Annual 9/11 Remembrance Walk Sunday - Dubois County Free Press, Inc.

File photo from the first Remembrance Walk held in 2016. Craig Atkins (on left) and Steve Brown, both veterans, led the procession of members of Team Red, White & Blue on an 11-mile trek from Ferdinand to Jasper’s Veterans Memorial Bridge to commemorate 9/11.

Team Red White and Blue is expecting more than 150 walkers to make the 11-mile remembrance walk from Huntingburg’s Veterans Memorial to Jasper this Sunday.

The group is commemorating the 17th anniversary of the attacks that took the lives of 2,977 people when terrorists flew passenger planes into the World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001.

Team Red, White and Blue Ferdinand/Jasper is a local chapter of the national organization originally founded by Eric and Angie Evitts with the help of other community members.

When veterans leave the military, the loss of a familiar and close group of friends, as well as a sense of purpose, can further alienate them from civilian society. This can increase the effects of depression and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

Team Red, White & Blue helps with this by incorporating challenging activities, camaraderie and a sense of purpose to capture the same esprit de corps found in the military.

Those same basic principles have led to explosive growth in the local chapter. Civilians and veterans are invited to join and take part in the group’s activities for free by registering at the Team Red, White & Blue website.

The Remembrance Walk is free and open to anyone who wants to walk. It will take place rain or shine and participants need to be at the Veterans Memorial at 7:30. The walk will begin at 8 a.m. It will end near Jasper’s Veterans Memorial Bridge in the grassy area next to Los Bravos.

You can also follow the group on Facebook.