By Kelly McGowan
About 50 veterans met Saturday on the Capitol lawn prior to the Silkies Hike, an eventĀ organized to foster connectionsĀ and raise awareness for veteran suicide prevention.
Veterans marched 22 kilometers, some carrying 22 kilograms in a rucksack, to represent the 22 veterans who commit suicide each day in the U.S., according to a Department of Veterans Affairs study. It is organized through the Irreverent
Warriors nonprofit organization.
If participants didnāt know each other before the hike, they would after, coordinator Roger George of Albia said. Thatās partly due to the hikeās namesake: the silkies. Theyāre the Marine Corpsā short PT shorts that inspired hikeĀ participants’Ā “Sky’s out, thighs out” shirts, and they are an icebreaker, GeorgeĀ said.
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