The military marching cadence of “left, left, left, right left,” has probably taken on a whole new meaning for Corp. Matt Parrish, 31, a reserve combat medic for the U.S. Army, who hoofed it through Columbus yesterday as part of his “Trek for Hope.”
Parrish, who has served in Iraq and Kuwait, plans to walk more than 5,000 miles to Los Angeles and back to his starting location of Tampa, Fla., in about a year to raise funds and awareness for the Special Operations Warrior Foundation, which provides aid to the families of injured or killed special ops soldiers and their families, which includes providing scholarships to their children for college.
“The nature of the (special operations) business is so covert,” said Parrish. “They don”t get to open their mouths and speak like the other branches of the military. Hollywood portrays special ops as super heroes that get shot 15 times and walk away, and in the real world, that isn”t always the case. And these heroes have families that get so altered and turned upside down. The foundation comes in and helps them, not just with money right off the bat, but it”s a very intimate, hands-on, face-to-face organization. They”re very much with you.”
Parrish decided to partner with the Special Operations Warrior Foundation after getting off active duty. He says he was just sitting in school one day and realized he didn”t want to be there. Building a career wasn”t working out, due to the economy and other factors, so Parrish decided to “quit being so selfish and do something for other people.” He has a goal of raising $25,000 for the foundation, and has already raised $6,000 just through online donations to his cause.
“A few people have stopped and asked if I needed help or was in a bind,” said Parrish. “I think they maybe thought I was a homeless vet, but once I told them what I”m doing this for, they are really supportive.” He says that people have been great, donating to the cause or buying him a meal or letting him shower or do laundry.
Parrish doesn”t need much to get along. He carries a backpack that is filled with a tent, sleeping bag, water, some clothes, toiletries and not much else. Still, the bag weighs between 50 and 60 pounds, and when he goes through Phoenix, Ariz., around late summer, it will weigh more with excess water and food he”ll have to carry. He navigates by iPhone, which he charges using a solar panel strapped to the top of his pack, which was donated by GoalZero, one of his sponsors.
New Balance is providing him shoes, which they send to cities ahead of him to keep him going. But Parrish isn”t micromanaging his route.
“Every step of the way is definitely not planned out,” he said.
Parrish goes where the wind takes him, and has plans to go through cities where he has friends, and that doesn”t always take him in a straight line. He will be touring Mississippi State University today with an Army friend of his, before heading down to Jackson.
Having started in early January, Parrish has hit his stride with walking 15-20 miles per day, but it wasn”t always that easy. Despite his military training, towards the beginning of his trip, he says he “was pretty beaten up.” According to him, there wasn”t enough time for his body to rest and recoup before having to go the same amount of miles the next day. But at least it”s an adventure.
“Every day is different. And I”m having fun with it, if you don”t, it”s going to get old real fast. But at the end of this, I get to go home, and the people I walk for, well, it”s not so easy for them.”
FOLLOW PARRISH”S PROGRESS
· Track Parrish”s route on Facebook or on his “Trek for Hope” page, at www.trekforhope.blogspot.com, or give to the cause at www.firstgiving.com/jacobparrish1. To talk to or meet with Parrish as he comes through your city, call him at 813-505-0492.
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You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 36 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
