Chickamauga Chase honors men killed on July 16

Tracy Smith pauses after finishing the Chickamauga Chase 5k race at Chickamauga Battlefield on Saturday, April 16, 2016, in Fort Oglethorpe, Ga. Smith ran the race in honor of his son, Randall Smith, who was slain in last year's July 16 shootings at military facilities in Chattanooga and would have been 27 on the day of the race. Tracy Smith pauses after finishing the Chickamauga Chase 5k race at Chickamauga Battlefield on Saturday, April 16, 2016, in Fort Oglethorpe, Ga. Smith ran the race in honor of his son, Randall Smith, who was slain in last year's July 16 shootings at military facilities in Chattanooga and would have been 27 on the day of the race.

By Shelly Bradbury April 17, 2016 3 min read

A runner wears a #Nooga Strong t-shirt before the Chickamauga Chase 5k race at Chickamauga Battlefield on Saturday, April 16, 2016, in Fort Oglethorpe, Ga. Tracy Smith ran the race in honor of his son, Randall Smith, who was slain in last year’s July 16 shootings at military facilities in Chattanooga and would have been 27 on the day of the race.

With about 1,300 runners lined up at the start of the Chickamauga Chase, race director George Skonberg took the microphone and asked for a moment of remembrance.

Standing in the early morning light on the Civil War battlefield, he read the names of each man who was killed during the July 16 terrorist attack in Chattanooga.

Sgt. Carson Holmquist. Gunnery Sgt. Thomas Sullivan. Lance Cpl. Skip Wells. Staff Sgt. David Wyatt. Petty Officer 2nd Class Randall Smith.

The crowd stood silent.

Then the national anthem echoed through the trees and the races began.