By 9 a.m. Thursday, the Nebraska team had already carried their football a mile from Memorial Stadium.
Now they had just 346 more to go.
All the way down O Street, across the Platte River and then the Missouri and, finally, into Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa -- a nine-day, military-style march to draw attention to the number of military veterans who take their own lives.
They started their walk with a group of 19, some in combat boots, others in running shoes, all of them wearing rucksacks. They had a dog and a U.S. flag and plenty of early well-wishers.
“We’ve had a lot of support, people honking, people waving, people cheering,†Sgt. Katie Howser, president of UNL’s Student Veteran Organization, said later near the 5-mile mark. “It’s been really great.â€
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The so-called ruck march -- a nod to the training of soldiers by sending them out on long walks wearing heavy packs -- is a joint project by student veteran groups at the universities of Iowa and Nebraska. This is their first attempt to cover the 347 miles between their campuses, though they hope to make it an annual tradition.
Their primary goal? Shine a spotlight on the problem of veteran suicides. Veteran Affairs officials had long reported that an average of 22 vets were killing themselves daily, although earlier this year they lowered that estimate to 20 per day.
“It’s a problem and people don’t realize how devastating it is, not only to immediate family members but to the entire veteran community,†said Drew Wherry, president of the University of Iowa Veterans Association. “It has to stop.â€
Changes are needed in mental health treatment, he said. Not just at the VA but across the country.
On the way to and through Iowa, marchers will also spread the word about Operation Engage America, a nonprofit launched by family members of veterans who took their own lives. The group provides support and resources on post-traumatic stress disorder and brain injuries to veterans, their families and first responders.
But the organizers have another goal. Such a long walk can also help veterans spend time with other veterans, something they miss after leaving the service.
“I think there’s something very therapeutic vets find doing this,†Wherry said. “We can come together, meet new people, support each other and really build that network of support across Nebraska and Iowa.â€
The idea for an annual march started in Iowa City. Members of the University of Iowa Veterans Association had marched 300 miles from Minneapolis to Iowa City for last year’s Veterans Day game and had been well-received along the way.
“It was pretty cool,†Wherry said. “A lot of people came out along the route.â€
Then they looked ahead to this season. The Hawkeyes would be playing at Michigan for this year’s Veterans Day game, and a 450-mile walk to Ann Arbor didn’t seem practical.
So Wherry and others approached the UNL Student Veterans Organization with the proposal to create an annual event. It made sense: The schools play each other every year in the day-after-Thanksgiving Heroes Game.
UNL’s group agreed immediately, said Howser, its president. But they worried, at first, whether they’d be able to enlist enough volunteers to fill all of the 20-mile shifts between here and Iowa’s Kinnick Stadium.
“Originally, we thought it would be a big problem. But some days, we have over 40 people marching per shift, and we’re super ecstatic about it.â€
So far, more than 200 people -- most of them veterans, but some non-military -- have signed up. Walking in shifts, the marchers will cover about 40 miles each day, wearing backpacks that either weigh 22 pounds or contain 22 items symbolic of their service. And they left from Memorial Stadium's 22-yard line, the number a reminder of the many veteran suicides and the reason they’re walking.
The Nebraska marchers will meet the Iowa team Monday at roughly the halfway point, Freedom Rock in Menlo, Iowa, to hand off the game ball and flag, though some Nebraskans will continue the trip.
But that was still a long way down the road Thursday. By early afternoon, the group had reached Eagle, about 10 miles from the east edge of Lincoln.
“There are quite a few blisters,†Howser said. “But everyone’s still in a good mood.â€