By Mike Kruzman / news@whmi.com


A long cross-county hike will help shine the light of support on veterans and their high suicide rate.

Veterans Connected is hosting the Ruck to Live walk, tomorrow morning in support of Veteran Suicide Prevention. Participants will meet at the City of Brighton AMP, near the Millpond at 7am, where they will be bused to the City of Howell Veterans Memorial.

At 8:15, the 10-mile military-style hike down Grand River to the Brighton Veterans Memorial. Project head and chaplain Josh Muns assured that walkers will be safe. They’ll have one lane of Grand River to themselves with a police escort at the front and rear. A pickup truck will serve as a rolling water cooler, with water tents and stops to pray for veterans lost to suicide along the way. The Ruck is expected to wrap up around 12:40pm.

Upon arriving at the Brighton Veterans Memorial, a memorial service will be held. The Ruck costs $22 dollars to enter - a number that reflects the number of veterans in the VA healthcare system that die of suicide, daily. Muns said that number does not reflect the veteran population as a whole, which would likely drive it unfortunately higher. The entry cost also provides a t-shirt, raffle ticket, and lunch.

A 1-mile route will also be available beginning and ending at the Brighton AMP, all day. Donations for that are appreciated, but not required.

Veterans, participants, and all are invited to hang around downtown Brighton following the ruck for an afternoon featuring live entertainment, a cornhole tournament, and a classic car show. Several resources and services for veterans will also be downtown. For more information visit the link below.

(Photo: Facebook)