Legion plans sendoff for cross-U.S. run to benefit Wounded Warrior Project

By Stuart Hedstrom 
Staff Writer

    DOVER-FOXCROFT — On March 25 Dover-Foxcroft resident and 23-year-old Army helicopter pilot Tysen Ober will be departing to run cross country, traveling across the U.S. as he plans to run from Los Angeles to Lubec in Washington County as he seeks to raise $50,000 to benefit the Wounded Warrior Project — a program that raises awareness and funds for injured members of the Armed Forces.

Photo courtesy of Ed Conroy/American Legion Post 29

    RUNNING FOR THOSE WHO SERVED — A community-wide dinner and silent auction on Sunday, March 24 at 5 p.m. at the Dover-Foxcroft American Legion on Park Street will serve as a sendoff for Tysen Ober of Dover-Foxcroft before he departs for California. Ober plans to run across the U.S. from Los Angeles to Lubec in the hope of raising $50,000 for the Wound Warrior Project.

    “On Sunday March 24 we are sending him off,” said Ed Conroy of American Legion Post 29, where Ober spoke about his plans to run across the U.S. to benefit the Wounded Warrior Project during the Post’s monthly meeting on March 11. Legion officials want to send Ober off with enthusiasm with a community-wide dinner and silent action at 5 p.m. at the Post home on Park Street to benefit his endeavor and the Wounded Warrior Project.
    “We are still accepting things for the silent auction and to help with the dinner,” Conroy said. “The whole thing about that Sunday is anybody and everybody who cares to come and send him off. Maybe halfway through he will think about everyone who sent him off.”
    The journey from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic covers about 3,500 miles, and Ober, who earlier this year retuned to the U.S. after a nine-month deployment in Kuwait, should be running for about six months. Conroy said Ober will try to run about a marathon a day (a distance of approximately 26.2 miles) for five days per week, with several days off in-between.
    Those interested in helping out in any way on the March 24 sendoff are asked to contact Conroy at 717-6473 or edfconroy@myway.com.
    During his run across the country Ober will be providing updates on his website at www.alloberamerica.org — which will include links to the Wounded Warrior Project (www.woundwarriorproject.or) and information on how to contribute.