The Things We Carry
On Saturday, June 6—the anniversary of D-Day—I completed the Spartan Race with Mended Swords LTD. This was perhaps the biggest physical challenge I have endured since I was medically evacuated back to the United States in August of 2013.
This wasn’t just a race.
Alongside our team, we carried Ralph Osterhoudt Sr.—a 100-year-old World War II veteran, Battle of the Bulge survivor, Purple Heart recipient, three-time Bronze Star recipient, recipient of the French Medal of Honor, and one of the first 30 American liberators to enter Auschwitz. We carried a living piece of history across that course in a chariot weighing in excess of 450 lbs. At times, when sheer fatigue took over, I would step in for those few minutes I could manage at a time to help carry that charioted war hero.
We also carried a 120-pound litter draped with the American flag. It represented those who never made it home, those killed in action, those still missing in action, and those lost to the invisible wounds of war, including the veterans we have lost their battle to suicide. Throughout much of the course, I had the privilege of helping to carry that litter with the team.
What made the day even more remarkable was that we were the first team into the 5K Sprint and the last team out. It took us 5 hours and 13 minutes to reach the finish line—not because we were chasing a personal best, but because we were committed to a mission greater than ourselves. Along the way, strangers became teammates. People from more than 10 different countries stepped forward to help carry Ralph and the litter; father and daughter, best friends, bachelorettes, you name it. For a few moments, nationalities, languages, backgrounds, and beliefs faded into the background. What remained was a shared purpose: ensuring a 100-year-old American hero safely completed the course and that no one carried the burden alone.
As the miles wore on and the weight settled into my shoulders, I found myself thinking about Tim O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried.” The things we carry are not always visible. We carry memories, grief, responsibility, loss, hope, and the names and stories of those who came before us. Some of those burdens are deeply personal, while others are inherited from generations that preceded us. Regardless of their origin, they shape who we become and how we engage with the world around us.
As a disabled veteran, my body is paying for it today. Every ache reminds me of the obstacles, the miles, and the weight we carried. I am also reminded that I am a woman who survived going to war, getting blown up, and being date-raped all while serving my country. But that pain doesn’t warrant complaint. It warrants perspective. If anything, this experience reinforced something I needed to remember:
I am still a warrior.
It’s not because of how fast I move, how much weight I can carry, or how many obstacles I can overcome. I’m not the fastest or the strongest, but I showed up for my team, and my team showed up for everyone else—including me. It really felt like the Spartan ethos was alive and kicking on Saturday… and it was.
The truth about warriors.
Modern society often misunderstands the warrior ethos as being rooted in aggression, dominance, or physical prowess. Yet scholarship on the warrior experience tells a very different story. Murray (2014) argues that the warrior ethos is fundamentally connected to identity, sacrifice, commitment, and service to something larger than oneself. The warrior’s greatest strength is often not individual capability, but the willingness to endure hardship for the benefit of others.
Likewise, Robinson (2018) suggests that the American Warrior Ethos is grounded in character traits such as courage, loyalty, integrity, perseverance, selflessness, and commitment to a collective mission. In this understanding, warriors are not defined solely by what they accomplish individually; they are defined by their willingness to serve and protect the people around them.
That is exactly what I witnessed on that course. People who had never met Ralph volunteered to carry him. People who had never met one another became teammates. People who could have focused entirely on their own race instead chose to focus on a shared mission. No one was ordered. Everyone volunteered. They simply stepped forward.
That is the warrior ethos.
The warrior ethos is not rooted in bravado, ego, or individual accomplishment. Rather, it is grounded in service, responsibility, sacrifice, and community. It asks individuals to place the mission and the welfare of others ahead of their own comfort, recognition, or achievement. We left no one behind. The litter was shared, the burden was shared, and the mission was shared. Perhaps that is the lesson. Those things we carry become lighter when someone is willing to carry them with us. Mended Swords LTD was evident of that philosophy.
The phrase “leave no one behind” is often associated with combat, but its relevance extends far beyond the battlefield. It applies to veterans struggling in silence. It applies to families carrying grief. It applies to communities fractured by division. It applies to anyone who feels isolated beneath a burden too heavy to bear alone.
For an entire afternoon, I watched people from around the world demonstrate a simple truth: human beings are capable of extraordinary things when they decide to carry one another. The Spartans of Ancient Greece held highly the warrior ethos and were profoundly known for never leaving a man or woman behind—an obligation of honor and respect.
Gratitude
Thank you, Ralph Osterhoudt Sr., for reminding me what courage looks like after a century of life. Thank you to my new family at Mended Swords LTD for demonstrating that service does not end when the uniform comes off. It simply takes a different form.
Thank you to every participant who stepped forward to help carry Ralph, the litter, and the mission. You reminded me that warriors are not defined by what they can carry alone, but rather they are defined by what they are willing to carry together.
The Lesson
For 5 hours and 13 minutes, people from around the world came together to carry one another. Imagine what could happen if we did that every day.
Two Challenge Questions
- What are the things you carry—and who helps you carry them?
- Will you join the Mended Swords LTD team next year for the Spartan 5K Sprint?
Contacts
- Mended Swords LTD: https://mendedswords.org/
- Spartan Race: https://www.spartan.com/
References
Annett, E., & Giordano, J. (2026). A phenomenologic approach to the warrior experience and ethos: Consideration of an arc of enchantment in the formation of individual military identity. Open Journal of Philosophy, 16, 186–198. https://doi.org/10.4236/ojpp.2026.161012
Robinson, J. (2018). American warrior ethos. Journal of Character and Leadership Development, 5(1), 7–19. https://doi.org/10.58315/jcld.v12.331
O’Brien, T. (1990). The things they carried. Houghton Mifflin Company.
