Local veterans to ruck 22 Miles for suicide awareness on Veterans Day Weekend

Five Eastern Shore men—three of them gym buddies, two of them combat veterans—will shoulder 40-pound packs this Saturday and walk 22 miles down Route 13 to honor the 22 U.S. veterans who die by suicide every single day.

The “22 for 22” ruck march begins at dawn from the Machipongo Trading Company and ends seven-and-a-half hours later at the Island House in Wachapreague. Organizers Blake Johnson, Ken Blair, and Ben Willis told Tom Parks on Shore Talk Tuesday that the trek is not a fundraiser—just a gut-level call to action.

“We’re not asking for a dime,” Johnson said. “We just want people to remember the number 22 and check on the veterans in their lives.”

Why 22 miles? Because the Department of Veterans Affairs reports an average of 22 veteran suicides daily—6,000 lives lost each year. Ken Blair (U.S. Army) and Blake Johnson (U.S. Navy) both served; Ben Willis is a civilian who trains beside them at Level Up Fitness in Belle Haven. PJ Vasquenza and 19-year-old Aiden Blair—Ken’s son and a brand-new soldier—round out the five-man team.

Each man will carry a GoRuck-style pack with a single 40-pound steel plate. They can’t run carrying that much weight. “It’s a fast walk or a slow crawl—whatever keeps us moving forward,” Johnson said.

Start time is still to be determined—“probably stupid-early,” Johnson admitted—but the marchers hope to beat 20 minutes per mile and finish in time for a well-earned beer. Spectators are welcome to wave from the roadside or simply slow down and give the ruckers space.

“Every once in a while a man needs to measure himself,” Johnson said. “This is our ruler.”

Ken Blair added: “I personally know soldiers who have killed themselves and the catastrophic type of injury that puts on the family and others they are close to. So just be aware of it, and reach out and ask about your veterans, our fathers and your brothers and sisters and mothers who are also in the military.”

Motorists on Route 13 this Saturday: watch for five determined men in weighted packs, high-visibility vests. Because some wars are fought long after the shooting stops.