Jessica Dalton, of Allentown, Pennsylvania, loves to run the Marine Corps Marathon as a way to honor the military, which runs deep in her family.
鈥淢y entire family has been serving in the military,鈥� Dalton, 32, said on a Zoom call. 鈥淏oth my grandfathers, my father, my aunt and my uncle have served.鈥�
Dalton still has the dress blues her grandfather earned while serving in World War II, and has thumbed through the diary he kept while serving overseas 鈥� including when he stormed the beach in Normandy, France.
The writing isn鈥檛 the cleanest, and it鈥檚 not more than a line or two each day: The entry for June 6, 1944, says 鈥渄. day (This is it),鈥� then something like 鈥淟eft 鈥� early in the morning for France with American troops.鈥� It鈥檚 hard to tell.
The words on June 7 are even tougher to read, but say something to the effect of 鈥渘ot much enemy aircraft 鈥� lots of anti-aircraft fire.鈥� He鈥檚 been dead for more than 30 years, so she can鈥檛 really get him to elaborate much now. But the words still move her.
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鈥淚鈥檓 actually surprised 鈥� that he didn鈥檛 really write about the death and destruction,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 wish that there was more lines in this diary for him to really explain everything but I鈥檓 sure at the time he didn鈥檛 understand the importance of Normandy on D-Day.鈥�
She would have followed in her family鈥檚 footsteps and joined up herself, except she鈥檚 considered disabled: “I鈥檝e suffered a lot of health problems so I would never pass the physical to get into the military.”
Still, Dalton has battled for her community, especially over the last 18 months. She鈥檚 a critical care nurse, and, even with a compromised immune system, she鈥檚 gone into a hospital every day, working to help others survive the COVID-19 pandemic.
All those stories you鈥檝e heard about tired, frustrated, stressed-out medical professionals apply to her. Ask her to explain it and she needs a long, deep breath to gather her thoughts and her emotions.
鈥淚t鈥檚 hard,鈥� she admitted. Dalton has been a critical care nurse for 10 years. 鈥淚鈥檝e seen a lot of death and dying but it鈥檚 never been to this magnitude,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd it鈥檚 not necessarily just someone dying, but it鈥檚 actually seeing the progression of them coming to my unit and being able to talk. And learning about them. And then see the decline.”
鈥淐aring for someone, and then listening to their family and the conversations that they have 鈥� it makes it so much more difficult,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been a struggle to see the pain and suffering in people鈥檚 death from COVID. A lot of us, including myself, have been suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Recently I had to get treatment because of the horrors and things that we鈥檝e seen and had to deal with physically and emotionally.鈥�
Still, her love of people, and the chance to care for others, was a driving force to go to work every day. When someone got better, 鈥淚t just made everything, all the sacrifices, just worth it. But it was also frightening.鈥�
When you鈥檙e on immunosuppressant medication every day, working next to the sickest COVID patients puts your life at jeopardy, even when you鈥檙e young, vibrant, and otherwise in good physical shape. Grinding through mile after mile in your off time might not be at the top of your list once you leave for the day, and Dalton admitted it鈥檚 sometimes hard to find the motivation.
But she found it anyway.
鈥淵ou always have to have something to look forward to,鈥� she said, quoting her grandmother. 鈥淪o during the pandemic, I had to find that 鈥� 鈥榃hy do I run? What鈥檚 my purpose?鈥� Even though I give back to my community, I felt the need to give back financially also. I ran an ultramarathon to raise money for cancer. Then some of my co-workers and I raised money for our hospital鈥檚 COVID fund, to help families financially pay for their loved one鈥檚 bills. That motivation is what kept me going.鈥�
She said her uncle is among the 700,000 Americans who have died of COVID-19.
鈥淪ometimes I鈥檒l be out running and then it just hits me, some of the losses that I鈥檝e personally suffered,” Dalton said. “So it wasn鈥檛 uncommon for me to be on the side of the road crying, because you just have that time to deal with the emotion.鈥�
Dalton was looking forward to coming back to D.C. again for her sixth MCM, including last year鈥檚 virtual event, before the decision was made to make the race virtual again. Dalton called that move 鈥渄evastating,鈥� but a year and a half of a pandemic hasn鈥檛 stopped her yet, and it wasn鈥檛 going to kill her race this year either. In fact, to some extent, it made things easier.
Dalton turns 33 Oct. 31, the day the race was supposed to happen and the day she鈥檒l compete virtually by lacing up her shoes and running around Allentown. And since her life didn鈥檛 stop at 26.2 years, she鈥檚 not going to stop running at 26.2 miles.
鈥淚鈥檓 planning on running 33 miles, for each year of life on my birthday,鈥� Dalton said. 鈥淭hat was my original plan. I wasn鈥檛 sure how I was going to do it, running the 26.2 and then adding the additional miles. I wasn鈥檛 sure if I was going to do that in D.C. or back home. Now I鈥檓 able to do all the miles all at once.鈥�
She also hopes her run will help some of Allentown鈥檚 animal shelters, either with cash donations from people or even through pet food donations she can collect on her route.
鈥淗opefully people won鈥檛 buy 40-pound bags of dog food, but I鈥檇 be able to pick it up along the route,鈥� she promised.
And since it is Halloween, she鈥檒l also be running in costume, with plans to dress up like Medusa since she鈥檚 a lover of snakes.
But if you happen to see Medusa running around Allentown that day, look closely at her back when she runs past 鈥� she鈥檒l also have pictures of all her relatives who have served pinned to her back, something she does when she鈥檚 running to honor the military 鈥渟o they鈥檙e with me physically and emotionally.鈥�
Last month she ran in a race to honor fallen soldiers at Fort Indiantown Gap, north of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and where her grandfather who served in the Korean War is buried. She even won her age group.
鈥淚t was like divine intervention,鈥� she said. 鈥淗ere you go, this is what you should do now. So that was really nice to be able to do that.鈥�
