KEWASKUM, Wis. — Ahead of Veterans Day, on the Marine Corps' 250th birthday, Iraq combat war veteran Nick Stewart is hiking for 25 hours straight across Washington County.
The West Bend native works for the Milwaukee VA in the mental health unit and decided he wanted to honor his fellow veterans by raising money for nonprofits that help vets once they're out of the hospital.
"When they graduate from that level," he said. "There isn't a whole lot out there for accountability and support after that."
Watch: Marine veteran hikes 25 hours straight across Washington County:
Stewart started at 8 a.m. on Monday and will continue through the morning on Tuesday, hiking all the way from Kewaskum to West Bend to Big Cedar Lake and back to the Eisenbahn Trail. He calls the two day event Hike for Heroes and it will raise money for Big Fish Foundation and Next 18. He'll accept donations through Nov. 15.
"This was something I wanted to do to challenge myself," he said. "Doing something like this is going to challenge you mentally, physically, and ultimately make you a better person."
Stewart's goal goes beyond helping veterans — he also wants to inspire others to get outside and get physical exercise.
"If you are physically fit and you are able to do the things you want to do, mentally, you're going to just feel better," he said. "Get off of your phone! You have to have the discipline to be able to put your phone down, go challenge yourself, and the more we do that as a society, we'll come together. If we challenge ourselves to do hard things."
Stewart's Hike for Heroes ends at the Old Courthouse in West Bend on Tuesday morning.
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