Iraq Veteran Takes Long Walk to Honor Service and Acknowledge Price Being Paid

Westampton police officer, Marines to walk 100 miles with service dogs
Burlington County Times
By Kristina Scala Staff writer
September 1, 2015

He was deployed to Iraq in 2009 and to Afghanistan in 2011, and was awarded the Purple Heart, Navy Achievement Medal, Combat Action Ribbon and Select Marine Corps Reserve Medal. Einstein, who joined the Westampton Police Department in 2013 and serves as a volunteer firefighter in Riverton and Mount Laurel, was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after his second tour of duty.

William Johnson
Westampton officer walking 100 miles to honor fallen comrades
Andrew Einstein (left) and Steven Walls acknowledge supporters who honk for them Tuesday. Their "Long Walk," as they have dubbed it, will raise funds in honor of fallen friends and create awareness of post-traumatic stress disorder in military veterans.

The 100-mile trek that Andrew Einstein and his two fellow Marines are on from Philadelphia to New York City for the anniversary of Sept. 11 won't be easy, but the journey that led them to this path has been devastatingly more difficult.

With their mission clear, and a trio of tail-wagging heroes by their sides, they walk to honor the fallen and create awareness of the high price paid by the men and women serving on the front lines.

"They fought for the Liberty Bell, for freedom, and we fight for the twin towers," said Einstein, a Westampton police officer and Iraq War veteran, Tuesday as he prepared to begin the trek.

Einstein is one of the 11 to 20 percent of U.S. veterans diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder since serving in the Middle East.

His ode to American freedom was muffled by a tolling bell that echoed across the Independence Hall courtyard Tuesday as the Burlington County native and Marines Devon Richio and Steven Walls prepared to set out on the 100 miles from Philadelphia to New York.

Richio and Walls are members of the Philadelphia Fire Department.

For them, the long journey is a way to fight a different type of war now that they have returned from the battlefield and wage a fight against PTSD.
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