Ruck to Remember: 60-mile hike with heavy packs to remember the fallen passes through DC

ARLINGTON, Va. — Curious visitors to memorials in Washington, D.C. Monday encountered a group of men and women carrying a heavy, military-style backpack called a rucksack.

The group was on a mission called “Ruck-to-Remember.”

The Memorial Day tour of monuments in the nation's capital was just the last 9 miles of a very long and heartfelt journey that began three days earlier on the Appalachian Trail in Virginia.

The "ruckers," mostly hiking in military formation under heavy packs and led by flag bearers, spent one night at the firehouse in Purcellville and continued their journey into D.C. on the W&OD trail. They made for an unusual sight for a lot of the hikers and bikers on the trail.

“It reminds me how grateful I am to live in an area in a country where people are so selfless," said trail user Malik Walker after seeing the ruckers march past.

For Marine veteran Max Walsh, the ruck is personal 

"I wanted to do something on Memorial Day that I could remember and honor my brothers that I served with, especially my friend Lance Corporal John Cagle," Walsh said. "He was killed in Afghanistan, September 2011." 

But Walsh noted a lot of ruckers have no connection to the military.

"They might not even have anybody they know or in their family that even served," he said. "They saw this as a greater calling, and a better way to spend their Memorial Day weekend to honor the people that that have fought and died for this country."

Two long days of rucking brought the group to Arlington, where they assembled at dawn Monday morning at the Iwo Jima Memorial to kick off a final 9-mile march around memorials, ending at Arlington National Cemetery.

Ruck to Remember is the signature event for an organization called the Honor Movement Foundation. It connects veterans facing challenges with resources to help, including mental health support, financial aid for veteran families in crisis and career transition counseling for veterans reentering civilian life.