LSU students march 323 miles for veterans fundraiser
By Joyce Philippe · WLOX
WLOX meets Raby and six other LSU students on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, partway through their 323-mile ruck march to Eglin Air Force Base for veterans' charities.
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WLOX's Joyce Philippe caught up with Colin Raby and six other LSU students on the Mississippi Gulf Coast as they walked 323 miles from Baton Rouge to Eglin Air Force Base in Florida to raise money for veterans, in a story published Jan. 5, 2020. It also ran on WAFB in Baton Rouge and KSLA in Shreveport.
The marchers, LSU Air Force ROTC cadets joined by a Marine and a National Guardsman, were raising money for the National League of POW/MIA Families and K9s for Warriors. "There's so much we take for granted every day and there's veterans really struggling out there, and those charities do good work helping them," Raby told WLOX. "It's only right to support those who guaranteed our liberty."
They had set out from LSU's campus at 4:30 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 3, in two groups that traded off at checkpoints after eight-hour shifts, and planned to reach Eglin on Tuesday evening. Cadet Austin Firmin described swollen ankles and knees, and cadet Zachary Toups said he got through the pain with music and comedy in his earbuds. Marine Cameron Richards said passing drivers honked, whistled and leaned out their windows to call out "God bless you." "Just this little bit of suffering can bring glory to others, and to help them, it makes it all worthwhile," Firmin said.
They made it, reaching Eglin around 4 p.m. that Tuesday.The rest of the march, with Raby's photos from the road and the finish, is on the record with “The Greatest Salute,” LSU Engineering's profile of him.
