A veteran walking across the country is traveling through Lenoir and Greene counties today on his way to Washington, D.C.
Chuck Lewis, a member of the Montana Honor Guard and veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps, said he is walking in an effort to raise awareness about the high suicide rate among servicemembers. He is also raising money for programs that support wounded veterans.
Lewis began the walk on March 31, in Everett, Wash. Since then he has traveled east across the Dakotas before going south through Ohio and Kentucky, with the end line being the wall of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.
Lewis said the “Walking for the Fallen” project started in June 2012 after Lewis participated in the funeral of a former marine who committed suicide.
“I felt like I needed to do something,” Lewis said.
Lewis said the weather has been the biggest challenge of his journey. He encountered snow going of the Rocky Mountains, wind as he crossed the plains and now heat and humidity in the south.
Lewis said reactions have been mixed, but not negative as he walks through towns.
“I’ve either been embraced or ignored,” Lewis said. “Nobody has been throwing things or yelling obscenities at me.”
As of today, Lewis said he has raised $35,000 of his $50,000 goal.
For more information visit www.walkingforthefallen.com.
Noah Clark can be reached at 252-559-1073 or Noah.Clark@Kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter @nclark763.