Humans of St. Norbert:

Sam: “This will be the Sixth Annual 140-Mile For Them Ruck March. All of the money that we raise goes to 4th HOOAH which is a local organization that works with veterans and provides them a community and really works to support those struggling with mental illness, like PTSD, and combat veteran suicide. There are 20 veterans a day that commit suicide so our goal is to really raise funds and awareness to bring that number down. That's the entire purpose of the ruck. We walk with our rucksacks with an American flag so people see us on the side of the road, they honk and ask what we are doing so that’s our opportunity to tell them. I think it’s really cool that the 4th HOOAH organization is local to Green Bay. Every dollar that we raise goes back into this community so it’s helping our neighbors who we don’t know might be struggling. The more money we raise the easier the 4th HOOAH can do what they are so good at doing.

“We start at Lambeau Field right by the big veterans memorial and we finish in Veterans Park in Milwaukee. Our route takes us east to Lake Michigan and then we just head south so we go through towns like Luxemburg, that’s our first stop, and then we go to Kewaunee and then down to Manitowoc, Sheboygan and Belgium. Then, we will finish in Milwaukee. It takes seven days and it averages about 20 miles a day for the 20 veterans a day that commit suicide. We aren’t in full military uniform because we are representing 4th HOOAH, we aren’t representing the military in any way. So we will be out there in shorts and a t-shirt, but we will be in combat boots, we will have our rucksacks on and we will carry an American flag the entire way.

“I did it last year and when the leader from last year asked me if I wanted to lead it this year, I told him, ‘Absolutely!’ The team consists of [Andrew and me] and then two other cadets from Green Bay that are a part of our ROTC company. It is incredibly physically challenging and there’s a lot of interest, but there’s not a lot of people who can do it. Andrew is one of the ones that has performed very well in ROTC physically so I have confidence in his ability to do it.”

Andrew: “I am very eager to do it! Aside from just having the opportunity to do it myself, I also saw it as a good opportunity to raise awareness. I thought why not! I can’t lose anything from doing this. To help anyone out, no matter who it is, is what I look forward to.”

Sam: “The coolest thing is you hear from the people that have lost a family member or somebody and they hear what we are doing and they are so moved that they want to come out and meet us and tell us their story. That just makes every step worth it! It all comes back to the entire reason we are doing this. It’s for the people who have already served that come back and feel like they have no place to go or feel like they are alone. They aren’t alone! This is far too common and the way that we definitely do not solve it is by not talking about it, not being vulnerable and not seeking help. There are opportunities and places you can go as a veteran where you can get help.” – Sam Skiff ’23 and Andrew Lopez ’24

The Sixth Annual 140-Mile For Them Ruck takes place June 27-July 3, 2021. If you would like to make a donation please visit https://hooahinc.org/event/for-them-ruck-march/