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  • Retired Marine Mac McQuown, 51, left his Virginia home on Sept. 11, 2011, starting a 15,000-mile journey on foot that is expected to take six years. Submitted photo

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August 30, 2012

Former Marine on a mission to heighten awareness of veterans

Natalie Fultz CNHI

THOMASVILLE —  Meet Mac McQuown, a 51-year-old U.S. Marine veteran who is still on a mission. On Sept. 11, 2011, he started walking  from his home in Stafford, Va.

McQuown arrived in Thomasville Wednesday, completing 1,345 miles since his journey began. Today, he will be one step closer to achieving his goal of marching through all 50 capitals in the United States when he enters Tallahassee, Fla.

In 2010, McQuown started planning what he predicts will be a six-year,  15,000-mile trek designed to heighten awareness of military veterans.

“When (the terrorist attacks of) Sept. 11, 2001 happened, it effected everyone in a certain way. The way it affected me was I started to notice that our veterans were coming home, those that were wounded and those that paid the ultimate price, and they were forgotten about,” he said. “I saw that happen in every conflict: Vietnam, World War I and II, and Korea. We just kept forgetting our veterans, and it didn’t sit well with me.

“What breaks my heart even more is even when they do come home to a parade, they are still forgotten about. People got excited when we went over there (to Afghanistan and Iraq) to fight. People were behind us the first few years, but now people don’t seem to care anymore. They would rather talk about Charlie Sheen, Lindsay Lohan or Michael Jackson and say, ‘Oh my, she is wearing white after Labor Day.’ It seems to dominate the news media, and I don’t understand that.

“I prayed about it for months on end, and It occurred to me that every state produces veterans, so what better way to bring attention to them than to march the capital of all 50 states.”

See Friday's edition for more details.

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