Sledgehammer Beach Run 2022

The Sledgehammer Beach Run is a 5k, 10k and Half Marathon in North Topsail Island, North Carolina in memory of Dr. E. B. “Sledgehammer” Sledge. This run is brought to you by Jacksonville-Onslow Sports Commission and Marine Federal Credit Union. A portion of the proceeds from this race will benefit Semper Fi & America’s Fund.

Participants can either race IN PERSON or VIRTUALLY (for a lower rate).

The mission statement of the Sledgehammer Race Series is: “To Honor the Memory of Sledgehammer and All Combat Veterans.” Sledgehammer was a lifelong Marine who spent the remainder of his post-war years coming to terms with what he and his fellow combatants experienced during World War II.

Sledgehammer chose to volunteer for the U. S. Marine Corps in 1942. He was assigned to K Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines, 1st Division (K/3/5) where he reached the rank of Corporal in the Pacific Theater. He was a 60mm mortar man at Peleliu and Okinawa where he served with Corporal R. V. Burgin and PFC Merriell “Snafu” Shelton. Sledgehammer also served as a rifleman and stretcher bearer when fighting was too close for effective mortar use.

Sledgehammer would go on to earn a doctorate in biology and was a beloved professor at the University of Montevallo. In 1981, Sledgehammer published his memoir, With the Old Breed at Peleliu and Okinawa, which centered on his combat experiences during the Pacific Campaign. His book was used as a reference for Ken Burns’ PBS documentary, “The War”, and Tom Hanks and Stephen Spielberg’s HBO miniseries, “The Pacific”, starring Joseph Mazzello as Sledgehammer.

If you’d like to participate, please register here: https://runsignup.com/Race/NC/NTopsailBeach/SledgehammerBeachRun