Firefighter tackles 1,000 miles for wounded vets

Firefighter tackles 1,000 miles for wounded vets

By Melissa Slager
For The Herald

A marathon is one thing. Climbing a mountain is another.

But try the equivalent of 38 marathons. And three mountains. Oh, and add a 35-pound pack to your back and some combat boots.

Who the hell would do that?

Paul Cretella, a Serene Lake firefighter and former British paratrooper, is embarking on a yearlong effort to log 1,000 miles under just those conditions to raise awareness of the pain endured by wounded combat veterans.

Cretella recalled an elderly man he met on one of his aid calls, a veteran who was wounded three times in the Korean War and who still deals with chronic pain.

“Those guys coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan now are, 50 years from now, going to still be feeling the effects. … We need to do better for them,” Cretella said.

He calls his odyssey Brothers in Arms 1,000 Mile Challenge and is taking donations for two nonprofits, the Florida-based Wounded Warrior Project and its UK counterpart Help for Heroes.
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Firefighter tackles 1,000 miles for wounded vets