Heather Curtis
WMAL.com

WASHINGTON (WMAL) – The walk is grueling. The cause is personal for the six veterans making the trek from Los Angeles to New York with Walking With The Wounded’s
Walk Of America. The three American and three British vets are walking 1,000 miles (and driving and flying with a support team for the other approximately 1,700 miles) raising awareness of mental illness among veterans and collecting money to help those suffering get treatment.

“I know for myself if it wasn’t for non-profit organizations helping me out, I probably wouldn’t be alive today, so it’s a great cause to help,” said retired Msgt. Adele Loar who served with the U.S. Air Force from 1989 to 2010.

In 2006, Loar was serving in Iraq when an explosively formed projectile hit her vehicle, killing her partner and the driver. She lost right eye, hurt her shoulder and started suffering from PTSD.

Loar said when she lost her job in the military, she had a difficult time finding purpose. She is now recovering with the help of pscyhotherapy offered by the VA and other active therapies – which included hiking – she received through non-profits.

“Everybody needs a purpose, and veterans need to know there’s others out there that are like them, and they shouldn’t be at home suffering by themselves,” Loar said.

Many never find their purpose and wind up taking their own lives. In 2016, the VA said an average of 20 veterans a day die by suicide.

“It’s horrible, and until people start realizing that people need help and people start getting supported the right way it’s never gonna stop,” said Jonny Burns who served with the British Army Infantry from 2007 to 2016.

Burns is making the walk in an effort to stop veterans – including some of his friends – from taking their own lives. He has also struggled with mental illness brought on by his service.

Many veterans are afraid to get help for mental illness because they view it as a weakness according to Burns. He hopes the walk can play a role in changing people’s perceptions of mental illness.

Friday the walkers will stop at Arlington National Cemetery sometime between 4:30 and 5:15. Burns hopes Washingtonians will join them there and show their support for the cause.

The walk, which started in LA in on June 2, will end in NYC on September 6.

CORRECTION: This article orginially inferred it is only 1,000 miles between LA and New York. The veterans are only walking 1,000 miles, but the distance between LA and New York is more than 2,700 miles.

Copyright 2018 by WMAL.com. All Rights Reserved. (PHOTO: Walking with the Wounded)