May 29, 2019
Veterans Chad and Luke looked more than ready to begin their 1,400-plus-mile hike on Ohio’s Buckeye Trail. They appeared to be enthusiastic, fit, and equipped with all the latest gear for carrying out their current mission.
What you couldn’t see about them, though, is just as important in their story. Returning soldiers carry memories of past missions that took place overseas. Surviving the war was one thing, but surviving the after effects is another.
Chad and Luke are on a Warrior Hike this year, one of three Warrior Expedition programs. While their journey is on the Buckeye Trail, other veterans are hiking on seven other long-distance U.S. trails. Still others are taking part in the two other programs, Warrior Bike and Warrior Paddle. The common factor is that they are all doing something pro-active to deal with the stress wartime inflicts.
Soldiers from previous wars would have weeks or even months to process their experiences with other troops while returning home. But, as the Warrior Expeditions website states, “in today’s age of modern transportation military personnel can find themselves home within a few days of serving in a combat zone.”
Currently, 22 veterans commit suicide daily. Marine Corps veteran Sean Gobin started Warrior Expeditions to do something to lower that heart-wrenching statistic.
Sean Gobin, founder of Warrior Expeditions
Participants process their thoughts during time alone and while together with their fellow adventurers. They interact with veterans’ groups along the trail to share their experiences. “Trail angels” help restore veterans’ faith in humanity. Partnering psychologists keep in touch with them to further aid them on their journey.
I know only the combat experiences members of my family have shared with me. Dad was a Ranger in WWII and talked to me about his service only weeks before he passed away. My brother Jim and my son Matt are also veterans. Not being a veteran myself, I can’t imagine the PTSD that is said to affect 20% of soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.
However, I do know the great emotional strain of surviving, not the war, but the after effects of the suicides of two close family members. And I also know the positive effects of the healing hike I myself took on the Buckeye Trail.
Bonnie and I felt privileged to help send Chad and Luke off recently as they began their hike to “walk off the war.” Our hearts go with them and all the other veterans on Warrior Expeditions.
Chad and Luke at Eden Park Overlook
