteran community," Schmidt said.
And in Montana, the need reaches thousands. Veterans make up nearly 9% of the state, the third-highest share nationwide, according to the Montana Department of Military Affairs.
At Mountview alone, cemetery staff estimate more than 800 veterans are buried.
In the early 2000s, the cemetery handled 10 to 20 veteran burials a year, but that number dropped after the federal veterans cemetery opened in Laurel.
Today, staff estimate roughly 20 to 35 veteran burials each year across the grounds.
Some veterans are buried in the dedicated veteran section, while others are laid to rest in family plots elsewhere in the cemetery.
Those in the veteran section can be joined by a spouse or family member on the same grave.
For Army veteran Vince Long, the event is a yearly tradition. Long was called up to the Army in 1972 and spent most of his time in Europe as a military police officer providing security at a nuclear missile site.
He has returned for nearly every race.
"I come here occasionally and I stop at the National Cemetery down in Laurel and wander through the grounds there. It's amazing when you get in there and think about it," Long said.
Long comes from a family with deep military roots. His father was career Navy and still on active duty when Long enlisted, and his father-in-law was a World War II veteran. Both are buried in national cemeteries.
"When I travel, if I see a veterans cemetery, I will try to stop," Long said.
For Army veteran Jackie Lorang, running in her third year, the mission hits especially close to home this year.
Lorang served in Iraq in 2005 and 2006 during Operation Iraqi Freedom with the Army Reserves.
She said her father-in-law, a veteran, recently died and was buried in a veteran cemetery.
"My father-in-law passed away. He was a veteran. And so we buried him in a veteran cemetery, and it was really special," Lorang said.
Lorang said seeing the care up close changed how she thought about veteran burials.
"It's not something I thought a lot about before now. I knew it was a service that was available to veterans, but until you really see it close to home, it's just something to think about," Lorang said.
"It is really a big blessing, especially having the veterans come and perform the ceremony at his funeral and all that kind of stuff. You realize it's all volunteers, and it's just the people of our country supporting veterans," Lorang said.
