‘Carry the Load’ honors fallen heroes and families this Memorial Day

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) - Some are walking a mile while others march for 20 hours during Carry the Load’s remembrance walk honoring our fallen heroes.

For more than a decade, the national non-profit Carry the Load has been walking across America. It started in 2011 when two U.S. Navy Seal wanted to bring back the true meaning of Memorial Day by honoring veterans who gave everything for our freedoms.

Their mission has grown into a movement with walks in cities across the country, including in Mobile and Pensacola. The goal is to unite Americans in appreciation for the sacrifices made by those who ‘carried the load’ for all.

Carry the Load’s East Coast event coordinator Hunter Lovelace said he’s honored to help organize events and participate in the walk.

“People die two deaths,” Lovelace said. “The first one is when they leave the physical body, the second one is when someone says their name for the last time. And so that’s our goal at Carry the Load is to continue to say those names, tell their stories so that that way they can continue to live on in memory and in spirit.”

He said this year, four teams are traveling across the country during the Month of May. They’re walking throughout the day and taking a van from one location to the next during the night. The East Coast team will make several stops along the gulf coast in Pensacola and Mobile.

Lovelace says the community event will happen at the USS Alabama Memorial Battleship Park on May 20th. Participants will be walking almost a mile around the park and every step taken and every dollar raised supports their mission to provide healing services for our heroes and their families.

Before making it to Mobile, there will be four stops in Pensacola on May 20th at the Home Depot on Davis Hwy., Veterans Memorial Park, Blue Wahoos Stadium and Greer’s Cashsaver on Barrancas Ave. Over the years, the mission has raised more than $42,000,000.

Lovelace said they started their journey in West Point, New York and will end up in Dallas on Memorial Day for the annual Dallas Memorial March. They will join family, friends and others in the community to celebrate the true meaning of Memorial Day.

“What Carry the Load truly means to me is the ability to help out others who have given so much to help us even though they don’t know our names, but they are willing to sacrifice their lives for us each and every day, so the least I can do is come out and walk 5-10 miles during the month of May in honor of those,” said Lovelace.

The money raised throughout Memorial May supports military, veterans, first responders and their families so they can access services like counseling, suicide prevention, service dogs and so much more.

To volunteer or donate click here.