PTSD Veteran to Salute Every 65 Minutes on Ruck March

La Crosse veteran marching across state to fight PTSD, suicides
Lacrosse Tribune
MIKE TIGHE
4 hours ago

“After I failed at a lousy attempt, I asked for help,” he said, adding that his therapy is continuing through the VA.

Travis Good of La Crosse, decrying the statistic that 22 fellow veterans a day commit suicide, is marching 221.4 miles from La Crosse to Milwaukee to raise awareness and money to treat PTSD.

Good, 35, who has post-traumatic stress disorder he developed during Mideast deployments, was set to start his trek at 6 a.m. today at the Veterans Affairs River Valley Clinic at 2600 State Road.

The statewide hike is a “ruck march,” which means carrying a backpack. While such packs typically weigh 45 to 50 pounds, Good’s will be a 65-pounder with extra supplies because he is crossing the Badger State.

Accompanying Good on his “Ruck to Recovery for PTSD Awareness” is Gene Bennett, a 38-year-old Marine/Army veteran who also has PTSD. Good welcomes others — veterans and civilians alike — to join for however long they want. He plans to cover at least 36 miles a day, stopping at VA facilities along the way.

Good and Bennett will stop every 65 minutes and salute for a minute in commemoration of veterans who have committed suicide, which the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs says happens at about that rate.

“By the time I am done with the ruck march, 144 vets would have died by their own hands — many due to PTSD issues,” Good said.

Good, a native of Rochester, Ind., who hopes the walk will raise $10,000 for the PTSD Foundation of America, acknowledged in an interview that he tried suicide himself.

“After I failed at a lousy attempt, I asked for help,” he said, adding that his therapy is continuing through the VA.

Good also credits his wife, Mara, as his main supporter.
read more here