SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KCAU) — Three US Marines have traveled through multiple states with the goal of spreading awareness of an ongoing cause.
So far, the group has traveled almost 1,500 miles from their starting point in Boston, Massachusetts since they began four months ago.
“We’re hiking across America to promote awareness for the recovery for our missing in action from foreign wars,” said Raymond Shinohara, a member of The Long Road.
“Over 80,000 MIAs from foreign wars and half of those are recoverable and these are people that are American heroes. Their country asked them to go fight a war, they answered the call. Some of them were drafted, not volunteers and, you know, their families are left to wonder where they’re at,” said Coleman Kinzer, another member of The Long Road.
Justin Lehew and Coleman Kinzer started The Long Road walk from Boston and in late August, Raymond Shinohara joined the group from Chicago.
The group tries to walk an average of 15 to 20 miles a day as they continue their ongoing quest. However, traveling through six different states means running into all kinds of weather.
“Nothing is going to slow us down because we still have to get to Newport, Oregon, but it definitely takes a toll on the body and what we have to go through,” said Shinohara.
“The heat– summer is awful, felt like a roasted chicken. The humidity as you’re going through, especially in the agricultural, the farm fields, and everything else. A lot of heat is in there then the wind blows over the top of you as the corn grows higher,” said Kinzer.
“It’s the American people, right. I mean these are salt of the earth folks all down the road and you never get to hear their story, but you’re out here and we have a righteous message that we carry and we get an opportunity to talk to people and it kinda inspires them,” said Kinzer.
“Meeting the people in the towns that we go through, the stories that we share, the significant history that we get to be a part of and see. A lot of us have served. Been all over the world and have never actually seen this part of the country,” said Shinohara.
Team Long Road is resting in Sioux City for the weekend and are expected to hit the road again on Monday after that well deserved break.