This retired army veteran is walking two thousand two hundred miles in honor of the twenty two Veterans who kill themselves everyday in the United States. He started walking in Clarksville, TN on Veteran's day and hopes to reach Los Angels in mid March. "A lot of people when they see Veterans come back from combat, or from leaving the service, they automatically think that, that person is crazy, or they are violent, or they immediately are going to react the way a soldier would react. So a lot of opportunities and chances for veterans may be lost because of that" - Ernesto Rodriguez (Veteran). Rodriguez served two tours in Iraq and two in Afghanistan. He covers about 16-20 miles a day with a 60 pound rucksack and an American flag. "It's very difficult to transition from being a veteran to going back to a civilian way of life. You were trained with discipline, and you were trained to repress your emotions during high stress situations. After a while of being out of the service and certain triggers, the emotions start coming back. And I believe that it may be a delayed reaction, you see a veteran with PTSD, or veterans with any emotional issues actually come to light. By then, they are ignored, or they are defined as the crazy guy who was in war." Rodriguez doesn't take cash donations, he asks for a hot meal and a hotel room. He encourages cash donors to give the money to the veteran organizations on his behalf. He wants veterans to know that it's OK to ask for help. "Understand that people that have gone through combat, people that have been serving in the military, may take a little bit to open up, but we are still people, we still like talking." There are dozens of veteran organizations across the country looking for help. So get involved and help a local veteran.
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