This past Saturday, Offshore Kinetics MV sponsored the second annual Carry the Fallen ruck march on the Island, to raise awareness about veteran suicide and PTSD. Offshore Kinetics MV is a disabled veteran–owned small business that provides firearms training and security solutions to the Cape and Islands. Michael Blake, owner of Offshore Kinetics MV, organized the fundraiser for the second year in a row.
Twenty-nine people organized as Team Offshore marched 26.2 miles between the VFW, the Martha’s Vineyard High School, and South Beach, raising almost $6,000 in the process.
Carry the Fallen is a nationwide charity focused on raising awareness about veteran suicide, with march teams all over the country. Twenty-two veterans commit suicide each day in the United States, and the mission is to reduce that number to zero. According to Mr. Blake, half of this year’s cash donations will go to the SSG Matthew Pucino Foundation, a family-run charity named after Staff Sergeant Matthew Pucino, a U.S. Army Special Forces sergeant who was killed in Afghanistan.
Mr. Blake started the Offshore team after reading about Captain Justin Fitch, a U.S. Army captain with cancer who marched alongside Boston’s Team Minuteman. “I reached out to him, and asked about how I could join them. I gathered some friends from the Island’s Tactical Response team, and planned on marching in Boston, but due to our schedules it wasn’t feasible. So myself, along with Sgt. John Klaren from the Chilmark Police Department, started Team Offshore right here on the Island,” said Mr. Blake in an email to The Times.
“I spent 16 years in the United States Army, and was medically discharged in 2013. I have multiple combat tours of duty to Iraq, Kuwait, Macedonia, and Kosovo. Since I have separated from service, I have lost two friends to suicide. Holding Carry the Fallen on Martha’s Vineyard is my way of ‘staying in the fight’ and taking care of soldiers, which is an Army sergeant’s primary job,” said Mr. Blake.
This year the march started at 6:30 am on Saturday morning at VFW Post 9261 in Oak Bluffs, and continued to 4 pm. There were various water stations throughout the 26.2-mile route, generously provided by community organizations including MV Youth Football, Martha’s Vineyard Community Services, and more.
As the race concluded, participants were greeted by static displays at the VFW by the Duke’s County sheriff’s office, the Martha’s Vineyard Law Enforcement Council’s Tactical Response Team, the firemen’s association, Offshore Kinetics MV, and the Matthew Pucino Foundation. Various raffle items were provided by Island businesses, free food was provided by the VFW, and music was courtesy of DJ AP, Offshore’s resident DJ.
The march was followed by an afterparty at the Loft in Oak Bluffs, with more opportunities to donate, additional raffle items, music by DJ Ceazzaleano, and a live reggae performance by Kendall.