The ultimate sacrifice
U.S. Air Force Maj. Lucas Gruenther, a Tuolumne County native, killed in the line of duty in 2013
Hundreds of people took part last Saturday in the 11th annual Luc’s Run, the fundraising event in Tuolumne that honors Sonora native and U.S. Air Force Maj. Lucas Gruenther, 31st Fighter Wing flight safety chief and F-16 Fighting Falcon pilot, who was fatally injured during a nighttime training mission Jan. 28, 2013 off the coast of Italy.
Gruenther is the most recent Tuolumne County native to be killed in the line of duty while serving in the U.S. armed forces. His sacrifice will be recalled again Monday, Memorial Day, the national day of remembrance set aside for reflecting on those who lost their lives while in service to the U.S. during war and peace.
The 2024 11th annual Luc’s Run in Tuolumne, which started and finished at Tuolumne Veterans Memorial Hall, raised more than $49,000 from registrations, donations, sponsors, and Luc’s Auction and Raffle. More than 240 people took part in person, and more than 195 took part virtually, for a total turnout of 444 participants, 60 more participants than in 2023.
The turnout and funding raised last Saturday is the most since COVID-19 pandemic restrictions forced organizers to host virtual versions of Luc’s Run in 2020 and 2021. Prior to the pandemic, 436 participants took part in Luc’s Run in 2017, 524 took part in 2018, and the number of participants peaked in 2019 with 568 total participants.
Some people run Luc’s Run for fun because it’s a great family event “with really positive energy,” said Gruenther’s mom, Romel Mathias, who still lives in Twain Harte. Some people do it for fitness, to achieve personal goals, like the serious runners who come out each year. Some people run to honor a loved one, and many people run to remember Gruenther.
“People all over the world run for Luc,” Mathias said. “He made an impact wherever he went. His friends, teachers and comrades from his school and Air Force days all contribute or run.”
Participants in the most recent Luc’s Run included Rhea Gross, the nurse who delivered Gruenther when he was born Dec. 29, 1980 at Sonora Community Hospital on Forest Road. Groups of Air Force personnel and civilians of all walks of life who remember Gruenther do Luc’s Run in Italy and in multiple states in the U.S.
Runners who remember Gruenther each year include students, churchgoers, community members, business owners, bankers, event sponsors, firefighters, sheriff’s
deputies, insurance agents, family and friends, Luc’s Run volunteers, and other military veterans.
“So many people are so generous and kind and helpful,” Mathias said. “Each and every one is helping make the world a better place just like Luc did. We are thankful.”
All proceeds from Luc’s Run events go directly to Major Lucas Gruenther Legacy Foundation scholarships. Since 2015, the allvolunteer, 501(c)(3) nonprofit foundation has awarded more than $267,000 to more than 75 Americans who “Live Like Luc,” and since 2018, seven Summerville High School seniors have been awarded four-year scholarships for their college and university educations.
Elayna Anderson, a doctor of veterinary medicine candidate at Kansas State University, College of Veterinary Medicine, received a Pursue Your Passion Scholarship from the foundation in 2020 to help her complete undergraduate prerequisite courses.
“The Major Lucas Gruenther Legacy Foundation seeks out applicants that strive to ‘Live Like Luc’ with a tenacity for life and high aspirations,” Anderson wrote in February 2023. “As the daughter of a retired F-16 pilot, I understand the sacrifices that the brave men and women of our nation, as well as their families, make to protect our nation. This foundation promotes the cultivation of educational goals and selfdevelopment for those right here in the Land of the Free and Home of the Brave.”
Gruenther grew up in Twain Harte and attended Twain Harte Elementary and Summerville High School. He loved the outdoors, fly fishing, snowboarding, bouldering, and rock climbing. He earned his black belt in taekwondo at age 11. He worked at I Love Pizza in Twain Harte and at Heidi’s Ski Shop in Cold Springs.
Gruenther also learned to love photography from his great-grandfather, Harry Wiser, who gave young Luc a camera when he was in elementary school because he was so often outdoors “in the perfect light to capture the perfect picture,” Romel Mathias said.
He was an all-around active and diligent student who loved to learn and he was an accomplished athlete.
He knew he could accomplish great things if he set his mind to it, in part because his grandfather was the legendary Bob Mathias, who became the youngest men’s winner of a track-and-field event in the history of the Olympics in 1948 when he won the gold medal in decathlon at age 17. Four years later in 1952 he became the first to win consecutive Olympic decathlons.
At Summerville High, Gruenther took advanced classes and Spanish for four years, and he eventually attained fluency in Spanish and Italian. He studied guitar at Live Oak Music. He played four years of soccer as the Bears goalkeeper and he was on the golf team. He was active in the Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps and he did summer soccer camps at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado. He was active in student government and he debated as a Junior State of America member. He served as Student Body President his last year at Summerville. His senior project was bolting two new climbing routes at Table Mountain.
While he was still at Summerville High, he also earned a scholarship to do the ground school portion of his private pilot’s license at Columbia Airport.
Gruenther was nominated by Congressman John Doolittle to the U.S. Air Force Academy, where he graduated at the top of his class and earned his commission in 2003. He was active in skydiving, he became a jumpmaster, he was on the Wings of Green and Blue Parachute Teams, and he helped a few generals free fall jump for the first time.
He married his high school sweetheart from Summerville, Cassy Williams, in 2006.
Gruenther eventually earned assignment to Aviano Air Base Italy with the USAF 555th Fighter Squadron. He was flight lead and served as chief of flight safety for the 31st Fighter Wing. He served in 2011 in Afghanistan, where he was his unit’s assistant chief of training, chief of plans, and he flew more than 400 combat hours in F-16s during Operation Enduring Freedom.
According to the U.S. Air Force, on Jan. 28, 2013, Gruenther was taking part in a night training mission over the Adriatic Sea off the coast of Italy when his F-16 Fighting Falcon went missing. The Italian Coast Guard led a massive search to find the missing pilot. Authorities recovered debris from the missing aircraft, including Gruenther’s helmet and his parachute. On the third day of the search, his body was recovered by Italian fishermen. Investigations showed Gruenther was forced to eject from his F-16 and he did not survive the ejection.
He and Cassy’s daughter, Serene Gruenther, was born days after his death in February 2013.
Twelve years ago, in May 2012, Luc Gruenther returned to Summerville High and told students, “Whatever you do, don’t suck. Kick butt. Get out there and try hard at everything you do.”
Gruenther is remembered by people in the military and outside the military as an incredible human being, an outstanding F-16 fighter pilot, a community role model, and a humanitarian.
“He lived his life to the fullest and never took a single day for granted,” his loved ones with the Major Lucas Gruenther Legacy Foundation state. “Luc is remembered for the way he treated people with wisdom and kindness and was a genuine human being who made a tremendous positive impact.”
The 12th annual Luc’s Run is scheduled May 17, 2025. For more information about Gruenther and Luc’s Run go to the Major Lucas Gruenther Legacy Foundation website at www.mlglf.org.
“Memorial Day to us is to honor and remember the men and women who sacrificed their lives to protect our country, our constitution, and our freedom,” Romel Mathias said. “I try to live my life as someone who is worth dying for. Gone are the days of ‘Happy Memorial Day.’ It’s not about cookouts or sales, or even about veterans. Every day is Memorial Day for a Gold Star Family.”