Man makes a 628 Never Quit March to increase PSTD awareness.
Ken Meyer, Conroe resident, decided to walk 628 miles around Texas to send a message to everyone regarding Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), minus the ‘D.’ He named his walk the “Never Quit March.”
According to him, the D might represent a stigma, and the message could be lost. The man decided to walk from his VFW post in Conroe on April 16 to Galveston’s Bolivar Peninsula to reach the Lone Survivor Foundation’s Frog Fest on May 28th. His walk is also a tribute he wants to pay to Marcus Luttrell and other guys, dear to him.
After hearing so many negative things on social media, he decided to bring his contribution by doing something positive. Meyer is a volunteer not only for the Lone Survivor Foundation but also for other organizations which target to promote healing and help. Every dollar will be donated to Lone Survivor.
Plus, The Frog Fest on Crystal Beach will offer peer-to-counseling opportunities and a getaway for veterans and their families.
Meyer’s daily walk consists of 19 miles and 22 miles. The 19 is in honor of the 19 servicemen who sacrificed themselves during Operation Red Wings. This operation was the source of inspiration for the movie “Lone Survivor.” The 22-mile walk is for the 22 U.S. veterans which commit suicide every day. Meyer knows that suicide is underreported, so he chooses to walk more some days.
During his Never Quit March, Meyer threw out a ceremonial first pitch on Saturday, May 21st, at the Houston Astros baseball game. Throughout his career, Meyer was a security officer in the U.S. Air Force for four years. The first traumatic event he experienced was at the age of 19 when he issued a Sergeant a DUI for driving intoxicated.
On the same night, Meyer and his partner found that Sergeant dead from suicide in his car. Later, Meyer learned that because of that DUI, the Sergeant was not allowed any longer to attend the Officer Training Program. Therefore, he took a gun to his head.
Meyer blamed himself for what happened and lived with that for years. After deployments in Honduras, Croatia, and Bosnia, the traumatic experiences piled up. He confessed that he put a gun to his head three times before asking for help. Meyer felt that he was a burden on his family. Later, he said suicide would have been a much bigger burden to his family.
Meyer will go to Friendswood today and from there, he will walk to Bayou Vista, Galveston and will arrive at his destination at Bolivar Peninsula for the Frog Fest, to accomplish his quest of contributing to raising post traumatic stress awareness.
Image Source:Ccasa
Leave a Reply