Just in time for Veteran’s Day, one former Marine returned home after walking the Appalachian Trail in order to bring awareness to the 22 military veterans who commit suicide everyday.
On Sunday, Eddie Arendell, a veteran from Maysville, stood along West Second Street, surrounded by family, a pack on his back with an American Flag sticking out. In the months since he left, he has grown a much longer beard.
Arendell left Maysville on June 4 to travel to Maine, where he began his journey at the top of Mount Katahdin. He ended in Springer Mountain in Georgia.
During the hike, Arendell said he met several people and was able to spread the word about his mission across 14 states.
“I talked to quite a few people,” he said. “It never ceases to amaze me that people don’t knows the number. Then, when you tell them 22 a day, they’re just beside themselves. It was a great thing to be able to spread the message that far-14 states and people from all over.”
The 2,200 mile hike took five months and one day and though he was able to spread his message far, Arendell said it was nice to be home with his family and near running water again.
“It’s nice,” he said, showing off a pair of worn down shoes on his feet. “People don’t realize the difficulty. When you first start hiking, you may not get many miles-eight to 12 miles a day-and the last couple of weeks, it was 22 to 23 miles on a short day. The last couple of days, I realized I could make it back by Veteran’s Day. I’m happy to be home. I can shower everyday. I can turn on a tap and have running water.”
According to Arendell, when walking the Appalachian trail, the only thing one can do is think.
“When you’re on that trail, the only thing you can do is hike and think,” he said. “You think about anything and everything. You name it and I probably thought about it.”
He never told most of his family that he was returning home.
“I just kind of surprised them,” he said. “I made it home about a day and a half ago and just showed up here.”
Arendell is a veteran and the former post commander of the Maysville VFW.
After graduating high school, he joined the United States Marines.
“I signed up between my junior and senior years of high school,” he said. “I knew I wasn’t going to college. It was either go straight into the workforce or join the military. I wanted to serve my country.”
Arendell said he began basic training in South Carolina.
“I served from 2001 to 2005,” he said. “I trained at Paris Island in South Carolina and served 15 months in Okinawa, Japan. From there, I went to North Carolina and was deployed in Iraq for seven months.”
In 2005, Arendell left the Marines as an E4 corporal.
“It was the best decision I ever made for my life,” he said.
In May, Arendell said everything just fell into place at the right time for the hike.
“Everything kind of fell into place for this. I’m not married and I don’t have kids. I was able to put my job on hold for now,” he said. “ The research I’ve done said three out of four people don’t finish the trail. They will give up before they finish because it’s so rough. It’s the world’s longest hiking path.”
The states Arendell passed through included Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.
(The Ledger Independent is online at: http://maysville-online.com)