Commemorating Defenders of the Freedom of Lithuania
Every year, on January 13th, Lithuania commemorates the day of Freedom
Defenders to honour the 14 unarmed civilians who died to defend the national
recovery of independence. For 30 years, the Lithuanian Runners Association,
the Lithuanian Armed Forces and the Lithuanian Ministry of Defence have
annually organized the Honor Run event. In Vilnius, the participants run a
symbolic distance of 9 km, which starts at the memorial burial grounds and
ends at the Vilnius TV Tower.
On the same day, the Lithuanian members of the Baltic Defence College
(BALTDEFCOL) family organized their own commemorative run in the memory of the
killed in the defence of Lithuanian Freedom on 13th January 1991.
BALTDEFCOL faculty members, students and their families gathered in the
vicinity of Anne Canal to run and commemorate this significant historical
event together with Lithuanian friends. Prior to the run, a short brief was
provided to describe the events that happened in 1991 in Lithuania.
All the participants were hosted with hot tea, some pastry and were recognized
with the commemorative medal. Thank you all for supporting and respecting each
nation’s traditions.