OSWEGO – One day before Veterans Day, an Oswego resident walked to remember the veterans who were not able to celebrate their day with family and loved ones.
Duane Crapser woke up early on November 10 to walk 22 miles around Oswego County, with the 22 miles representing the number of veterans that lose their lives to suicide everyday. Crapser set up his walk in conjunction with Mission 22, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting veterans.
According to Crapser, he walked from Minetto to Fulton and back, while ending his 116,160 feet journey at the gates of Fort Ontario, a place that was a big “part of [Crapser’s] childhood” and obviously has a lot of military significance. While emotions were high towards the end of the experience, the start was quite special.
“The beginning of the walk, I was walking ahead of my son and my friend who is an Air Force veteran,” Crapser said. “They were sharing stories while walking behind me, and I kept reaching into my pocket, grabbing pictures that were sent to me. Pictures of headstones of veterans that had taken their own lives … It was quite emotional.”
Crapser’s friend is an Air Force Veteran by the name of Tony Guanciale, while his son, Jordan Crapser, is a member of the Army National Guard. Beyond these two, Crapser has a large military presence in his life, with two more sons that are in the military.
According to Crapser, suicide has impacted their lives in some capacity, and he wanted to raise awareness for something that he believes has been neglected in veteran suicide prevention.
Along the journey, Crapser has received a lot of support. Financially, he has seen 13 donors raise $1,505 towards his $2,200 goal for Mission 22 as of November 18, with his goal again touching on the 22 veterans that lose their battle with suicide each day. Beyond the finances, Crapser has seen a lot of emotional support with people cheering him on throughout his pilgrimage to the Fort of Ontario.
“The day of the walk, we had school bus drivers slow down and hit their horns, kids yelling out the window waving to us, people honking their horns,” Crapser said. “I had a gentleman ask if he could take our picture and said that he lost his brother in Iraq a few years ago. That kind of support has been great.”
Crapser added that he is still a little short of where he wants his donations to be but called the financial support “great.” In order to reach his goal, Crapser has extended the final day to donate to January 1 and donations can be made on his Mission 22 fundraising page.
Along the walk, Crapser was stopped by many residents to chat about veterans just one day before Veterans Day. While the journey around the county was a long one, just four miles shy of a marathon, he had enough energy to bring his grandson into the mix as he approached Fort Ontario, combining the person and place that mean so much to him.
“The last five miles were quite painful,” Crapser said. “I am happy to say that for the last 100 yards I carried my grandson, so I wasn’t that out of it.”
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Too bad the Wreaths Across America folks don’t follow his lead and instead of spending beaucoup bucks on feelgoods, spend it where it will fix things that are broken.