KANSAS CITY, MO -
A thousand miles even seems far if you're driving in your car. But how about a thousand miles on foot? One war veteran is walking that distance for a cause. Gunnar Swanson served a one year tour of duty in Iraq about five years ago. Now, a half world away, he wages his own crusade for the children he left behind.
Step by step he hikes the 1,000 mile journey from Texas to Minnesota proudly donning the American flag. On Sunday he battled the hot Kansas sun.
"It's still pretty pleasant compared to Iraq," he said.
Mile after mile, he says he still has Iraq on his mind. While his resume might read that his work is complete in the Middle East, Swanson says his work is not yet done.
"This is kind of my second round of doing that," he said. "I still think about them kids over there. I still think about them. I still think about all the problems they have to go through but I'm still thinking about my fellow soldiers still serving over there."
Swanson said the children of Iraq looked at American soldiers as heroes. He said the troops played with them and bonded with them, until the children got in the hands of the enemy.
"Going from a place where we could see these kids every day, hang out with them, and now going to a place where we couldn't trust anybody," Swanson said.
And now he says he wants to raise money to help rescue those children traumatized by war. He says those funds will help build youth centers there and provide counseling for the children. On this long trek, he says he's recruiting an army of children to help out. (Visit Swanson's website for more information on his walk)
"The kids really relate to it," Swanson said. "They build an empathy for those kids over there and all the struggles they're going through. And they really want to help them."
Swanson said he started this march on July 4th and will end it ten weeks later on, coincidentally, September 11.
Step by step he hikes the 1,000 mile journey from Texas to Minnesota proudly donning the American flag. On Sunday he battled the hot Kansas sun.
"It's still pretty pleasant compared to Iraq," he said.
Mile after mile, he says he still has Iraq on his mind. While his resume might read that his work is complete in the Middle East, Swanson says his work is not yet done.
"This is kind of my second round of doing that," he said. "I still think about them kids over there. I still think about them. I still think about all the problems they have to go through but I'm still thinking about my fellow soldiers still serving over there."
Swanson said the children of Iraq looked at American soldiers as heroes. He said the troops played with them and bonded with them, until the children got in the hands of the enemy.
"Going from a place where we could see these kids every day, hang out with them, and now going to a place where we couldn't trust anybody," Swanson said.
And now he says he wants to raise money to help rescue those children traumatized by war. He says those funds will help build youth centers there and provide counseling for the children. On this long trek, he says he's recruiting an army of children to help out. (Visit Swanson's website for more information on his walk)
"The kids really relate to it," Swanson said. "They build an empathy for those kids over there and all the struggles they're going through. And they really want to help them."
Swanson said he started this march on July 4th and will end it ten weeks later on, coincidentally, September 11.
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