CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – (CLARKSVILLENOW) On Veterans Day (Nov. 11) REBOOT Combat Recovery will hold the March for 22 in Clarksville, which remembers those combat veterans who suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and have died by suicide.
The event starts at 8:00 a.m. in the parking lot at the corner of 2nd St. and Commerce St.
March for 22 was begun by Aaron Lax, a combat veteran and REBOOT graduate who said he almost became part of the suicide statistics in 2013 when he tried to take his own life. “During my recovery I vowed to make preventing veteran suicide a priority in my life,” Lax said.
The march is approximately 2.4 miles long, and participants will travel 9 laps along sidewalks going through downtown Clarksville and around Austin Peay State University. This is the second March for 22. The first was held in Nashville last Memorial Day and 5 Star Media’s own Samantha Knight was there and will march again on Veterans Day.
“It’s a way for me to strap on the proverbial boots and put my boots to the ground and do something for these men and women who have given me the freedoms to do what I do. I have a huge soft spot in my heart for our men and women in the military,” Knight said.
“They put everything on the line and then come home and feel it [suicide] is necessary, that they are in such a dark place that they can’t get out of it is something I just can’t handle,” she said.
The event is a fundraiser for REBOOT Combat Recovery with funds being raised through sponsorships for the event. There will also be a charity rock concert, food, and children’s activities which will take place in the parking lot across from the Montgomery County Courthouse.
You can register for free for the March for 22 at facebook.com/marchfor22 or to learn more about REBOOT Combat Recovery go to www.rebootrecovery.com.