Fort4Fitness: Firefighter killed in Trump rally remembered by sister

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) – A Pennsylvania woman makes the trek to Fort Wayne to fly a flag in Fort4Fitness on Saturday honoring her brother who was shot and killed at a Trump rally.

Dawn Comperatore-Schafer drove about 5 hours to walk in the Fort4Fitness 10k, carrying a customized flag in remembrance of her brother, Corey Comperatore, who died at the Trump rally assassination attempt in July.

Dawn first heard about Fort4Fitness through Flags4fallen, an organization dedicated to remembering loved ones gone too soon through carrying flags during races. Minutes after Corey had died, the initiative posted a picture of his face with a flag, and Dawn said she felt compelled to respond.

“I had felt so overwhelmed and so touched, that I had commented on it touched that I commented on the post.”

Richard Clark, a Flags4Fallen founding member, started to talk with Dawn about his organization and from there, Dawn was hooked and planned to travel down to Fort Wayne for the race on September 28 to finish the 10k.

Many people that run the 10k plan to beat their earlier times, running as fast as they can. But for Dawn, she said she’s going to take her time, living every moment of the race as a moment in Corey’s life.

“I love the symbolism,” Dawn said. “…From the moment you take your first breaths, you enter in the race against time, and you don’t even know it. So, I thought, ‘what a beautiful representation that I could honor his life from the starting line at birth … and honor his miles … until the finish line, for a life lived very well done.'”

As a step in her healing journey, Dawn also aims to take time and talk to other members of Flags4Fallen about their losses and lessons. She said there is a lot to be learned from other’s experiences.

Dawn said her brother was more than his sacrifice, and she looks forward to the opportunity to talk about who her brother was on a personal level.

“I want Corey to be remembered not for the person who was killed at the Trump rally,” “… He loved God, he loved his family, he served his community, he was humble, he was kind … I want them to remember him as just being who he was, because he was good.”

The Fort4Fitness 10k kicks off at 7:30 a.m.

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