Veteran cross country trekker returns

By Thomas Garcia

QCS Staff Writer

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Three years had passed since the last time U.S. Marine veteran Wesley Roy Brady Jr. passed through Tucumcari on a cross country trek to raise awareness for combat-wounded veterans.

"I am continuing my crusade to raise awareness about the issues facing our veterans and their families all across the nation," Brady said.

Brady, a 22-year Marine veteran, has seen first-hand the effect of post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injuries in his fellow servicemen. He said countless veterans of all generations and branches of service return from service and suffer from PTSD and traumatic brain injuries.

"There is still a real need to counsel and provide services to aid these servicemen and women deal with both physical and mental injuries," Brady said.

Brady said his first journey, a 5 and 1/2 month walk from Charlotte, North Carolina, to Camp Pendleton, California, was successful in raising funds for providing services to the combat wounded veterans and their families.

"Each day there are veterans that commit suicide because of these conditions," Brady said. "I've set out on this second walk to raise awareness of how vital the funding for programs that assist combat veterans are."

Brady said that the servicemen and women of the current era have been fortunate that there has been a diagnosis of PTSD and related conditions in veterans. He said the generations prior to the World War II and Korean War eras did not have the benefit of these services.

"The first walk allowed me to make contact with veterans, residents of several states who I have come to call friends," Brady said. "It is a true blessing to have their support once again as I set out on this journey."

Brady said this walk will have a greater distance traveled, as he set out from San Diego, California, on March 5 and plans to walk to Charlotte, North Carolina, then New Jersey.