A MARINE’S STORY

Noah Cass shares experiences, coping after two tours in Iraq

TORRINGTON >> Members of the Torrington-Winsted Rotary Club took in the story of Noah Cass, a Marine who found that longdistance running helped him readjust after serving two tours in Iraq, during their meeting Tuesday at Chatterly’s banquet hall.

Cass, of Somers, screened “The Last Time I Heard True Silence,” a documentary telling his story, for those in attendance.

Cass joined the Marines one week before September 11, 2001, and served two tours of duty in the Iraq War. While serving, his vehicle was hit with a mortar, leaving him with a permanent ringing in his ears.

Upon returning home, Cass found he was struggling to readjust — drinking heavily, battling to maintain his personal relationships, seeking a job that was fulfilling compared to his life in the Marines.

He chose, one day, to take a run on a trail in the woods near his home. Long-distance running became a part of his life, something he returns to day after day.

The exertion helped him in his effort to get back to civilian life. As Cass ran, typically in the darkness of the early morning, he had

the chance to disconnect from the world.

At one point the ringing in his ears slipped away while he was running, allowing him to experience silence once again.

The documentary features Cass’ participation in a 50-mile ultra-marathon, which he signed up for and completed after never before running more than 26.2 miles. It provides a glimpse into his life as a father, and features interviews with his wife and father, along others.

“This race represents the journey a young soldier has to face to help cope with a past that haunts him every day,” wrote filmmakers in copy on a Vimeo page for the documentary.

Now, Cass is planning a more dramatic run — more than 130 miles, from Somers to Lake George, New York, termed the “Tougher Than A Tank” journey run.

Cass said Tuesday that the run is to raise funds for Eddie Ryan, a Marine who was shot twice by a tank and lived to talk about it, to help defray medical costs and draw attention to gaps in the Veterans’ Affairs health care system.

“It’s been really cool for it to come from this silly idea in my head,” said Cass.

So far, the fundraiser has brought in $3,962 of a $5,000 goal, according to its CrowdRise page.

Cass explained this latest run to the Rotarians Tuesday, and shared three tips for returning veterans — fitness, to provide discipline and bolster focus on life; education, to provide a goal; and a dog, to foster responsibility.

“A lot of people that leave the military, they lose their sense of responsibility and they get lost,” said Cass. “So a dog — I suggest a dog, not a child, at first . ... It gives you a reason to get up and go and then it just tumbles all together.”

As the meeting wrapped up, Rotary Club President Brian Mattiello offered up a summation of the effect the film had on the room.

“Inside of 30 minutes, you had a room full of people fall in love with you,” said Mattiello.

PHOTOS BY BEN LAMBERT — THE REGISTER CITIZEN Noah Cass, a Marine who served two tours in Iraq and found long-distance running helped him in his return to civilian life, shared his story with the Torrington-Winsted Rotary Club Tuesday.

Members of the Torrington-Winsted Rotary Club listen to Noah Cass during his talk on Tuesday.