DALLAS -

Just in time for Memorial Day, Dallas-Fort Worth GMC dealers are sending out a call for submissions honoring active duty military, veterans and first responders, to help raise funds for nonprofit Carry The Load.

The nonprofit was founded in 2011 by two former U.S. Navy SEALs, Clint Bruce and Stephen Holley, to help people celebrate a meaningful Memorial Day.

Bruce, weighed down by memories of military buddies he would never speak to again, said he couldn’t express his feelings in words.

“So I put on my boots, loaded my pack and I started walking. With every step, I thought about those buddies I lost,” Bruce said. “As I walked, a man stopped me and asked, ‘Son, who are you carrying?’ He understood what I couldn’t say. At that moment I knew that other people felt like me, and Carry The Load was born.”

The organization holds a 20-hour Memorial March over two days honoring veterans and active duty service members, law enforcement officers, firefighters, and their families.

The march also raises funds to support designated beneficiaries.

To enter a “salute” to a favorite service member or first responder, visit the DFW GMC Facebook page at www.facebook.com/gmcdfw.

DFW GMC dealers, as a 2013 sponsor of Carry The Load, will donate $5 for every salute and story submitted through May 27, up to $10,000.   

“We’re proud to sponsor Carry The Load,” said Carey Williams of James Wood Decatur Buick-GMC, for DFW GMC dealers. “Our active duty military and veterans, our police and firefighters — they are the true unsung heroes.

“Dallas-Fort Worth area GMC dealers know these are the people who carry the load every day for our freedom and our safety. Being a sponsor for Carry The Load is a way of showing we care.”

DFW GMC dealers will also spotlight their employees who have “carried the load,” on the Facebook page.

The Dallas Memorial March will be held May 26-27. Money is raised by event participants and sponsors with a goal of $1 million.

This year’s recipients are Assist The Officer, Heroes On The Water, Friends of Dallas Fire-Rescue, Tip Of The Spear Foundation and Sons of the Flag Burn Foundation.

A 2,000-mile, 27-day Carry The Load National Relay left West Point, N.Y., on April 30 and will finish in Dallas on Memorial Day weekend, honoring America’s fallen heroes and their families.

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