Half a league, half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
In the Crimean War of 1854, a British Light Cavalry Brigade charged against Russian forces. The overall commander of the British forces, had intended to send the Light Brigade to pursue and harry a retreating Russian artillery battery, a task well-suited to light cavalry. However, due to miscommunication in the chain of command, the Light Brigade was instead sent on an ill-fated frontal assualt against a different artillery battery, one well-prepared with excellent fields of defensive fire. The courage and valor of the cavalry are best remembered in Alfred, Lord Tennyson's narrative poem "The Charge of the Light Brigade".
Often referred to as Lou Gehrig's Disease, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease that causes the communication of the Upper and Lower Motor Neurons to fail and slowly robs the body of its ability to walk, speak, swallow and breathe. Like the Charge of the Light Brigade, a person with ALS faces the “valley of death”. Every 90 minutes a person in this country is diagnosed with ALS and every 90 minutes another person will lose their battle against this disease.
Since my diagnosis in 2011 of a slowly progressing form of ALS (Primary Lateral Sclerosis), I have met dozens afflicted with ALS and PLS. A common theme among these fearless folks is the courage to press on to help promote research for finding a cure for the formidable foe that is ALS.
Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to promote a cure so others will not die.
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
Please join the Busch Light Brigade Team in participating and supporting the Walk to Defeat ALS. Our efforts and walk will help the ALS Association fight Lou Gehrig’s Disease on various fronts: by leading the way in global research and providing assistance for people with ALS through a nationwide network of chapters.
When can their glory fade?
O the wild charge they made!
All the world wondered.
Honour the charge they made,
Honour the Light Brigade.