North Huntingdon Marine honored during Veterans Day 5K
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Members of the Steel City Naval ROTC still look to the legacy of Lt. Col. Chris Raible, who died 11 years ago in Afghanistan while serving in the Marines.
The former North Huntingdon resident will be honored during the unit’s 5K race Saturday in Schenley Park near Carnegie Mellon University, where Raible earned a degree in civil engineering in 1995.
Kaleb Foster, the officer in charge of the race, said Steel City staff have “started to build a culture around the sacrifice” Raible made through his military service.
“A lot of people that are working on the ROTC staff… have kind of started to embody Lt. Col. Chris Raible as this idol — somebody that we look up to,” said Foster, a first class midshipman.
Raible graduated from Norwin High School in 1990. He was a member of the math club and a starter for the football team. He attended Kent State University before transferring to Carnegie Mellon.
Upon graduation, Raible was commissioned as a second lieutenant and completed flight training. He served several deployments in Iraq, and was promoted to lieutenant colonel in July 2011.
Raible and another Marine were killed during an attack on the airfield at Camp Bastion on Sept. 14, 2012. Raible is survived by his wife, Donella, and their three children — Catherine, Allison and Bryan.
“Without that act of heroism, we would have suffered significantly more casualties than just the two we lost that day,” Foster said.
Raible received numerous military honors, including the Meritorious Service Medal and the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal.
He was posthumously honored with a Purple Heart, Bronze Star, Combat Action Ribbon and an Air Medal with a Strike 15 Award. Carnegie Mellon gave him an alumni award for distinguished public service.
The race will kick off at 9 a.m. starting at the Vietnam Veterans Pavilion in Schenley Park, located at 1 Overlook Drive in Pittsburgh. As of Thursday morning, about 200 runners had registered, Foster said.
Funds will benefit Steel City Naval ROTC and the Wingman Foundation, a nonprofit founded in 2014 to support the Navy and Marine Corps aviation community and their families following an on-duty injury.