The Warriors Walk is a free event which is a ruck march to help raise awareness for Veteran suicide prevention. Roughly every ninety minutes, a Veteran commits suicide. That equals a staggering 22 Veterans a day. In one year, more Veterans commit suicide then the total number killed in action during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars combined. Veteran suicide has long plagued the United States in its war on terror. It is estimated that in ten years of the US measuring suicide rates, the rates are comparable to those killed in action of the Vietnam War. The number of Veterans that returned with TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury), PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder), and other untreated diagnoses is too much for the service member to bear alone; they need your help.

The ruck march (walk) is a military term summed up as “a walk with a backpack”. It is a twenty mile walk that starts at 9:00am on the second Saturday every September in the New Lenox village commons (1 Veterans Parkway, New Lenox IL). Each participant has the option to choose how far they would like to walk. The march heads east along Will County Forest Preserve’s Old Plank Road Trail towards Frankfort IL. The halfway point for each preselected distance will be marked along the trail for the turn-around and the marchers will finish back at the commons.

We ask that you do what is best for you. If you choose to carry a ruck (loaded backpack), ensure that you can handle carrying it safely. If you choose to just walk with us, please just walk whatever distant you can and do not risk injury. If you are unable to physically do the walk, then we ask that you just be at the Village Commons in support of the ruck marchers as they being their long journey for the day. Below is the link for Will County’s interactive map of Old Plank Road Trail.