MOUNT VERNON — For the past four years, members of Paddle For Heroes have kayaked 160 miles from Mount Vernon to Marietta for veterans awareness.
The endeavor is meant to be tough and each participant is encouraged to think about the sacrifices of our veterans, first responders and the fallen. This year’s trip was dedicated to fallen Marine William Gaines Jr.
“Bill” Gaines became a Marine in 1981 at just 18 years old. He was so proud of this accomplishment that he wore his Dress Blues to marry his high school sweetheart.
Shortly after his marriage, Bill’s Battalion was deployed as part of a multinational peacekeeping force in Beirut, Lebanon. At the beginning of his deployment Bill humbly wrote:
“I believe in our mission here, I believe we belong here; this is a matter of principle, not politics or money or even lives. It’s the principle of freedom, of peace for the majority. If we stay and achieve the freedom and stability that can only be achieved thru force and I die in the process I feel that I would have died for a good reason.
“If America can gain the respect and trust of the world again … if they see we are willing to fight and die for the freedom of others … then and only then will we have died honorably and justifiably.”
Gaines turned 21 years old five days before he was killed alongside 240 heroes in the largest non-nuclear bomb ever detonated.
Paddle For Heroes’ six-day journey in his honor took place Aug. 2 to 7, and presented many challenges that each participant successfully overcame. Team members showed their resolve to successfully complete the trip by paddling for several hours a day in August heat, low water, slow currents, and rain.
They toughed it out through sore muscles, sunburn, blisters, poison ivy, and wet gear.
The group of kayakers included the eldest and youngest people to ever complete the grueling trip. Sonya Bollin, 59 years young, is the eldest and first woman to complete the trip with Paddle For Heroes. Bollin, though not a veteran, exemplified the “mission first” mantra of the Grunt, pushing through when her body wanted to quit.
She endured paddling up to 13 hours a day for six days. When her legs went numb, she continued paddling. Bollin attributes her toughness to spending part of her childhood in a house with no running water and her time as a young single mother of three.
Joseph Louis Butts, 13, is the son of a veteran and was the youngest to ever complete the trip with Paddle For Heroes. When asked if he expected the trip to be so tough, he simply said, “No but I’m not going to quit.”
Joseph battled through the long days on the river, paddling with blistered fingers and a warped paddle. Joseph’s’ intestinal fortitude rivals that of men twice his age and deserves of a resounding Marine “Oorah.”
Paddling the Kokosing, the Walhonding, the Muskingum and the Ohio Rivers made each member proud. When they arrived in Marietta, they were relieved and so grateful to be a part of something momentous, and the mission dedicating this year’s journey to William Gaines Jr.
Please join us in helping raise funds for the development of new structures and facilities at the William R. Gaines Jr. Veterans Memorial Park. All donations will be dedicated to providing a place where neighbors and families can come together to experience the beauty of nature and will be a testament to the sacrifices of all of our veterans. Donations can be made online at https://www.wrgainesjr.org/donate.
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