Running across the country is a difficult task for anyone to complete, let alone a 93-year-old service veteran. However, that's just what World War II vet Ernie Andrus did over the course of three years, starting in San Diego and concluding his journey in St. Simon's Island, Georgia.
Andrus, who served as a pharmacist's mate in the 1940s, ran to raise money for the upkeep of a WWII-era amphibious tank-landing ship known as the LST 325, which is currently housed in Indiana, according to a report from the San Diego Union-Tribune. The hope was to gather enough money to send it back to France for the 75th anniversary of D-Day in 2020. The run took three years and covered more than 2,600 miles.
An inspirational journey
An estimated 200-plus people greeted the vet in Georgia, and since he began his journey, he's run with potentially thousands more, according to a report from Georgia television station WTOC. Andrus is the oldest person in U.S. history to run the breadth of the country.
He ran three days a week over the course of his journey and inspired many along the way, the report said. He told the station he got the idea when he received plenty of local news attention for running in a relay race about five years ago.
"If an 88-year-old man gets this much attention in a relay race, how about a 90-year-old running coast to coast? So I decided right there, I'm gonna do it," Andrus told the station.
What's the takeaway?
Many Americans should take to heart the fact that Andrus ran to raise money for a cherished piece of military history. Veterans do plenty to help each other and their communities on a regular basis, and acknowledging those efforts is vital.