To the editor:
Wilderness Walk for Warriors 2016 “Flags of Honor Hike” commences on the morning of July 16, 2016. The 20-member team begins its third annual hike through the Maine 100-Mile Wilderness.
This in order to raise money for veterans and service members as well as honor our fallen heroes. The day’s events kick off at 11 a.m. in Bangor, just outside the gate of the Maine Army National Guard Base.
The Wilderness Walk for Wilderness 2016 Team will join the Patriot Riders of America in a motorcycle escort from Bangor to the Monson Community Center. The Maine State Police will lead out the escort and the team will be transported in two humvees and a deuce and a half troop transport, compliments of Downeast Emergency Management Institute. We are expecting as many as 200 bikes and vehicles in the convoy over to Monson.
Once in Monson, there will be a singing of our national anthem, a brief speech from State Representative Joyce Maker and an introduction of the 2016 Wilderness Walk for Warriors Team. This will be immediately followed with a celebratory barbecue for all, put on by Monson Post 116 and Greenville Post 94 American Legion.
After the Monson barbecue and celebration, the team will put on their packs and march out from the Monson up to the Appalachian trailhead. Each team member will be carrying a hiking staff and attached to that staff will be a “Flag of Honor” to include: POW/MIA, KIA, Honor and Remember, American Legion, Air Force, Army, Navy, Marines, Coast Guard, National Guard, and multiple American flags.
Each team member will carry their “Flag of Honor” from Monson to the top of Mt. Katahdin. A total of 120 miles over a course of the next 10 days. Each team member will also carry everything they need to survive on their shoulders as there will be no opportunity to re-supply through the 100-Mile Wilderness.
My brother and I will also be carrying additional items to honor two Maine State Police Officers who died in the line of duty. Tim Robinson (co-founder ) of Wilderness Walk for Warriors will carry the Maine State Police Flag 326 in honor of Trooper Jeffrey Parola. I will have the honor of attaching to my pack the Maine State Police license plate 616 on behalf of Trooper Glenn Strange of Houlton.
On the morning of July 26th, Wilderness Walk for Warriors team will end their 2016 “Flags of Honor Hike” by hiking from Katahdin Stream Campground to the peak of Mt. Katahdin. Once at the top , Paul Cyr (Paul Cyr Photography) will fly over to photograph team holding their Flags of Honor.
The 2016 Wilderness Walk for Warriors team is a group of 20 individuals who are dedicating 10 days of their summer to assist veterans and service members as well as honor our fallen heroes.
I am very proud to be able to say that this year’s team includes two ladies, a professional reporter/photographer, as well as a four-man unit from the Canadian Armed Forces. Twenty diverse individuals unified by a common goal.
Each of the team members will be raising pledges on a flat or miles hiked basis. One hundred percent of all money earned will go directly out to assist veterans and service members. Please stop by our Facebook page (Wilderness Walk for Warriors) and check us out.
