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.
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