Veteran walks from Indianapolis to Kokomo to support VFW

KOKOMO, Ind. (AP) - A Kokomo native and army veteran walked from Indianapolis to Kokomo to raise money for the VFW Post 1152 in Kokomo.

Army veteran Warren Sims, who recently finished a tour in Afghanistan in 2016, left from Monument Circle in Indianapolis around 8:30 p.m. last Friday night.

He walked, with Howard County EMA trailing him for 55 miles until he reached downtown Kokomo just after 3 p.m. on Saturday.

"For a minute, we made the world stand still in this community for veterans," Sims said as he sat sore in a chair at the VFW hall.

And as you can imagine, the journey was not easy.

Over night, Sims said temperatures reached below 30 degrees, but that was no comparison to heavy winds he faced.

He said it was like "walking into a wall of wind." But there was absolutely nothing that was going to stop him from reaching his destination.

While traveling Indiana State Road 35, Sims encountered a massive leg cramp. His team stopped briefly, but he was continuing his walk in no time.

When he finally reached the VFW Post 1152, veterans and community members waving American flags welcomed him. Sims was noticeably emotional. His efforts helped raise over $19,000 - well over the $15,000 goal - for the VFW Post 1152 to purchase new rifles for their Military Rites Team.

"Warren is the kind of guy that, if there is a need, he's there," said Post Commander, John Meeks who accompanied Sims on his journey. "And we had a need at the post. He gets some crazy ideas in his head and he's ready to go."

Sims usually sets out to reach goals some may see as nearly impossible, but he remains dedicated, Meeks added, dedicated to the community, to veterans and to his VFW post.

And the results of this particular mission went beyond raising monetary funds for the post, Sims said. He sees it as an opportunity to strengthen the bond between younger generations of veterans and those who came before them.

"Part of it is to let other veterans know, my generation of veterans know, that they're going to find out that they can lean on these guys more than they know," Sims said. "And they're also going to find out that these guys lean on them, not because of the needs of this veteran organization, but because they recognize what we're going through and they've already been where we've been."

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Source: Kokomo Tribune, http://bit.ly/2oumdLj

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Information from: Kokomo Tribune, http://www.ktonline.com