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Tierney’s ‘walk home’ a very touching story

As stated in Sunday’s edition of The Mining Journal, Upper Peninsula native Jeremy Tierney is in the process of Continental Divide Trail through an organization called Warrior Expeditions with three other veterans – more than 3,000 miles.

Tierney served in 13 overseas deployments as a member of the U.S. Army’s 1st Ranger Battalion.

He said the group’s journey began from Crazy Cook, New Mexico on April 20, and they expect to complete the trip at the Canadian border before Oct. 1.

In regards to his military career, he told The Mining Journal, “I did not plan the course of my military career. I wanted to take on the toughest challenges available and prove to myself that I was good enough to make it.”

As a member of the military since 1997, he has surely made it. And now, he is finally headed home for good.

“The hardest part of the walk other than the physical pain of walking 25-30 miles per day with a backpack on is being away from my family,” Tierney said. “The best part is the scenery and sense of accomplishment as well as making friends and renewing my faith in humanity. This hike is my walking away from my life in the military and coming back home to my family.”

Warrior Expeditions CDT team was featured in The New York Times, and we believe this is a story worth any attention it receives.

The Warrior Expeditions website, warriorexpeditions.org, posted this as an explanation of how the organization started:

“In 1948, Earl Shaffer told a friend he was going to ‘walk off the war’ to work out the sights, sounds, and losses of World War II. Four months later, Shaffer became the first person to hike the entire length of the Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine. Following in (his) footsteps and in recognizing the therapeutic effects of long distance outdoor expeditions, Warrior Expeditions created the Warrior Hike, Warrior Bike and Warrior Paddle programs which are designed to help combat veterans transition from their military service.”

We applaud Mr. Tierney as he completes this final mission, and would like to take a moment to thank him for his service, and the sacrifices he has made to this great country.

May God bless you, and may you finally find a sense of peace and a chance to relax with your wife, Jessica, and your three children. Enjoy your return home, Jeremy — you’ve surely earned it, many times over.

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