While Veterans Day comes and goes for many, a band of Stanford students and recent graduates are going the extra mile to commemorate it. Or rather, the extra 145 miles: they will spend the day carrying the American flag from the lowest point to the highest point in the lower 48 states in one day.

Co-organizer Joe Nail M.A. ’26 M.B.A. ’27, created the challenge to honor the sacrifices of American servicemembers and raise awareness for Team Red, White & Blue Inc., a veterans organization which promotes veteran fitness and facilitates the transition to civilian life.

When the clock strikes midnight on Nov. 11, Nail, Alex Romano M.S. ’25 and co-organizer Adrien Richez M.S. ’26, along with five other students, a cinematographer, a support car and Old Glory, will set out from the lowest point in North America — Badwater Basin in Death Valley, Calif., at 282 feet below sea level. The team will then head northwest towards Lone Pine, first running the flag, switching out runners every mile. 

After climbing the ridge which marks the western border of Death Valley National Park, Richez will mount himself, the Star-Spangled Banner and the POW-MIA flag onto a bike for the descent into Lone Pine, at the base of Mount Whitney. From Lone Pine, the trek is entirely on foot, and Nail expects to arrive with the American flag at the 14,505-foot summit no earlier than 8:30 p.m. 

That is, if everything goes to plan. “Hopefully we don’t die from an avalanche,” Romano said, laughing.

He was only partly joking: just two weeks ago, a hiker died after falling from a snow-covered switchback some 2,000 feet below the summit, and in January, another hiker died in bad weather. And with the ongoing federal government shutdown, Nail said, the team can’t rely on ranger support if something goes wrong.

However, the team has taken many measures to abate risk. For one thing, among the five people planning to summit, three have vast mountaineering experience. Nail himself has summited Mount Whitney nine times and was deployed to an Army mountain infantry unit based in Colorado.

All have prepared extensively for the trip. Aside from being held to Department of War fitness standards as part of their own military service, Nail and others did part of the route in August to determine even higher fitness levels to be expected of participants. Richez spent 11 hours one day last week climbing the foothills around Stanford on his bike. Additionally, the team secured backing from adventure racing company Spartan Race to provide specialized gear needed for the ascent. 

“Planning logistics was terrible,” Romano said. “We got, seven, eight people total, but we’re covering the 145 miles, and we’re covering different terrains too.”

Still, the organizers see these challenges as miniscule compared to the sacrifices of those they honor in uniform. In fact, most participants are Stanford-affiliated military servicemembers representing all branches except the Coast Guard, though they noted that their expressed views are not necessarily those of the Department of War. Nail, Romano and Richez all come from families in military service, and they looked to the sacrifices of their forefathers as inspiration to join the officer corps.

Romano and Richez matriculated into the U.S. Naval Academy straight out of high school and joined the Space Force and Navy, respectively. Nail graduated first in his class at the Army’s Officer Candidate School after graduating from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a bachelor’s degree in political science and Duke with a master’s degree in divinity.

In the last two years, all three came to Stanford as Knight-Hennessy scholars. Nail, while noting that the Stanford community writ-large was grateful for and supportive of his military service, said he was unsettled by some early experiences on the Farm. 

“On my first day as a graduate student here at Stanford, the very first question that I got asked was how I could morally justify serving in the United States military,” Nail said.

He said his concern rose when, at the height of protests around the Israel-Hamas war, anti-American slogans appeared in graffiti across Main Quad. In response, Nail, Romano and Andrew Fabela ’26, founded America Club, a student organization with the goal of reviving patriotic spirit on campus. 

In Nail’s eyes, part of that mission is building appreciation for those who serve in the military, especially veterans. “I do wish that there was a lot more of a focus by the university to recognize the people who have risked their lives to protect the freedoms that we enjoy and take for granted on campus,” Nail said.

Richez added that his own pride in America was shaped by the gratitude his immigrant parents had for the opportunities the U.S. provided. “It’s funny, you know, my parents are these naturalized American citizens that speak with horrific French accents, and they’re just like the most patriotic people I know, and they love this country,” he said. “I’m very proud to be an American and serving.”

Aside from honoring the sacrifices of those in uniform, Richez and his co-organizers hope that the Veterans Day Challenge instills that same pride in public service to younger generations at Stanford and beyond. “I just think a life without service to others is — what’s the point?” Richez said.