University of Tennessee Athletics
Shepherd's Men Visit Neyland Stadium
March 31, 2016 | General
By Brian Rice
UTSports.com
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- The University of Tennessee welcomed the Shepherd’s Men to campus on Wednesday as the group stopped in Knoxville on its nine-day journey from Boston to Atlanta to raise money and awareness for veterans affected by Traumatic Brain Injury and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
The trip began at the Freedom Trail in Boston and included stops in Newport, Rhode Island, Manhattan, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania and Lynchburg, Virginia before coming through Knoxville.
Jerry Jordan, an 18-year active duty Force Recon Marine who had deployments in Iraq, Afghanistan and Africa, accepted an American flag flown over Neyland Stadium from the University of Tennessee Athletic Department on behalf of the group. The veterans also had the opportunity to tour the Tennessee locker room and skyboxes at the stadium.
Each of the 14 veterans runs 22 kilometers per day while wearing a 22-pound flack jacket to remember the 22 veterans that take their own lives each day because of traumatic brain injury, PTSD and related conditions.
“As a Marine that’s been deployed, we can understand Marines that go to the battlefield. We can comprehend that loss of life,” said Jason Greene, a third-generation Marine. “But when we come home, if the Marines aren’t getting the medical attention that they need, or any veteran isn’t getting the attention that they need, and it pushes them to take their own life, that’s just unacceptable. As a group, we decided to do something about it.”
The run will make stops in Nashville and Chattanooga before concluding at the Shepherd Center in Atlanta, where the SHARE Military Initiative provides treatment for service men and women who have sustained a mild to moderate traumatic brain injury and PTSD from the Afghanistan and Iraqi conflicts. SHARE also provides assistance, support, and education to service members and their families during their recovery treatment and beyond.
The group completed the Knoxville portion of the run inside Neyland Stadium wearing hats provided as a token of appreciation by the Tennessee Football program.
You can learn more about the Shepherd’s Men and follow their journey at http://shepherdsmen.com/
