Veterans march 22 miles to end suicide

CHICAGO (WLS) -- A 22-mile journey on foot is gaining momentum as a growing number of people are involved in a Memorial Day Weekend march to raise awareness for and help prevent veteran suicides.

Remember the number 22. Every day, 22 vets commit suicide.

On Friday, hundreds of veterans, their comrades and military supporters are on a 22-mile journey from the North Shore to Navy Pier.

The first steps are at a quick pace in north suburban Glencoe.

"As much as we're all hurting, as much as 22 miles is with all the weight on our back, today 22 veterans are taking their lives," says Eric Perez, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran. "If we could do this repeatedly to save one of them, I would do it in a heartbeat again.

It's a painful journey beyond exhaustion and muscle aches. It's also about the mental anguish.

"In the last year I've known three other Marines who have taken their lives, including one in December, which was a tough one," says Caleb Hansen, U.S. Marine Corps Reservist.

Hansen is marching with three comrades he served with in Iraq. They made it home, but they are still haunted by phone calls that persist to this day.

"All of a sudden someone calls and says guess what happened to such-and-such person," Perez said. "And you always sit there and go, 'Man, I should have just reached out to them, or should have talked to them and been more vocal about it.'"

And that is why, as the steps get slower and slower toward the end of the walk, they have a message to those veterans who are still out there, perhaps suffering in silence.

"Make sure that these guys, our brothers and sisters all know, there are resources out there," Hansen said. "There are a lot of us willing to talk."

"You have to, you have to talk," says Joe Curtis, U.S. Marine Corps veteran. "I know it's tough for a lot of guys. But that's why we are out here, that's why we're doing this, that's why we're hurting. I know I'm hurting. But we keep on going. We keep pushing through because there are people hurting who are a lot worse."

And while vets are on this journey, it's actually organized by a woman who has never served.

"The least we can do is give back when they come home," says Elizabeth Diaz, organizer of the Honor Our Fallen Ruck March. "I think that's important. I think everyone should do that."

At the end of the walk, the participants have completed one mission but begun another.

"We just want to make sure that all our fellow veterans understand that they are not alone." Hansen said.

The non-profit group Chicago Veterans organized Friday's march and raised more than $26,000 during the event.

Their goal is to open a veterans' center.

For more information, visit chicagovets.org.